gender assignment language

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Jenny Audring Jenny Audring Leiden University
https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199384655.013.43
Published online: 07 July 2016

Gender is a grammatical feature, in a family with person, number, and case. In the languages that have grammatical gender—according to a representative typological sample, almost half of the languages in the world—it is a property that separates nouns into classes. These classes are often meaningful and often linked to biological sex, which is why many languages are said to have a “masculine” and a “feminine” gender. A typical example is Italian, which has masculine words for male persons ( il bambino “the. m little boy”) and feminine words for female persons ( la bambina “the. f little girl”). However, gender systems may be based on other semantic distinctions or may reflect formal properties of the noun. In all cases, the defining property is agreement: the behavior of associated words. In Italian, the masculine gender of the noun bambino matches its meaning as well as its form—the noun ends in – o and inflects like a regular –o class noun—but the true indicator of gender is the form of the article. This can be seen in words like la mano “the. f hand,” which is feminine despite its final - o , and il soprano “the. m soprano,” which is masculine, although it usually refers to a woman. For the same reasons, we speak of grammatical gender only if the distinction is reflected in syntax; a language that has words for male and female persons or animals does not necessarily have a gender system.

Across the languages of the world, gender systems vary widely. They differ in the number of classes, in the underlying assignment rules, and in how and where gender is marked. Since agreement is a definitional property, gender is generally absent in isolating languages as well as in young languages with little bound morphology, including sign languages. Therefore, gender is considered a mature phenomenon in language.

Gender interacts in various ways with other grammatical features. For example, it may be limited to the singular number or the third person, and it may be crosscut by case distinctions. These and other interrelations can complicate the task of figuring out a gender system in first or second language acquisition. Yet, children master gender early, making use of a broad variety of cues. By contrast, gender is famously difficult for second-language learners. This is especially true for adults and for learners whose first language does not have a gender system. Nevertheless, tests show that even for this group, native-like competence is possible to attain.

morphosyntax
classification

1. What is Grammatical Gender?

In everyday speech, the word “gender” is associated with the biological and social differences between women and men. In addition, people might know that languages can have masculine and feminine words . So at first blush, it may seem that grammatical gender is a reflection of natural gender in grammar.

1.1 Kinds and Concepts

The view that grammatical gender mirrors natural gender has been widespread since antiquity and is still evident in the terms “masculine,” “feminine,” and “neuter” (historically meaning “neither”), which are used to label individual gender distinctions, especially in Indo-European languages. Indeed, many languages show a match between natural and grammatical gender. Clear examples from across the world are Tamil in India, Dizi in Ethiopia, Diyari in Southern Australia (now extinct), and Bagvalal in the Caucasus (Corbett, 1991 ; Kibort & Corbett, 2008 ). In these and many other languages, nouns denoting male persons are masculine, and nouns denoting female persons are feminine. Other nouns are treated in varied ways: they may be added to the masculine or the feminine gender or may occupy one or several genders of their own.

However, not all languages function like this. First, many languages—slightly more than half of the languages in a representative sample (Corbett, 2013a )—do not have grammatical gender at all. Of those that do, some disregard the difference between male and female and assign all words for humans or for living beings to the same class. Yet other languages have a special “vegetable” gender for plants, a gender for foodstuffs, a gender for large or important things, a gender for liquids or abstracts, and many more. Such patterns remind us that the word gender (Greek: γένος ‎) originally meant “kind” rather than “sex.” While the split into male and female is the most common semantic base of gender systems (Corbett, 2013b ), it is by no means the only option.

Relaxing the expectation that grammatical gender is always related to biological sex also opens up the possibility that a language may have more than two or three genders. Indeed, systems can be far richer, with a maximum of around 20 different genders found in Fula, a language of the Niger-Congo family spoken in Nigeria. In descriptions of such large systems, it is common practice to label the various classes with numbers rather than names. This is not only more practical, it also reflects the fact that not all of these classes are meaningful. In fact, most classes in Fula do not have a clear semantic content (Breedveld, 1995 , p. 297).

The observation that gender does not always perfectly align with meaning holds for almost half of the relevant languages (47% of the 112 gender languages in Corbett, 2013c ). This may mean either that one or two classes are meaningful while the others are not, or that all classes contain words for semantic as well as non-semantic reasons. The first situation can be seen in the Nakh-Daghestanian language Tsez (Comrie, 1999 , example 1 ), the second in the Indo-European language Latvian (example 2 ).

(1) Tsez (Nakh-Daghestanian): Open in new tab Gender I – male persons Gender II – female persons + various other Gender III – various Gender IV – various Open in new tab

(2) Latvian (IE, Baltic, Heiko Marten p.c.): Open in new tab vecā māte ‘old mother’ – feminine for semantic reasons vecā māja ‘old house’ – feminine for formal reasons vecais tēvs ‘old father’ – masculine for semantic reasons vecais koks ‘old tree’ – masculine for formal reasons Open in new tab

The imperfect match between gender and meaning has inspired two diverging lines of thinking, both dating back to the early Greek scholars (see Kilarski, 2013 for an overview of the scientific history). The first sought to restore the match with the help of hidden layers of meaning attributed to metaphorical extension, personification, or culture-specific classification often inaccessible to the outside observer (notable advocates of this view were Grimm, 1831 and von Humboldt, 1822 ), but the idea also appears in Lakoff ( 1987 ). The second acknowledges that gender is, to a large extent, a matter of grammar—a classification of nouns rather than of kinds and concepts.

