Le Robert, one of the main dictionaries for France, said in a statement Wednesday that he added the pronoun “iel” to his word list a few weeks ago after his researchers noticed an increase in pronoun use in recent months.
In English, the gender neuter “they” has been used for several years by people who do not identify themselves as male or female. Many public figures – including the Vice President of the United States, Kamala HarrisUse gender neutral in Twitter profiles, email signatures, or bios to show solidarity with non-binary people.
Le Robert’s decision sparked heated debate in the French press and on social media, with several politicians challenging the term. The country has grammar as an essential part of civilization.
The French government is completely against the idea, and the Ministry of Education has resisted previous attempts to incorporate an inclusive language into the school curriculum.
“Universal writing is not the future of the French language,” Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer tweeted on Tuesday (16).
Blanquer added that he supported the protest of National Assembly member François Jolivier, of Marcha’s mother! President’s party. MacronAgainst the work of Lou Robert.
Jolivier wrote to the Académie Française, an organization considered the guardian of the French language, saying that the pronoun “iel” and its derivatives “ielle, iels, and ielles” were an insult to French values.
For Blanquer, the dictionary’s “singular campaign” is “an overt ideological intervention that undermines our common language…this kind of initiative pollutes our language and divides users rather than unites them,” he wrote.
Charles Pimbinet, director of Le Robert, said that dictionaries include many words that reflect ideas or tendencies without her approval or disapproval of those ideas, and that as the word “iel” is increasingly used, it is useful to include one description.
Le Robert’s mission is to monitor and report on the development of a diverse French language as it develops. Identifying words that speak for the world helps in understanding it better,” Pimbient wrote.
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