For the Dean of the Faculty of Languages, "Inclusive language makes visible the struggle for the extension of rights" – 25/03/2019

For Cristina Pérez, dean of the Faculty of Languages ​​of the University of Córdoba, inclusive language puts on the table other conflicts: those that women and LGBT collectives give on their visibility. And is it the language is resistant to changes, struggles and the extension of rights. In this way, new senses are created in speech. "Those who use everyday language appropriate the language and update it.In this sense, the Academy is lagging because its role is to preserve a regulation that over time eventually fossilize. It is there, in this tension, that an interesting fight takes place ", underlines this specialist, who will give Monday a conference on this subject within the framework of the Festival of the Word.

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Every Monday.

– On the eve of a new Language Congress, the Royal Academy insists that some language developments are artificial and unnecessary. What do you think?

-As an academic, I take the theme of inclusive language very seriously. And as a woman of that time, I realize that language is the surface on which other struggles have an impact. About fifteen years ago, I was studying in Spain and no one could open a conference without saying "welcome and welcome". But curiously, the question exploded here in Argentina, at a time when women claim other rights; for example, the sanction of the law of voluntary termination of pregnancy.

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–Inclusive language is only a formal subject?

– no Inclusive language has to do with visible struggles in language. The language is composed of stories, pacts, words whose meaning changes. When a book is made in English, the word "disappeared" is still written in Spanish because it has a special meaning for us. My responsibility is to become aware of these problems that evolve in the culture. I am not just the dean of a faculty who is only interested in the fossilized system of language. I am also a person attentive to the issues we discuss outside of the academy, because the language is also present. In this sense, the RAE has reviewed some things.

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–For example?

– Feminist collectives had the capacity to formulate demands in time and to modify definitions such as the "weaker bad" that the RAE changed in 2017. Or the words added in the dictionary presented in December 2018. For example, the meaning of "sorority" that appears as a group of women with the decision to take charge. This is the new definition of the RAE compared to a word that already had another meaning, more crystallized.

What then happens in the tension between norm and language as living matter?

– Academies are regulatory in nature. It is so that they take what people have decided to do and make it the norm. The Academy never goes before the speakers: it is the speakers who make up the figurehead. If it was the Academy, the language teachers would speak the Latin of the seventh century. All the word modification processes have been done by the speakers, despite the Academy and despite the written language, which is the most cultivated variant of the system. The language of culture is like the pair of shoes we have reserved for the holidays. They do not deform, they remain almost intact. On the other hand, the word that is in the mouth of the people is the one that is changing rapidly. The most basic principle of speech is fluid communication. And, although it does not seem friendly, it is governed by the law of least effort. If it is hard to say "September", it will finally be "September".

– The RAE also stated: "The current trend towards indiscriminate deployment of the fund goes against the principle of language economy".

– It is true that it is a little annoying to hear "students", "ladies and gentlemen", "welcome and welcome". I am sorry if we disturb them, gentlemen of the academy. But here a woman is killed every day. In addition, we earn less than men, we are the secretaries and not the board of directors, we do not charge for housework or the months of leave that correspond to us. So, excuse us from disturbing you with the "a".

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– There are non-binary people who do not feel represented by the "o" or "a" and offer the "e" or the "x". What is your position?

– This is a legitimate aspiration. However, it can still produce a lack of empathy with many stakeholders. And that could set back what is earned. Nevertheless, it is necessary to continue to fight, knowing that the satisfaction will not be urgent because the processes of the language are very slow. And they are made on the basis of agreements that are not concluded overnight.

– How do these changes affect educational institutions?

– It's a pact that already works. For example, many teachers say "we can talk to e & # 39; in clbad but when they present the spelling test, I want it to masculine". It has also happened that students say, "One of the participants in this group does not want us to talk with 'e' or 'x', so we present our masculine writing." The important thing is that they register this decision because that is what explains the conflict. The use of inclusive language is not systematized, it is in a pivotal instance that is very interesting because of the embarrbadment it generates. It's like a small fire that draws attention to ongoing social changes.