1.2 Classifying Nouns

Gender is one of the systems of noun classification, alongside classifiers on one end (3) and inflectional classes on the other (4).

(3) Classifiers in Jacaltec (Kanjobalan Mayan: Craig, 1992 , p. 284; adapted from Aikhenvald, 2000 , p. 82). Open in new tab xil naj xuwan no7 lab’a saw CL:MAN John CL:ANIMAL snake ‘(man) John saw the (animal) snake’ Open in new tab

(4) Inflectional classes in Latin (from Haspelmath & Sims, 2010 , p. 159) Open in new tab o-class u-class Nominative singular hort-us grad-us Genitive singular hort-ī grad-ūs Open in new tab

In (3), the classifiers naj “man” and no7 “animal” indicate that John is a person, while the snake is an animal. In (4), the nouns hortus “garden” and gradus “step” have the same ending in the nominative singular, but different endings in other cases. The different forms used to express the same feature, here genitive singular, show that the two nouns belong to different inflection classes or “declensions.” While both classifiers and declensions are means to classify nouns, they differ in many respects. Among other things, classifiers are meaningful, while most inflectional class systems have at best weak links with semantics.

Gender seems to have affinities with both systems. We find historical evidence that gender may develop out of classifier systems (see section 3.1, The Birth of Gender Systems). On the other hand, genders often partially match inflectional classes when a language has both, leading linguists to think that the systems strive to cooperate or—arguably—that one determines the other (Doleschal, 2000 ; Faarlund, Lie, & Vannebo, 1997 ; Bittner, 2000 ; Kürschner & Nübling, 2011 ; see Enger, 2004 and Thornton, 2001 for critical discussion, and Aronoff, 1994 on the general relation between inflectional class and gender).

Gender also has links with derivational morphology. Many languages have morphological means of deriving words for male and female persons and animals, with morphemes that resemble the gender markers found elsewhere in the language. For example, the South-American language Mosetén has pairs of nouns as in (5), whose endings, – si’ (feminine) and – tyi’ (masculine), also appear as agreement markers on adjectives, relative clause markers, numerals, and other words (Sakel, 2004 , pp. 86–88, translations adjusted).

(5) nanasi’ ‘girl’ nanatyi’ ‘boy’ minsi’ ‘female person’ mintyi’ ‘male person’

The argument for analyzing nominal – si’ and – tyi’ in (5) as derivational morphemes rather than as gender markers is that the language does not usually express gender overtly on the noun (Sakel, 2004 , p. 86).

In addition, derivational suffixes are typically associated with a fixed gender value. For example, French nouns ending in - elle are feminine: ruelle “alleyway,” dentelle “lace.” Such regularities may even override semantic motivations in favor of another gender value. A classic example is the French noun sentinelle “guard,” which often denotes a male person but is feminine nonetheless.

1.3 Agreement Classes

The property that sets gender apart from other types of noun classification is agreement, the morphological expression on words other than the noun. While languages can mark gender on the noun itself—such systems are called overt gender systems—this is not a necessary characteristic. Marking on associated words, however, is required: without agreement, we have no evidence for gender (Corbett, 1991 ; Hockett, 1958 , p. 231; see Audring ( 2011 ) for a number of key references from the extensive literature on gender agreement). Common places where gender agreement shows up are adjectives, verbs, and pronouns, and many languages also mark gender on articles, numerals, and question words (see example 6 from Russian).

(6) Russian, gender agreement on numerals, adjectives, and verbs (Stephan Audring, p.c.) Open in new tab odn-a pust-aja butylka upal-a one- f.sg empty- f.sg bottle( f)sg fall.over. pst - f.sg ‘one empty bottle fell over’ Open in new tab

More rarely, gender agreement can be found on adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and even words for “yes” and “no”—see example ( 7 ) from a variety of Dutch spoken in Belgium.

(7) Wambeek Dutch, gender marked on “yes” (Van Craenenbroeck, 2010 , p. 211) Open in new tab Kom Marie mergen? – Jui-s. come. prs.3sg Mary tomorrow – yes- f.sg ‘Is Mary coming tomorrow? – Yes, she is.’ Open in new tab

Agreement is what makes gender a morphosyntactic feature, together with number and person, and distinguishes it from inflectional class and from classes of derived words. Examples ( 8 ) and ( 9 ) illustrate the difference.

(8) Gender vs. inflectional class (Italian; Thornton, 2001 , p. 485) Open in new tab Gender Class 1 Class 2 Class 3 Class 4 Class 5 Class 6 sg. – o , sg. – a , sg. – e , sg. – a , sg. – o , invariable pl. - i pl. - e pl. - i pl. - i pl. - a Masculine libro – padre papa uovo bar ‘book’ ‘father’ ‘pope’ ‘egg’ ‘coffee shop’ Feminine mano casa madre ala uova star ‘hand’ ‘house’ ‘mother’ ‘wing’ ‘eggs’ ‘famous person’ Open in new tab

Table ( 8 ) shows that the relation between gender and inflectional class in Italian is not 1 to 1—every inflectional class except class 2 contains nouns of both genders, although there are large statistical tendencies (e.g., class 1 nouns are typically masculine). For gender, agreement is decisive; although mano inflects like a masculine noun, it takes feminine agreements, while papa looks like it should be feminine but takes masculine agreements.

