Let’s start by defining inclusive language as a form of “conscious” communication that puts respect for the other first, considering the differences that exist within a group. Each person has a value and respect between people is an important part of our communication.
The goal of inclusive language is to avoid the use of words that may discriminate or offend people’s sensibilities, including the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities and ethnic minorities. The intent is favor the inclusion of all groups of people, even those who are often marginalized or discriminated against, for example by respecting sexual orientation and gender, in such a way as to eliminate prejudices and social barriers.
In the Italian language, language is declined in two ways: feminine and masculine. Collective terms and mixed pluralities, containing men and women, have always been defined with the masculine plural. When we refer to inclusive language to define multitudes of people, this traditional practice is limiting.
How can we make Italian more inclusive?
Inclusive language involves the use of neutral terms, such as: “students*, friends*”, etc. To define genders, terms such as “cis person” (referring to a person who claims to be of the sex that matches their gender identity) or “trans person” (referring to a person who claims not correspond to the gender indicated at birth). Ambiguous formulas are also avoided, which present the sexes as something permanent or definite, such as “men and women”, replacing them with others such as “persons or human beings”.
Nowadays, many sectors such as publishing, communication, schools and universities are making a commitment to adopt a more inclusive language in their work environment to keep up with the times.
In recent years, several ideas have emerged to make Italian a more inclusive language and try to overcome the overextended masculine. A very animated debate has arisen on the subject between those who are in favor and those who do not believe that this is a real necessity. Opinions are mainly divided into two factions, which, as often happens, are unable to talk to each other.
Andrea De Benedetti, author of the book “Così non schwa” (2022), argues that a more inclusive language would make it possible to “include women in the case of plurals containing at least one female element (“Marco, Giorgio and Anna have arrived”), to referring to a generic/unknown individual whose gender is unknown (“none came”), to address a plurality of people in situations in which the gender identity of the person in front of one is not known (“welcome at all»). In particular, to guarantee grammatical citizenship to “non-binary” people, i.e. those who do not recognize themselves in the male or female gender. But De Benedetti also believes that the use of the schwa would have more costs than benefits: “the schwa, proposed to neutralize gender differences, in the current state instead ends up amplifying them, where they are precisely the masculine and the feminine, by virtue of their unmarkedness, to deactivate them”.
Sociolinguist Vera Gheno, in her latest book “Call me that” (2022), discusses inclusive language and its importance on a political-social level. According to Gheno, in a society based on language, whoever is not named does not exist. So “to give diversity a voice, the first step is to guarantee it space to speak”. According to you, Gheno, the goal would not be to arrive at a “blindness” towards differences, which would hide a pitfall. Diversity must not be ignored, but named well, to give it space within society. In this regard, inclusiveness, which implies that the group of “normal” people decides to include the group of “different” ones, would not be sufficient. Such a concept should be surpassed by what Fabrizio Acanfora has defined as the “coexistence of differences”, i.e. a vision in which the variety of individuals excels.
At the heart of the discussion is a problem social that institutions should start considering immediately to avoid finding themselves far from the speed with which certain social phenomena grow.
Edited by Martina Hamdy
