ORF causes excitement with a questionable gender name!

ORF causes excitement with a questionable gender name!

Ö1, Österreich - In the Ö1 morning journal, the use of the wording "Neffinnen and Neffen" caused a stir. This new word creation was a deviation from the conventional name "nieces and nephews" and quickly became a topic of conversation on social media. Communication expert Daniel Kapp commented on the incident on X (formerly Twitter) and pointed out that such a linguistic innovation was taken up by many users. Some viewed them as a harmless promise, while others criticized the exaggerated application of gender -friendly language. A user clearly expressed his dissatisfaction with the ORF and this new development.

The incident reflects a larger social and media topic: the debate about gender language in the media. Rebecca Beerheide, who deals intensively with this problem, found that many media already use advanced forms such as double racing. You and the journalist association launched the "Genderlicht" portal to offer help for gender -sensitive ways of working. The aim is to support gender -sensitive media work, even if there are reservations against the use of double racing, since critics argue that such formulations extend texts and disturb the flow of reading.

challenges of gender -sensitive language

Beerheide emphasizes that women often do not feel adequately addressed if both genders are not taken into account in the language. Nevertheless, there are also voices that indicate that it is not always necessary to explicitly name both genders. Instead, more creative must be dealt with with language in order to find gender -friendly expressions that at the same time do not unnecessarily extend the text. The discussion about gender -friendly language requires a deeper examination of the content and structures of texts, which is why it should be left to the respective media how to deal with it.

In the current debate about gender -sensitive language, linguistic change in society is also evident. Language changes steadily, often unconsciously, and these changes affect both grammatical aspects and meanings. The social negotiation process on gender -friendly language has not yet been completed, which leads to an intensive discussion, since language is considered to be constituted as identity. Media professionals play a crucial role in which they are standing standards that can influence society, while at the same time the influence of the community of all German -speaking people is crucial when it comes to acceptance of such linguistic norms.

The incident at Ö1 is not just an isolated case. It stands for a broader examination of the language that has to adapt to the changes in our society. The response to how strong the public discussion about gender -friendly language practices is and how important it is to reflect these topics not only in the media, but also in everyday life.