(9) Gender vs. classes of derived words (German) Open in new tab Suffix Example Gender - heit die Freiheit ‘the freedom’ feminine - ung die Ordnung ‘the order’ feminine - (i)tät die Kontinuität ‘the continuity’ feminine - nis die Finsternis ‘the darkness’ feminine das Gedächtnis ‘the memory’ neuter - tum der Reichtum ‘the wealth’ masculine das Wachstum ‘the growth’ neuter Open in new tab

In Table ( 9 ), we see that gender and suffix classes are not equivalent; the suffixes - heit, -ung , and -(i)tät take the same gender agreement in German, while the suffix - nis is found in both feminine and neuter nouns, and the suffix - tum is associated with masculine or neuter gender. Again, agreement is what is decisive for gender, not the noun’s own morphology.

Summing up, gender can be viewed from three basic angles. First, it can be seen as a classification system for concepts, based on properties such as sex or animacy, or shape and size. Second, it can be taken as a system for classifying nouns, which highlights its affinities with inflectional and derivational morphology as well as with classifiers. Third, gender can be viewed as a system of agreement classes, defined via the behavior of associated words. The last view, which takes a syntactic rather than a semantic criterion as foundational, is prevalent in the current linguistic literature.

1.4 Gender and Other Grammatical Features

Gender interacts in various ways with other grammatical features, especially person, number, and case, but also tense. These interactions often manifest themselves in the form of conditions; gender marking may be restricted to a part of the paradigm. A well-known condition has been formulated as one of Greenberg’s universals: “A language never has more gender categories in nonsingular numbers than in the singular” (Greenberg, 1963 , p. 112; Universal 37). While a number of counterexamples have been found (Plank & Schellinger, 1997 ), it appears to be generally true that many languages mark fewer genders in the plural than in the singular, or that they neutralize gender completely in non-singular environments. Similar conditions can be found between other features. Another proposed universal is that “[i]f a language has gender distinctions in the first person, it always has gender distinctions in the second or third person, or in both” (Greenberg, 1963 , p. 96; Universal 44). This means that gender marking in pronominal paradigms is often present in the second and/or third person, but absent in the first. In other cases, conditions apply between gender and tense. In Russian, for example, verbs agree in gender (example 6 ), but only in the past tense.

A further complexity in many languages is the interaction between gender and case. Especially when the same morphological markers express both features at once, children may have a harder time figuring out the forms and functions of the two systems (see section 4.1 below).

1.5 A Canonical Gender System

Languages across the world vary widely and interestingly. In some instances, there may be doubts whether a language has grammatical gender or not. Therefore, it is useful to look at a few basic properties expected in a gender system, and some common divergences (for more on canonical agreement, canonical features, and canonical gender, see Corbett, 2006 , Corbett, 2012 , and Corbett & Fedden, 2015 ).

First, we expect that if a language has grammatical gender, then every noun in that language should belong to exactly one gender. This means that the system accommodates all nouns (rather than just a subset) and that, in principle, each noun has only one fixed gender value. Divergences from this ideal can be sporadic or systematic. In sporadic cases, we find individual nouns varying in the agreements they trigger. For example in Hebrew, a few nouns are reported to have either feminine or masculine gender, for instance, dereh “road, way” (Aikhenvald, 2000 , p. 44). This is an example of a double-gender noun (Corbett, 1991 , pp. 181–182). A different case is hybrid nouns (Corbett, 1991 , pp. 183–184) such as the Dutch diminutive zusje “(little) sister,” which belongs to the neuter gender but often takes feminine pronouns.

Especially interesting are more systematic cases of variation, where the gender of nouns can be manipulated by the speaker. For example, in languages that associate certain genders with size, high value, or importance, it may be possible to upgrade or downgrade a person or object by placing it into another gender. Example ( 10 ) comes from the Nigerian Bantu language Herero (also known as Otjiherero). The noun for “knife” belongs to class 11, as indicated by the prefix (o)ru - (10a), but it can be used with the class 7 prefix (o)tji - to mean “big knife” (10b). The new class prefix is added before the existing one. Note how the class change is reflected in the agreement on the possessive pronoun.

(10) Herero (Kavari & Marten, 2009 ; glosses simplified) a. oru-vyó rw-ándje 11-knife 11-my ‘my knife’ b. otji-ru-vyó tjá-ndje 7-11-knife 7-my ‘my big knife’

In systems such as this, gender may be difficult to distinguish from (or indeed be intertwined with) diminution and/or augmentation, as well as lexical derivation. Similar difficulties may arise when there is overlap between gender and number (see Corbett & Hayward, 1987 , for a famous case, the Cushitic language Bayso, whose plural is sometimes analyzed as a gender).

A second expected property of a gender system is that it has a semantic core (Corbett, 1991 , p. 63). This means that even when many or most nouns are assigned to a gender on the basis of their form (see section 2.2 below), some alignment between gender and semantics is expected. Even in languages for which the gender of nouns has been regarded as arbitrary (famously French and German, but see again 2.2), the system is semantically motivated to some degree, especially for persons and higher animals (11).

