quote:

How much of a push is there in other languages (Romance and Germanic that have gendered nouns) to de-gender everything?

Japanese does not have gendered nouns, but there are job titles (e.g., nurse, fireman) that are (were) gendered. A while back (10+ years ago maybe) there was a big push to adopt gender-neutral terms, and there is a (penalty-less) law that gender-specific job title words can no longer be used in job postings, for example. Those terms have largely caught on. But again, it's not the same as Romance languages, and it really is a very narrow range of terminology.

Jon, re your twitter link... if we were not working from home, I would (casually) ask some of my colleagues (who are NSs of Spanish who advocate for LatinX) what their take is.

But since we're working from home, I feel like it would kind of awkward at best, confrontational at worst, to do all that in email...

Real live Hispanics are 20 times more likely to be offended by the term than to use it.

https://www.politico.com/news/...s-latinx-term-523776

As Julian Sanchez said:

“There is something very strange about the widespread media adoption of a term for a group of people, which the vast majority of that group either does not recognize or actively dislikes. I thought we didn’t do that anymore?”

I think people who use this term really need to look inside themselves and ask who they’re using it for and why.

It's a matter of the base within the D's. Young lefty activists of the past and present have been obsessed with policing and changing language ... the vanguard of progress! So now within the D's we have a conflict. Don't say Latinx and offend the activists. Say it and offend 40% of the occasional Latino voter population.

I find it amusing that Latinx gets the "red underlining" from the spellcheck software.

French has a new pronoun, “iel” which is neither masculine nor feminine. It’s derived from “il” and “elle.”

But does one use the masculine of feminine adjective with a non-gendered pronoun? French is hard!

gender neutral French pronoun iel

Next we can work on the terms for LGBTs and their allies, including cis gender terms and pronouns to use, as well as what each will be wearing.

I am so confused. :

Have asked, "Are you Hispanic." and gotten a smile and a "Yes", so I use that.

But secretly "they" despised you for not using Latinx...

quote:

Originally posted by Piano*Dad:
But secretly "they" despised you for not using Latinx...

I think this is a good example of "whitesplaining."

It's so weird that Latinx is developing in a way that words for black people did not.

First we were Negro. WE decided we wanted to be "colored."

Then WE decided we wanted to be "Black."

Then WE decided we wanted to be "African American."

And now WE have decided we want to be "Black," but we're tolerant of "African American."

I do not believe white people drove any of that.

Until Latinos start using Latinx in large numbers, I'm going to respect their right to decide rather than the liberals who are pushing Latinx.

I don’t have a dog in this fight. Last time I was on a college campus was during the Carter administration.

But let me say that this sort of argument has become overwhelmingly tedious and I’m out.

quote:

Originally posted by Piano*Dad:
Hey, I think I said much of this

I'm very sorry, but that's Megan McArdle, and Steve is convinced that everything she says is incredibly stupid. He must not have clicked the link or seen the author.

(I think she's right on the mark here, as she often is.)

Oh Gawwwd, the "I" word. He even works "colonial" in there. It's almost like a parody of left-wing speak in order to try, vainly, to convince the left-wing speakers to change their progressive ways and leave Spanish alone.

Funny thing, SPANISH itself is the imperialist colonial language that smashed its footprint down on the oppressed peoples of the New World. Oh no, "new" is a Eurocentric colonial word. Oops. I can't speak. Everything I say offends someone! Is "native" OK any more?

You want to see and feel simmering resentments? Go to New Mexico. Activists are pulling down obelisks and statues there like in the rest of the country. But there, the only easy target is the US Cavalry. No Johnny Reb stuff to disassemble. The Anglos are left wing enough not to put up too much of a fuss. Attempts to rip away names like Oñate and DeVargas, however, are met with stony Hispanic resistance. That's THEIR colonialist Conquistadors, after all!