Formulate in a gender-equitable way

1. principles

For RPTU, diversity and equal opportunities are central components of university life that must be constantly cultivated and developed. Our use of language plays an important role here, as language, as a central medium of communication, always expresses attitudes and shapes our daily interactions to a large extent. It has long been a socio-political concern - also at the university - to use inclusive, gender-conscious language and, in particular, to tend to avoid the cross-gender masculine, also known as "generic masculine": For example, mixed-gender groups of people are increasingly no longer referred to and addressed with cross-gender masculinals such as scientists or inventors , provided that corresponding femininals(female scientists, female inventors) also exist. In the past, the focus was on making women more "visible" linguistically; today, the concern to take non-binary gender identities into account has also grown. This concern was given an additional boost in 2017 by a landmark ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court, according to which a third gender entry option should be granted in addition to "female" and "male".

At the same time, it is also essential for a modern university to uphold the highest principles of freedom in thinking, researching and teaching, to trust in the independence and personal responsibility of its members and to treat each other with respect and tolerance. In this sense, an open culture of thinking goes hand in hand with an open culture of speaking and writing that aims to encourage people to reflect on and change their linguistic behavior without prescribing or forbidding anything.

Gender-conscious texts should be factually correct, comprehensible and easy to read. The recipients must be able to concentrate on the essential facts. Especially in the context of a university that is as internationally oriented as RPTU, texts should also be accessible and formulable for people who have not acquired German as their first language. Gender-conscious language should support communication and not create new barriers in the daily use of the German language.

There are currently no generally accepted solutions for many aspects of gender-conscious communication. In this respect, these guidelines document the current status and should be read with this proviso. Social and linguistic innovations may lead to updates in the future.

2 Gender-conscious language in various types of texts and interactions

The university cannot and does not wish to dictate to its members how they should speak. However, it is expected that teaching staff and administrative offices support diversity and inclusion as an integral part of university life and take care to communicate empathetically . There are a range of options that can be used for this (see sections 3 and 4 below).

When addressing groups of people within and outside the university in writing, as well as in public communication (especially on websites), at least not only men should be explicitly addressed, be it through detailed double mentions (e.g. Dear Colleagues) or neutral forms. It is also possible to make non-binary identities visible by using additional characters such as colons or asterisks (e.g. Dear colleagues).

At RPTU, we strive to address everyone with their preferred form of address . When first contacting individuals, if the gender is not known or there is uncertainty in this regard, we can therefore first use the gender-sensitive form of address "Hello, first name last name" and then write: "We would be pleased if you would let us know how we may address you in the future." To make it clear how people would like to be addressed, they can enter a pronoun (e.g. she or he or a non-binary neopronoun) in their signature. It is also possible to explicitly request that no pronoun at all be used in relation to oneself.

Students, lecturers and researchers at RPTU are not subject to any formal university requirements regarding gender-inclusive language. The use of inclusive signs such as asterisks or colons may neither be prescribed nor prohibited and should not be included in the assessment in examinations unless it is itself the subject of the work to be written.

With its job advertisements , RPTU signals openness towards all genders and gender identities. They are therefore written in a gender-inclusive way, either by naming the genders or by using gender-neutral terms (e.g. the person to be hired, the person to be appointed) and by mentioning diversity, e.g. with the addition m/f/d.

In legally relevant, legislative texts (e.g. regulations) , no additional typographical symbols are used - in accordance with the administrative regulation "Gender-equitable official and legal language" of the federal state - but rather double names (with first mention of the feminine, e.g. Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter) and gender-neutral forms (see table below). Non-binary gender identities are implicitly taken into account, even if they are not explicitly mentioned, as such official texts are per se aimed at all members of the university.

3 The linguistic toolbox

In many cases, the gender-inclusive masculine is ambiguous and - as psychological studies also show - is often associated with male persons. To remedy this, there are a number of alternatives in German:

Pair forms: The simplest form of making women and men visible is the detailed double form or couple form(Forscherinnen und Forscher). It also exists as a short form(Forscher/-innen) - a spelling that has always been accepted orthographically. Although the couple form does not explicitly address or name non-binary persons, it is firmly anchored in language usage and is frequently used in many types of text, especially when addressing groups directly.

The use of parentheses, e.g. Professor(in), is now rarely used, as it gives the impression that the feminine is secondary. Care should also be taken not to use grammatically irregular expressions such as Mitgliederinnen or Mitglieder*innen, as Mitglied is a neuter noun and cannot be gendered by adding -in or -innen.

Neutral forms and reformulations: To de-emphasize bisexuality, neutral forms and reformulations are a good and space-saving choice in many cases, e.g. when singular couple forms become cumbersome or when the gender of the person in question is not known or when mixed-gender groups are involved and an alternative to couple or short forms is sought:

If reference is made to specific persons whose gender is known, it is still advisable to use expressions such as the examiner or the employee .

To avoid stereotyping, roles of people can also be formulated neutrally so that the role is not stereotypically linked to gender (e.g. the award-winning person instead of the award winner).

Typography and pronunciation: Paired forms can be replaced by short forms with additional typographic characters (e.g. asterisk and colon)(Professor*innen, Kolleg:innen) in order to explicitly include non-binary gender identities. The fact that they are grammatically less stringent than forms such as "Kolleg-/-inn-/-en" is accepted in favor of the socio-political and socio-symbolic criteria mentioned above.

• Although they are not recommended by the German Spelling Council in its previous resolutions and statements, these typographical forms can be used in numerous university contexts, especially in the plural^.1 Readability and accessibility (e.g. for the visually impaired or those with little knowledge of German) as well as grammatical correctness should be ensured as far as possible.
• However, the typographical forms can rarely be used sensibly, especially in the singular, in certain cases and in combination with articles, pronouns and adjectives. Expressions such as eine*r Kanzler*in (as a genitive), der*die Ärzt*in, ein:e externe:r Präsident:in are confusing, sometimes grammatically incomplete, tend to be difficult to read and can hardly be read aloud.
  