(11) Semantically motivated feminine/masculine noun pairs in French and German Open in new tab German (F/M) French (F/M) Translation die Frau/der Mann la femme/l’homme ‘the woman/the man’ die Nichte/der Neffe la nièce/le neveu ‘the niece/the nephew’ die Stute/der Hengst la jument/l’étalon ‘the mare/the stallion’ die Kuh/der Stier la vache/le taureau ‘the cow/the bull’ Open in new tab

On the other hand, when gender systems are perfectly semantic, researchers sometimes separate them from grammatical gender and speak of “semantic gender,” “natural gender,” “agreement in sex” or “animacy agreement,” which may be unhelpful, as it introduces artificial splits between otherwise equivalent systems.

A third canonical property is that gender agreement should occur in the form of affixes or (more rarely) clitics, and in more than one lexical category or more than one syntactic domain. This means that we expect languages to show gender on several words in the utterance, for instance on adjectives, verbs, and pronouns. The Bantu language Chichewa, for example, is highly canonical in this respect: in addition to marking gender on the noun itself, it clocks up the following list of agreement targets (Bentley & Kulemeka, 2001 ; Mchombo, 2004 ,):

Finite verbs (subject and object agreement).

Adjectives.

Demonstrative pronouns.

Relative pronouns.

Possessive pronouns.

Indefinite/quantitative pronouns.

Question words.

Associative markers (comparable to prepositions).

In general, more agreement results in an easier to recognize gender system. If agreement in a particular language is restricted to a single category, like pronouns, then the existence of grammatical gender in that language might be debatable. The most famous case is English, which only shows evidence for gender on personal and possessive pronouns, leading researchers (and laypersons) to argue about whether English has a gender system or not.

By looking at just three of the many ways in which gender systems can meet or defy expectations, the usefulness of typological knowledge about cross-linguistic variation becomes evident—an indispensable tool in analysis and theory.

2. Gender in the Languages of the World

In a sample of 257 languages from different geographical areas and linguistic families, 112 are shown to have a gender system (Corbett, 2013a ). Their distribution across the world is heterogeneous. Gender systems are common in Europe, in Africa, and in Australia, but they are comparatively rare in the Americas and practically absent in large parts of Asia and in the Pacific (Aikhenvald, 2000 , p. 78; Corbett, 2013a ). In the linguistic literature, the best-represented and most widely researched gender systems are those of the Indo-European and the Niger Congo languages, in particular from the Bantu genus. Aside from these, individual fame is enjoyed by languages such as Arapesh (Fortune, 1942 ; but especially thanks to Aronoff, 1994 ; see also Dobrin, 2012 ), Bayso (Corbett & Hayward, 1987 ), Dyirbal (Dixon, 1972 ; popularly known through Lakoff, 1987 ; but see also Plaster & Polinsky, 2010 ), Miraña (Seifart, 2004 ), Ngan’gityemmeri (Reid, 1997 ), Russian (Corbett, 1991 ), Yimas (Foley, 1991 ), and Zande (Aikhenvald, 2000 ; Claudi, 1985 ). These languages have gender systems that are seen as especially informative or challenging for various reasons, such as their many genders (Arapesh, Ngan’gityemmeri), their complex or unusual assignment systems (Arapesh, Dyirbal, Yimas), their history (Ngan’gityemmeri, Zande), or their interaction between gender and other features (Bayso, Miraña, Ngan’gityemmeri, Russian).

Gender systems come in a broad variety of shapes and sizes. Generally speaking, we can distinguish three parameters of variation:

The number of gender values.

The type of assignment rules.

The amount and place of agreement marking.

Let us briefly look at each in turn.

2.1 How Many Gender Values?

The smallest possible number of gender values is two, and two-gender-systems are the most common worldwide (Corbett, 2013a ). On the upper end, languages with more than a dozen classes have been identified, for instance, Arapesh, spoken on Papua New Guinea, with 13 genders (Aronoff, 1992 , 1994 ; Fortune, 1942 ), Ngan’gityemerri, a Daly language spoken in Australia, with 15 genders (Reid, 1997 ), and Nigerian Fula with more than 20 genders depending on dialect and analysis (Arnott, 1970 ; Breedveld, 1995 ).

Establishing how many genders a language has is not always simple and straightforward. Since the indicators for gender are agreeing words, any inconsistencies or mismatches within or among these words can complicate the analysis. For example, there are languages in which not all agreeing words mark the same array of genders. A case in point is Dutch, where gender is marked on definite articles, attributive adjectives, and relative and demonstrative pronouns. All of these distinguish two gender values: common and neuter. Furthermore, gender is marked on personal and possessive pronouns, and here we find three values: masculine, feminine, and neuter (with syncretism between masculine and neuter in the possessives). This makes it hard to say how many genders Dutch has—two or three—and this is indeed a matter of debate in the linguistic and pedagogical literature (see Audring, 2009 for discussion). In other languages, the number of genders is difficult to state for other reasons, for example, because markers are syncretic or otherwise ambiguous (e.g., in Romanian, see Corbett, 1991 , pp. 150–152; Corbett, 2014 , pp. 93–94). Moreover, small clusters of nouns may behave exceptionally (see Corbett, 1991 , pp. 170–175 on “inquorate genders”) or the gender system may overlap with other systems, such as location marking, diminution/augmentation, or grammatical number (see, e.g., Di Garbo, 2014 ).

