Shifting social norms as a driving force for linguistic change: Struggles about language and gender in the German Bundestag

TL;DR

This paper examines how shifting social norms influence language change in the German Bundestag, highlighting historical debates on gender and language and their implications for current gender-inclusive language practices.

Contribution

It provides a historical analysis of language and gender debates in the German Bundestag from the 1980s to present, illustrating how social norms drive linguistic change.

Findings

Language and gender have been a recurring issue in Bundestag debates since the 1980s.

Linguistic practices reflect social norms, including gender-inclusive designations and forms.

Historical debates inform current discussions on gender-inclusive language forms with symbols.

Abstract

This paper focuses on language change based on shifting social norms, in particular with regard to the debate on language and gender. It is a recurring argument in this debate that language develops "naturally" and that "severe interventions" - such as gender-inclusive language is often claimed to be - in the allegedly "organic" language system are inappropriate and even "dangerous". Such interventions are, however, not unprecedented. Socially motivated processes of language change are neither unusual nor new. We focus in our contribution on one important political-social space in Germany, the German Bundestag. Taking other struggles about language and gender in the plenaries of the Bundestag as a starting point, our article illustrates that language and gender has been a recurring issue in the German Bundestag since the 1980s. We demonstrate how this is reflected in linguistic practices of the Bundestag, by the use of a) designations for gays and lesbians; b) pair forms such as B\"urgerinnen und B\"urger (female and male citizens); and c) female forms of addresses and personal nouns ('Pr\"asidentin' in addition to 'Pr\"asident'). Lastly, we will discuss implications of these earlier language battles for the currently very heated debate about gender-inclusive language, especially regarding new forms with gender symbols like the asterisk or the colon (Lehrer*innen, Lehrer:innen; male*female teachers) which are intended to encompass all gender identities.