• The so-called Binnen-I(professors), which has long been established in academic contexts in particular, is now considered by some to be outdated, as it was created in a historical context that was primarily concerned with gender equality and where non-binarity was not yet discussed. However, like the colon and the asterisk, for example, the Binnen-I can also be interpreted in a gender-inclusive way in an updated reading and used in the university because, unlike the slash and bracket, it is not formally limited to an alternation between exactly two forms.
  
• The verbal equivalent of gendering with additional characters is also still a challenge for some: The glottal stop, which is commonly perceived as a "pause in speech" and is also sometimes heard in mass media, is not easy for everyone and remains an individual decision.

4 Further pragmatic tips for daily communication at university

It all depends on the dosage!
It is important that the people addressed or the people referred to feel addressed and valued. Care should be taken to ensure that overly strict solutions can impair the comprehensibility, simplicity, fluidity and elegance of texts. An excess of abstracting substitute forms (passive voice, abstracta) can also appear very impersonal. All of this suggests that these forms should always be used consciously and in appropriate doses.

Pay attention to the wider context when using language and images!
Instead of an overly strict use of inclusive language forms, good contextualization can also help to convey an appropriate attitude. This includes, for example, a suitable selection of linguistic examples and visual representations that reflect the diversity of the university and avoid stereotypes.

Be creative with linguistic possibilities!
Gender-inclusive, i.e. "generic", forms do not have to be avoided completely. A balanced mixture of forms, which can also be used in a playful way, is often a sensible solution. For example, you can use the couple form when first mentioning the word and thus prepare the context, and then continue with forms that can be understood across genders (interspersed, alternating feminines and masculines) in the course of the text. Forms with additional characters such as colons, asterisks or inverted commas can also be used to symbolize diversity, especially in the plural. However, only one of these additional characters should be used throughout a text.

Be generous and benevolent!
It is important for the university that its members can express themselves without fear and in a factual manner. This should be guided by an empathetic attitude that meets the requirements of the respective context. Conversely, in the interests of successful communication, the addressees should also give greater weight to this basic intention than to individual possible language traps.

5 Sources, further materials and links

This guide is inspired by and partly based on that of the University of Basel(https://www.unibas.ch/dam/jcr:e564e0d9-27c8-49f7-9517-0a2297796bf9/Leitfaden_InklusiveSprache_Universit%C3%A4t%20Basel.pdf).

Here are some further sources:
Deutscher Blinden- und Sehbehindertenverband e. V. (DBSV): Website "Gendern" (after decisions by the board in June 2020 and March 2021). https://www.dbsv.org/gendern.html

Duden overview article: gender-equitable language use. In: Mathilde Hennig (ed. 2021): Duden, vol. 9 (Linguistic doubts. The dictionary for correct and good German), 9th ed. Berlin: Dudenverlag, pp. 400-411.

Kotthoff, Helga (2022): Between legitimate concern and questionable symbolic politics. In: APuZ (Journal of the Federal Agency for Civic Education) 5-7/2022: Gender-equitable language.https://www.bpb.de/shop/zeitschriften/apuz/geschlechtergerechte-sprache-2022/346083/zwischen-berechtigtem-anliegen-und-bedenklicher-symbolpolitik/

Müller-Spitzer, Carolin (2021): Gender-equitable language: Imposition, challenge, necessity? In: Sprachreport 2, pp. 1-12.
https://ids-pub.bsz-bw.de/frontdoor/deliver/index/docId/10408/file/Mueller_Spitzer_Geschlechtergerechte_Sprache_2021.pdf

German Spelling Council (2018): Recommendations on "gender-equitable spelling". Resolution of the German Spelling Council of November 16, 2018 https://www.rechtschreibrat.com/DOX/rfdr_PM_2018-11-16_Geschlechtergerechte_Schreibung.pdf

German Spelling Council (2021): Gender-equitable spelling. Recommendations from 26.03.2021 (press release)
https://www.rechtschreibrat.com/DOX/rfdr_PM_2021-03-26_Geschlechtergerechte_Schreibung.pdf

German Spelling Council (2023): Official rules of German spelling: Supplementary passage special characters. Resolution of the German Spelling Council of 14.07.2023 (press release) https://www.rechtschreibrat.com/amtliches-regelwerk-der-deutschen-rechtschreibung-ergaenzungspassus-sonderzeichen/

Zifonun, Gisela (2018): Democratic duty and the language system. Renewed discussion about gender-equitable language use. In: Language Report vol. 34 (2018), no. 34, pp. 44-56.
https://ids-pub.bsz-bw.de/frontdoor/deliver/index/docId/8290/file/Zifonun_Die_demokratische_Pflicht_2018.pdf

Status: 15.11.2023

¹ This is very much in line with the approach of the German Spelling Council (abbreviated to: Spelling Council), which in its recommendations of 16.11.2018 already stated its intention to observe and analyze "writing usage in various media and groups of writers" for some time to come. The "trial phase" should "not be influenced by premature recommendations and determinations" by the Council. In its press release of 26.03.2021, the Spelling Council continues this strategy. On 14.07.2023, after further consultation, it states in another press release that additional characters such as asterisks and colons "are not part of the core of German orthography". However, it now includes them as typographical "special characters" in the Official Rules for German Orthography, recognizes their increasing "metalinguistic" use in certain areas of society as a fact and at the same time, as in 2021, points out the "grammatical consequential problems" that can be associated with them. The last sentence of the press release states that the development of the overall area is not yet complete and will continue to be monitored.