2.2 Types of Assignment Rules

In some languages, gender appears to be more clearly rule-based than in others. Rules for gender assignment have two basic functions: they serve to motivate the gender of existing words, and they can be used productively to select a gender for loanwords and novel coinages. Generally speaking, there are three types of assignment rule: semantic, phonological, and morphological.

Semantic rules—already mentioned in section 1—are often based on general conceptual splits such as male/female, human/non-human, or animate/inanimate. For example, languages might work like Kolami, a Dravidian language spoken in India (Emeneau, 1955 ; discussed in Corbett, 1991 , p. 10), which attributes masculine gender to nouns denoting male persons and feminine gender to all others. However, not all semantic rules are as straightforward. Many languages have genders that combine a rather heterogeneous set of items, some of which belong to smaller semantic classes such as plants, fruits, or body parts. An example is Isangu, a Niger Congo (Bantu) language mentioned in Comrie ( 1999 , p. 463). As is the custom for Bantu languages, genders are notated as singular/plural pairs with a designated number for each member of a pair.

(12) Isangu genders. Open in new tab Gender Noun Agreement Semantic Characterization Sg Pl Sg Pl 1/2 mu- ba- wu- ba- only (but not all) humans 3/4 mu- mi- wu- mi- most plants; also some animals, concrete nouns, abstract nouns 5/6 di- ma- di- ma- most body parts, most fruits; also some humans, plants, concrete nouns, abstract nouns 7/8 ( γ ‎)i- bi- γ ‎i- bi- most artifacts; also some humans, plants, concrete nouns, abstract nouns 9/10 Ø- Ø-/ba- yi- tsi- most animals; also some plants, concrete nouns, abstract nouns Open in new tab

For yet other languages, linguists have proposed gender assignment rules that—rather than describing the semantics of a whole class—only cover individual clusters of nouns. These are regularities like the following, suggested for German (Köpcke & Zubin, 1983 ; Steinmetz & Rice, 1989 ):

Nouns for stones and minerals are masculine.

Nouns for tropical fruit are feminine.

Such rules are small in scope, and if a language employs them, the number of different rules will be large, as each regularity accounts for only a limited subset of the nouns (a critical account of such rules is given in Enger, 2009 ).

While semantic rules seem to be primary in the sense that genders—we believe—are born as semantic classes (see 3.1 below), languages can develop associations between gender and formal properties of nouns. Such associations can make reference to nearly any formal property, be it phonological (word-initial or word-final sounds or sound sequences, mono-syllabicity, but also patterns of word accent) or morphological (inflectional classes as well as derivational patterns, e.g., certain affixes).

Examples of form-based gender assignment are the following:

Phonological: monosyllabic nouns ending in /ʃ/ are masculine (German, Köpcke, 1982 ).

Morphological (inflection): nouns of declensional types II and III are feminine (Russian, Corbett, 1991 ).

Morphological (derivation): nouns with diminutive suffixes are neuter (Dutch).

Again, we can see a difference between “large rules” of broad scope and “small rules” of narrow scope. A famous example for a language with large phonological rules is the Cushitic language Qafar, for which it is claimed that nouns ending in an accented vowel are feminine, while all others are masculine (discussed in Corbett, 1991 ; Parker & Hayward, 1985 ). These rules appear to cover nearly all of the nouns in the language. Of the three formal rules mentioned above, the first is obviously an example of a small rule, while the second and (to a lesser extent) the third account for a wider array of nouns.

Among the languages in the world, mixed systems of semantic and formal rules are in a slight majority (Corbett, 2013c ), though their prevalence can be more pronounced in certain macro-areas (see Di Garbo, 2014 for Africa). For more references on gender assignment, see Audring ( 2011 ).

2.3 Amount and Place of Marking

The third dimension of complexity lies in the formal expression of gender. Typically, the gender of a noun is not visible on the noun itself—though in some languages it is—but is expressed via agreement on other words, such as the adjective, the predicate, and various pronouns. In some languages, agreement is so ubiquitous that nearly every word in the sentence carries a gender marker. The following example is from Chichewa (Bantu, spoken in East-Africa), where 7, 1, and 9 indicate noun classes (Mchombo, 2004 , p. 87; glosses adapted). Note that Chichewa is one of the languages that mark gender overtly on the noun itself, as well as by agreement.

(13) Ichi ndi chitsílu chi-méné kalulú a-na-chí-lémbélá kálata 7. dem be 7.fool 7- rel 1.hare 1- pst -7-write.to/for 9.letter ‘This is the fool that the hare wrote a letter to/for.’

With the exception of the copula, all words in the sentence express gender: either their own inherent value or the value of the noun they agree with. Also, in Archi, a Nakh-Daghestanian language spoken in the Caucasus, “almost every part of speech can agree in gender” (Chumakina & Corbett, 2015 ; Corbett, 2014 , p. 107; although this does not hold for every item within the parts of speech).

At the other extreme, there are languages with sparse expression of gender. The best-known example is English, where gender is visible only on the personal and possessive pronouns, with not more than seven distinct forms: he/she/it, him/her , and his / its . As mentioned in 1.4 above, languages with frequent marking have gender systems that are easier to spot in fieldwork and easier to defend analytically. Pronominal gender languages like English provide less clear evidence for a gender system. Interestingly, the same considerations appear relevant for the acquisition of gender, which will be discussed in section 4.1.

