Rodnoosjetljiv jezik na primjeru njemačkih časopisa Brigitte i Der Spiegel
Authors:   , Jurić Ana 
Published: April 2024

On the basis of the comparative analysis of texts of the German biweekly magazine Brigitte and the weekly magazine Der Spiegel and under the presumption that gender-sensitive language is more consistently used in magazines intended for women, this dissertation was aimed at establishing the use of gender-sensitive linguistic elements and the measure in which the guidelines for the use of gender-sensitive language are observed, as well as at determining the measure in which women are present in the contemporary standard German language. The results of the comparative analysis were verified on five texts of the German men’s magazine Beef!. Since the issue of gender-sensitive language is closely connected to the issue of gender equality, it must be viewed not only from the linguistic perspective, but also from the perspective of society. From the perspective of the presented theoretical framework (Humboldt 1936, Whorf 1941, Saussure 1967, Löffler 1985, Eckert/McConnell-Ginet 1992, Trudgill 2000, Lakoff 1973, 2004b, Kresic 2006, Diewald/Steinhauer 2017, Hill 2017, Hymes 2020) language and society are closely interdependent. One cannot exist without the other and both are constantly developing and changing under mutual influence. Thus, also the demand for gendersensitive language constitutes a linguistic change that has emerged from social changes, i.e. the changed social role of women. Before the emergence of feminist linguistics, differences in linguistic behaviour between men and women were attributed to their different biological and mental abilities (Jespersen 1922). However, feminist criticism of language (Lakoff 1973, Erfurt 1988, Pusch 1996, Samel 2000, Lakoff 1973, 2004b, Trömel-Plötz 2007, Tannen 2010, Pišković 2018) has shown that these differences, rather than being innate, have arisen from different positions of power and social roles which in turn cause language to be sexist when referring to women. One of the key issues that has been criticised is the use of generic masculine when referring to mixed groups of people causing women to be non-visible in language. To avoid the use of the generic masculine and ensure the visibility of women in language, many recommendations and guidelines for the use of gender-sensitive language have been issued in Germany in the last forty years. The guidelines for the use of gender-sensitive language (Diewald/Steinhauer 2017, guidelines of Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache e.V.) presented in the dissertation give an overview of recommended gender-sensitive and gender-neutral alternatives to the use of the generic masculine. On the basis of these guidelines, the use of lexical elements was analysed in the texts of the two magazines to determine whether recommended gender-sensitive alternatives or the generic masculine are used to refer to persons and if the choice of lexical element affects the realisation of text cohesion and coherence. Cohesion and coherence are two of the seven standards of textuality (Beaugrande/Dressler 1981) that refer to the linguistic structure of a text and ensure that a text has sense and meaning. When the referring to persons is concerned, it is these two standards that show the importance of using gender-sensitive language in conveying the correct sense and meaning of a text to the recipient. To examine the use of lexical elements for the referring to persons a combination of the transphrastic and communicative approach to text was chosen, as it considers both the structure of a text and its communicative function. Both have to be taken account of since a grammatically well-formed sequence of words or sentences does not automatically imply it is a text if it lacks meaning in the communicative situation. The corpus on which the use of gender-sensitive language was examined comprised a total of 773 texts from three German magazines – Brigitte, Der Spiegel and Beef!. The comparative analysis was performed on five different text types of the women’s magazine Brigitte and the news magazine Der Spiegel, namely editorial, column, report, interview and culture related recommendations/reviews. The analysis has shown that gender-sensitive language is more consistently used in texts whose target audience are women, although the use of the generic masculine has been established in certain cases. When referring to persons a variety of the recommended gender-sensitive and gender-neutral solutions from the guidelines for the use of gender-sensitive language are used in the analysed texts of the women’s magazine Brigitte. Although gender-sensitive and gender-neutral lexical elements are used in the news magazine Der Spiegel to refer to persons of both genders, the use of the generic masculine prevails in the analysed texts, especially in case of non-specific reference and names of nations. Also, the choice of gender-sensitive and gender-neutral solutions is more restricted than in Brigitte and abbreviated forms of stating both genders are not used at all in the analysed texts. The analysis has shown that the use of gender-sensitive alternatives in both magazines not only ensures the visibility of women in language, but also ensures the correct realisation of cohesion and coherence. As the analysis has shown, the use of the generic masculine to refer to people of both genders causes problems with the realisation of cohesion and coherence. Problems occur if inappropriate cohesive devices are used, e.g. replacing a feminine or a gender-sensitive noun with a generic masculine paraphrase. In such instances cohesion is not correctly achieved due to the lack of semantic congruence in respect of the referent. In addition to causing incorrect realisation of cohesion, the use of the generic masculine affects the correct realisation of coherence by making the text ambiguous in respect of the referent. The reader of the text can either interpret the generic masculine as referring to both men and women or exclusively to men which violates the communication principle that communication must be clear and unambiguous. In accordance with earlier descriptions of women’s language, women are prone to hyperbole and using adjectives of approbation or admiration. Therefore, the use of adjectives was also examined in both magazines to determine whether their function depends on the target audience of the text. The examination has revealed that adjectives of approbation or admiration, hyperbolic and intensified adjectives are abundantly used in all five analysed text types of the women’s magazine Brigitte in order to make the language more emotional and thus evoke their readers’ emotions and interest. To a lesser extent these adjectives have also been found in the analysed texts of Der Spiegel, especially in the culture related recommendations/reviews. However, the occurrence of these adjectives can be attributed to the fact that they are also a characteristic of journalistic language and style to stress personal opinion and emotional reactions of the authors and to entice readers to act upon their recommendations. The verification of the results of the comparative analysis on a sample of five texts of the men’s magazine Beef! has shown that, contrary to the presumption that gender-sensitive language would not be used in a magazine having a male target audience, certain gender-sensitive alternatives are used, although not consistently and the generic masculine is still used to refer to persons of both genders. The use of the generic masculine causes the same problems with correct realisation of cohesion and coherence as in the analysed texts of Brigitte and Der Spiegel. In respect of the use of adjectives, only four adjectives of approbation or admiration were found in the analysed texts and their occurrence can be attributed to journalistic language and style. The comparative analysis has shown that gender-sensitive language is not consistently used either in Brigitte or Der Spiegel and that the generic masculine is still used to refer to persons of both genders. Nevertheless, the guidelines for the use of gender-sensitive language are more consistently observed in the biweekly Brigitte and a variety of different gender-sensitive solutions for reference to persons of both genders has been identified in its texts. It can therefore be concluded that gender-sensitive language depends on the target group of the magazine and that its use is more consistent in magazines intended for women. However, it is encouraging to see that gender-sensitive language is used not only in women’s magazines, but also in news and men’s magazines, although the use of the generic masculine prevails when referring to persons of both genders. The use of the generic masculine for professional titles is especially problematic as women are thereby denied their professional identity, made invisible and told that they are not equal to men in the same position. Like every linguistic change, gender- sensitive language must first be accepted by society and requires a time of adjustment. Only after it has been accepted by those parts of society that are resisting its use will it be able to fully take root. The fact that it is used in magazines whose target audience are not women proves that the German society is aware of the changed social role of women and the need for language to reflect this change, and at the same time gender-sensitive language not only ensures equality of women in language but also supports and ensures their equality in society.