Gender-neutral pronouns banned in German civil service

Telegraph

4 days ago

Germany's education minister has banned civil servants from using gender-neutral language in documents, in a pushback against a new trend recognising non-binary people.
Karin Prien has told officials that they must stop inserting the so-called 'gender asterisk' into nouns, a means of referring to someone without assuming their gender.
The new rules mean that her civil servants can no longer use words such as 'Kolleg*in [a gender-neutral colleague]' or 'Polizist*in [a gender-neutral police officer]' in written correspondence.
It comes after Italy banned gender-neutral symbols in schools in a similar move last May, arguing that the practice undermined traditional and correct grammar.
In standard German, nouns such as jobs must have a feminine or masculine form (e.g 'Lehrer' for a male teacher and 'Lehrerin' for a female teacher).
When referring to a group of all-female teachers, the feminine 'Lehrerinnen' is used. However, when referring to a group of female and male teachers, the standard grammatical rule is to use the male 'Lehrer' with a plural article.
As a way to make the language more equal between the sexes, and to include and signal support for non-binary people, some Germans have begun adding an asterisk to certain words (e.g 'Lehrer*innen') to make them appear gender-neutral.
Others insert capital letters or an underscore into the middle of a word (e.g Lehrer_in) to achieve the same effect.
'Politically charged gender ideology'
Critics of the practice claim it is confusing and alienates older people, who may not be familiar with modern gender politics. Some politicians have also warned that the practice is an attempt to impose a politically charged gender ideology onto everyday speech.
According to the German tabloid Bild, which first reported the new rule, Ms Prien told colleagues: 'It will come as no surprise to you that the new house rules...clearly instruct that our communication follows the rules of the German Spelling Council and that we write inclusively, but without asterisks and capital letters.'
Germany's Spelling Council is the official body which regulates the spelling of modern standard German and is the final authority on whether the spelling of a word may be changed. It does not currently recognise the use of gender asterisks, meaning they are not officially part of the German language.
'Should not be taught'
Ms Prien has previously called for an end to gender-neutral spellings in schools on similar grounds.
'Gender-sensitive language is important, but special characters such as asterisks, colons and underscores should not be taught and used in school,' she said.
Five regional governments in the German states — Bavaria, Saxony, Hesse, Schleswig-Holstein, and Saxony-Anhalt — have already banned the use of gender-neutral language in official documents.
A German civil servant told The Telegraph that although they are not allowed to use the 'gender asterisk', they are instructed to keep the language as inclusive as possible while adhering to traditional grammar rules.
[When referring to teachers that could be male or female] 'I mostly write 'Lehrerinnen und (and) Lehrer,' they said.