2.4 Gender in Sign Languages

It makes sense to conclude this brief typological survey with a look at sign languages. Whether there are sign languages that have gender systems is a matter of debate. Many scholars argue that sign languages systematically lack grammatical gender (Pfau, Steinbach, & Woll, 2012 , p. 234), partly because they are generally young languages, while gender (agreement) takes time to develop (see section 3.1). Two exceptions have been proposed. First, many sign languages have classifying handshapes that encode various properties of a referent, for example that it is a person, an animal, or a vehicle, or that its shape is long and thin or broad and flat. What makes such handshapes candidates for gender is that they can be carried over into the verb, which then reflects properties of its subject or object reminiscent of the way gender agreement on the verb reflects properties of nouns. For example, in the Sign Language of the Netherlands (Nederlandse Gebarentaal), the verb meaning “to fall” has a different handshape depending on whether the falling entity is cylindrical, long and thin, or legged (Zwitserlood & Van Gijn, 2006 , which analyzes the phenomenon as gender agreement). However, a more common analysis is that these markers are classifiers rather than genders, since they are clearly semantic, involve a large (and potentially open-ended) variety of classes, and are often optional.

Moreover, there are suggestions that sign languages may mark gender on pronouns. For example, Smith ( 1990 ) and Fischer ( 1996 ) describe masculine and feminine handshapes in personal pronouns in Japanese and Taiwan sign language, respectively. Byun, Zwitserlood, & De Vos ( 2015 ) discuss the same phenomenon for Korean sign language. Still, the evidence is debatable, as the markers are only used for persons and are probably optional. A careful and convincing analysis of such phenomena, however, might provide evidence for pronominal gender systems as—albeit non-canonical—cases of gender in sign language.

3. Rise, Development, and Fall

The issue of “young languages” brings us from typology to diachrony, and the next question to address is how gender systems arise, as well as how they develop and—possibly—decline.

3.1 The Birth of Gender Systems

Gender systems do not arise overnight. Since the central characteristic is agreement, the growth of a gender system requires the development of (bound) gender morphology, either from scratch or by repurposing existing morphological material, such as derivational morphemes, case or number affixes, or locative markers (Aikhenvald, 2000 ). For this reason, gender is counted among the “mature elements of language,” involving long chains of evolutionary events (Dahl, 2004 , p. 112). The same reason accounts for why gender is allegedly absent in pidgin and creole languages (McWhorter, 2001 , p. 163). However, the APiCS database (Maurer, 2013 ) lists at least one example, the Canadian mixed language Michif (Bakker, 1997 ), which shows an agreement system described as “truly weird” by Corbett ( 2006 , p. 269), since it involves not only one gender system but actually two, from both lexifier languages, French and Plains Cree. Applying a broader definition and including sporadic agreement as well as pronominal genders might yield more young languages with grammatical gender (Maurer, 2013 ).

If agreement is developed “from scratch,” several possible pathways have been proposed. Figure 1 summarizes them graphically. In most cases, the original sources are nouns, in particular nouns with classifying potential, such as “man,” “animal,” or “thing.” Such words can develop into classifiers that are used with other nouns to indicate their class membership (see example 3 in section 1.2). From here on, developments can proceed in two directions. Classifiers can be used for derivational purposes, as in constructions like man child “son”; this may then cause them to merge with their nouns and resemble derivational affixes or noun class markers. This development does not result in agreement, but in overt marking of gender on nouns. However, classifiers can be repeated within the noun phrase or beyond, and as such, give rise to agreement, via intermediate stages such as pronouns or articles (Corbett, 1991 , pp. 310–312 for examples and details; see also Givón, 1976 ; Greenberg, 1978 ,).

Figure 1. Developmental pathways of gender agreement.

We have assumed that gender agreement involves bound morphology. This is the canonical situation. Due to this criterion, gender systems are not generally found in isolating languages. However, there may be intermediate cases. The Austroasiatic language Khasi, for example, has gender-sensitive particles that function as articles and personal pronouns. What is interesting is that these particles can be repeated before adjectives and verbs:

(14) Open in new tab a. Ka kynthei ka baihbha prt.f woman prt.f handsome ‘a handsome woman’ (Pryse, 1855 , p. 22) Open in new tab Open in new tab b. U briw u Thoh prt.m man prt.m write ‘The man writes’ (Pryse, 1855 , p. 36) Open in new tab

This situation resembles an agreement system, except that the use of the gender particles is optional. However, stronger bonds with neighboring words can arise. For example, the relative pronouns are given as fused forms ( uba “who/that, m ”) and kaba “who/that, f ”), and some sources also list question words as fused: uei “who?/which ( m )?,” kaei “who?/which ( f )?” (Roberts, 1891 [1995] , p. 47). While Khasi gender is not canonical and violates expectations in several ways, the language can be argued to have a nascent gender system, despite the nearly complete absence of bound morphology.

3.2 Change and Loss of Gender

Once a language has a gender system, it appears to be a relatively stable feature in diachronic terms (Dahl, 2004 , p. 199). Yet, feature systems develop and change in various ways.

With regard to assignment rules, gender can become more form-based or more semantic over time. In the first scenario, a particular gender value becomes associated with a specific formal characteristic of a number of nouns. Since it is believed that all gender systems start out as semantics-based, this process must have occurred in all languages with a mixed assignment system. The opposite tendency is (re)semanticization, a development in which semantic rules are strengthened or (re)introduced. Again, this can be triggered by a cluster of nouns, but also by a flagship instance (Corbett, 1991 , p. 314 uses the term “Trojan horse”) defecting to another gender, pulling other nouns along and changing the semantic profile of their new class.

