Language of the future: gender or just a linguistic dispute?

Language of the future: gender or just a linguistic dispute?

In St. Pölten, migrants experience a tough challenge: Despite their often high qualifications, many fail to gain a foothold in Austria. As Noen.at reports, language barriers and bureaucratic processes such as the nostrification process that can take years that can take years. Many women who have built out excellent careers in their home countries are forced to start from the front. Everyday challenges such as childcare and mobility that need to be mastered before they can realize their professional dreams are particularly stressful.

The debate about gender -friendly language

parallel to the challenges with which migrants are confronted, the discussion about gender language has flared up hot. The philosopher Svenja Flaßpöhler explains in Deutschlandfunk that the question of gender not only reveals endings and symbols, but also affects deeper cultural and social structures. The change in language is intended to promote an equal society, but Flaßpöhler doubts the direct connection between linguistic change and the reality of gender equality. It emphasizes that the social reality, in which many women are underrepresented in particular in academic and leading professions, represents the real problem.

fla-pöhler criticizes the narrowing of the discourse to linguistic subtleties, such as the use of the inland i or gender star. In her opinion, the focus should be on the actual social challenges that determine people's realities of life. The debate about equality could therefore be significantly more efficient in social perception if it focuses not only on linguistic norms, but also on the grievances at the roots. In a context in which migrants are already struggling for everyday challenges, the question of language and its justice remains an interesting but also complex challenge.