Why France has rejected the use of an inclusive language in national education

Emmanuel Macron’s government strongly rejected the use of inclusive language in the national education of France. A circular from the Ministry of Education considered that the formula which incorporates a female suffix into a male name across a period is a barrier to learning students and should not be used as an alternative.

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The circular signed by Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer estimated that the adoption of an inclusive language modifies the respect of the rules of concordance “usually expected within the framework of educational programs”.

At the same time, he stressed that its use in education “constitutes an obstacle to the understanding of writing” and affects reading aloud and pronunciation because an oral transcription of this type of spelling is not possible.

The French government’s resolution was published on Wednesday in the Official Journal.

What the ministry said

According to the ministry, the use of this type of language could be particularly harmful to children with certain disabilities or learning problems.

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The Minister declared that learning and mastering the French language “help fight stereotypes and they guarantee equal opportunities for all students ”in the country.

And he also said that the “complexity and instability” of inclusive language is an obstacle to achieving this goal.

However, he asked to promote the feminization of certain terms, in particular charges, “while respecting grammatical rules”.

In this context, Blanquer said that these “feminization rules” are already applied in administrative documents.

Jean-Michel Blanquer, Minister of Education

These “feminization rules” are already applied in administrative documents.

The debate in France

In recent times, feminist groups have championed the use of inclusive language and denounced that the current language implies an “invisibility” of women.

The debate reached the Académie française de la langue, which spoke out against its use in October 2017. At that time, it considered it an aberration.

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That same year, as reported by the agency EFE, the government ordered the ban of inclusive language in official texts and laws.

Meanwhile, the circular from the Ministry of Education included a new post from the Académie française de la langue.

“At a time when the fight against gender discrimination involves the fight against domestic violence, pay disparity or harassment, inclusive writing, even if she seems to participate in this movementIt is not only counterproductive for this cause but also detrimental to the practice and the intelligibility of the language ”, indicated the organization.