Note that changes in assignment rules do not in themselves lead to the loss of gender—they merely restructure the system. More consequential are changes in the agreement system.

In agreement systems, the following types of change are commonly found:

The birth of new agreement targets by grammaticalization.

The strengthening of gender markers on the noun or in agreement.

The rise of new gender values by reconfiguration and reanalysis of existing morphological markers.

The loss of individual gender values by syncretism or loss of the markers.

An instance of the first change can be seen in West Flemish, where the agreement targets have recently been expanded to include conjunctions and the words meaning “yes” and “no” (as we saw for Wambeek Dutch in example 7 above) (Bennis & Haegeman, 1984 ; De Vogelaer & Van der Auwera, 2010 ). The pronominal source of the agreements is still transparently visible. The second type of development can be seen in the history of English: in late Old English, the feminine pronoun had the form heo and was near-syncretic with the masculine pronoun in various dialects. The introduction of the new feminine pronoun she increased the formal distinctiveness of the genders (Curzan, 2003 , p. 45). For a wider sample of similar cross-linguistic cases, consult Corbett ( 1991 , p. 312).

The third type of change constitutes a reiteration of the steps outlined in the previous section: by repurposing or redistributing case or number markers, but also locative markers, new gender values can arise. Again, Corbett ( 1991 , p. 313–314) supplies illustrative examples and discussion.

The fourth type of change is the most familiar: gender markers can be caught up in processes of losing inflectional morphology, which may make them indistinguishable by syncretism or cause them to erode altogether. As a consequence, distinctions between individual genders may be blurred and eventually lost. Deflection processes of this kind have been described for many Indo-European languages—they are evident in all languages in which the three genders characteristic of the family have been reduced to two. Well-known examples are Spanish, Italian, and French (see, e.g., Polinsky & van Everbroek, 2003 , for a model of the changes from Latin to French), but also Scandinavian and Dutch. An interesting observation is that gender reduction or loss proceeds in cross-linguistically predictable ways (Demuth, Faraclas, & Marchese, 1986 ; Marchese, 1988 ; Priestly, 1983 ). Distinctions are typically retained longest on personal pronouns (Corbett, 1991 , p. 143).

Complete erosion of the markers can eventually result in the loss of gender as a grammatical feature. Within Indo-European, this fate has befallen most Iranian and many Indic languages (Corbett, 1991 , p. 318). In other languages, too, we find morphological markers that are recognizable as remnants of former gender systems.

Having considered the nature, the distribution, and the history of gender systems across the languages of the world, the final section will consider gender in the speaker’s mind—in particular, in language acquisition.

4. Acquiring Gender

Gender is a famously difficult property to acquire as an adult learner. This fact has prompted extensive research. However, the feature has also attracted the attention of first language acquisition researchers and psycholinguists in general. The following section sketches a number of interesting issues and findings from the vast literature.

4.1 Gender in First Language Acquisition

The task of acquiring a gender system is complex, as gender involves an intricate mixture of semantics, morphology, and syntax. Children have to figure out the function of the markers, their distribution across words, as well as the underlying syntactic dependencies. Moreover, they have to learn which noun belongs to which gender and—ideally—why.

Despite the complexities in the languages for which the relevant information is available (the overwhelming majority are Indo-European; for notable exceptions see, for instance, Demuth, 2003 ; Deen, 2005 ; Gagliardi & Lidz, 2014 ), gender appears to be acquired early and largely error-free. The average age of mastery appears to be 3 years, though later ages are mentioned for individual languages, like German (Eichler, Jansen, & Müller, 2013 ) and Dutch (Blom, Polišenská, & Weerman; 2008 ; Cornips & Hulk, 2008 ; van Kampen & Wijnen, 2000 ). Unfortunately, accounts are difficult to compare, as the target state of acquisition is not always clearly defined. First, it could be the case that the regularities of agreement may be in place early, while children may take longer to figure out the gender of individual nouns (Blom, Polišenská, & Weerman, 2006 ; Orgassa & Weerman, 2008 ). Second, the use of articles and other adnominal targets may be mastered earlier than the use of pronouns (Mills, 1986 , p. 86). This pattern can be explained by the hypothesis that children start out acquiring determiner-noun pairs as chunks or constructions (MacWhinney, 1978 , p. 60–61; Mills, 1986 , p. 63). Tighter constructions consisting of neighboring words are likely to be easier to entrench in memory.

Generally speaking, there seem to be three factors that influence the speed of acquisition: the complexity of the assignment system, the quality of the cues, and the interrelations with other features. In addition, individual genders may be established later if the language shows a strongly unequal distribution of nouns over genders: Dutch children, for example, are exceptionally late in correctly identifying nouns of neuter gender, as common gender nouns make up about 65%–75% of the noun vocabulary in the language (van Berkum, 1996 , p. 35).

As we saw above, gender assignment rules can be semantic or formal in nature (section 2.2). Children appear to be more responsive to formal than to semantic cues (Karmiloff-Smith, 1979 ; Mills, 1986 ; Müller, 2000 ; Pérez-Pereira, 1991 ; but cf. Mulford, 1985 ). Comrie ( 1999 ) reports that children in the Bantu language Isangu overgeneralize gender both ways: in favor of more regular form patterns as well as more regular semantics.

