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SonntagsBlick: Mr. Lange, do you want to ban the gender star?
Joseph Long: Why do you think so?
The German Spelling Council wants to include in its official set of rules the transition of special characters, such as a gender star or gender colon, to be “outside the spelling norm”.
The Gender Equality Writing Working Group discussed a draft that will supplement the official set of rules that the entire Council will decide on 14 July. We argued heavily several times. The result is not yet written. The discussion was very controversial, as one would expect from this topic.
What does this mean: “outside the spelling norm”?
Special characters in words intended to indicate that people of all genders are meant are against the norm. This means that German-speaking countries do not abide by the official rules they have agreed upon by mutual agreement.
Josef Lange (75) has been President of the German Spelling Council since 2017. A member of the CSU, he served as State Secretary at the Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony, Germany, until 2013.
Josef Lange (75) has been President of the German Spelling Council since 2017. A member of the CSU, he served as State Secretary at the Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony, Germany, until 2013.
Do you want to ban the gender star now or not?
We cannot ban anything. However, we can and must say things that are not correct in terms of spelling. The German Spelling Council represents the full breadth of public debate. In this sense, we have very tough discussions. I assume that the draft will not leave the Council unchanged. This is normal for committees with 40 members – so it is neither alarming nor disturbing.
Still, the trend is clear: The sex star is not a variant you approve of.
Until now, signs such as the gender star have never appeared in German orthography. The state gave us the signal that we need to position ourselves as a parliament. If we find that the gender star is against the norm according to current regulations, it is a sign that government officials can continue to operate.
What does this mean specifically?
This should be different from Belgium to South Tyrol. I expect a very controversial debate in Germany. There are federal states that say, “We’re bound by the rules.” This means that the gender star in school articles is considered a typo. And there are federal states that see it differently and say that schoolchildren are allowed to deviate from the rules – I personally find this questionable.
Why suspect?
State institutions cannot say, “We are not interested in a set of rules that we have agreed upon together on the recommendation of the German Spelling Council”. I consider it a great success that German-speaking countries agreed to develop uniform rules for the German language as early as 1901. Understandability is about credibility and clearing up misunderstandings.
The city governments of Zurich and Bern are partly in contact with the Gendertern.
This is also the case in some cities in Germany. I think this is the road to the country. I find the uniform spelling rules more forward-looking for the largest language community in Europe in an increasingly internationalized world. Especially since learning German is already difficult. We shouldn’t make them more complicated.
Do you send free campaign ads to the AfD in Germany and the SVP in Switzerland?
The German Spelling Council does not provide campaign ammunition to any political party. We observe the language and its spelling. It is about reliable linguistic and linguistically logical justifications.
Like it or not, your decisions are being politically abused.
Language is exploited in every way. The AfD wants us to work for the purity of the German language. Language does not know the law of purity. According to Martin Luther, language is a living being and continues to evolve. It depends on the passage of time. Its use also depends on political developments.
Wouldn’t that be an argument for the gender star? Some countries have a non-binary gender, Switzerland is not that far off yet.
Decisions of the highest courts in Germany in 2017, Austria in 2018 and Belgium in 2019 state that everyone has the right to be identified by gender on the marital status register. They did not decide that gender star or gender column was the correct term for nonbinary gender. The German Spelling Council monitors spelling usage and spelling change. Gender asterisks or colons in the word are so far from common that we can say: We’re going to include it in the set of rules.
What do you call a person who sees himself as neither a man nor a woman?
The sign of treating each other with respect is a matter of attitude – not a matter of asterisks or colons. It is not right to be rude to people because they are neither men nor women. The brutalization of morality worries me a lot.
Does the gender discussion bother you or are you happy that your work is getting attention?
It would be helpful if the public debate was conducted with a little more composure and a little less emotion. And if everyone debating it listens to each other’s arguments as well. Sometimes I get the impression that we don’t listen to each other. Then there are the fiercely heated debates that lead to social divisions.
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