Aside from their type, an important difference between assignment rules is their reliability. While some rules may be categorical, others have a mere stochastic value. For example, the rule that French nouns ending in -/Ʒ/are masculine is true for 94% of the cases (Tucker, Lambert, & Rigault, 1977 ), while the rule that German monosyllables ending in a nasal followed by a consonant are masculine only holds for 70% of the relevant nouns (Köpcke & Zubin, 1984 , p. 29). Various studies show that more reliable rules are acquired earlier. Further facilitation has been shown to come from cues in child-directed speech, for example the frequent use of diminutives (Kempe, Brooks, Mironova, & Fedorova, 2003 ).

On the other hand, straightforward assignment rules do not necessarily result in an easy-to-acquire gender system. While English has particularly clear assignment rules, English children are comparatively slow in mastering the system (Corbett, 1991 , p. 82; Mills, 1986 ,). One of the reasons is the amount of syntactic evidence available to the child, which is low in a pronominal gender language like English. In German, by contrast, “gender is marked on many parts of speech [so] the German child has more opportunities to learn it” (Corbett, 1991 , p. 85). Hence, clearer and richer agreement systems can be expected to be beneficial for learning (Audring, 2014 ).

A complicating factor in many languages is the crosscutting of gender with other features, mainly number and case. This results in a more complex task for the child, as the various functions need to be figured out simultaneously. Eichler, Jansen, & Müller, 2013 argues that the presence of a case system is the main reason why German gender is acquired more slowly than French, Spanish, and Italian gender. Besides, more dimensions of orthogonal features can make for more complex patterns of syncretism, which lower the validity of each form as a cue to the learner.

In view of the complexity of the task, first language acquisition of gender proceeds remarkably smoothly. This fact stands in stark contrast to the acquisition of gender in adults.

Gender in Second Language Acquisition

As is widely known, gender is notoriously difficult to master in a second language, especially for adult learners (see, e.g. Bartning, 2000 ; Blom, Polišenská, & Unsworth, 2008 ; Bruhn de Garavito & White, 2000 ; Carroll, 1989 ; Dewaele and Véronique, 2001 ; Franceschina, 2005 ; Hawkins, 2001 ; Holmes & Dejean de la Batie, 1999 ; Rogers, 1987 ; Sabourin, 2003 ). This fact has been linked to the critical period hypothesis, which assumes maturational constraints on certain grammatical features. With regard to gender, the hypothesis predicts that, if the feature is not part of the speaker’s L1 (native language), it cannot be properly acquired in the L2 (second language) after childhood (Hawkins & Chan, 1997 ). Several questions follow:

Are younger L2 learners better at acquiring gender?

Does successful L2 acquisition of gender presuppose an L1 that also has a gender system?

Can adult learners ever hope to reach native competence?

Regarding the age of onset, studies report that child L2 learners show the same error patterns as monolingual children, while older children and adult learners make other kinds of error (Andersson, 1992 ; Bartning, 2000 ; Blom, Polišenská, & Weerman, 2008 , Dewaele & Veronique, 2001 ; Franceschina, 2005 ; Granfeldt, 2003 ; Hawkins & Franceschina, 2004 ). This suggests that early—but not late—L2 gender acquisition may be native-like.

The second question addresses the issue of transfer from the first to the second language. Various studies, e.g. Herschensohn ( 2009 ) and Hopp ( 2010 ), take transfer rather than age to be the major cause of delayed or unsuccessful gender acquisition. Broadly speaking, transfer effects can be positive or negative. On the positive side, an L1 that already has a gender system can prepare the ground for gender in the L2. Especially helpful might be a first language that is similar to the second. Various studies, such as Foucart & Frenck-Mestre ( 2011 ); Franceschina ( 2005 ); Sabourin, Stowe, & de Hann ( 2006 ), show such positive transfer effects in gender acquisition. However, the existence of a gender system in the L1 is not a necessary prerequisite for the successful acquisition of gender in the L2; English learners of French were able to acquire gender with great accuracy (White, Valenzuela, Macgregor, Leung, & Ben-Ayed, 2001 ), even showing native-like brain responses to gender violations (Foucart, 2009 ).

On the negative side, transfer can be in the way of successful second-language acquisition if learners attempt to process a second in terms of the first, arriving at the wrong results where the systems differ. Such effects, too, have been reported in the literature (Foucart & Frenck-Mestre, 2011 ; Ganushchak, Verdonschot, & Schiller, 2011 ; Sabourin, Stowe, & de Hann, 2006 ; Sabourin & Stowe, 2008 ; Tokowicz & MacWhinney, 2005 ).

The last question, in turn, inquires about ultimate attainment—can L2 learners learn gender to a native-like degree? In the literature, this question has been approached from two sides: behaviorally and neurolinguistically. Behavioral studies report that even highly proficient second-language learners retain a certain percentage of errors (Alarcón, 2011 ; Franceschina, 2005 ; Grüter, Lew-Williams, & Fernald, 2012 ; Montrul, Foote, & Perpiñán, 2008 ). However, these errors seem to be associated with gender assignment rather than gender agreement, especially under (experimental) time pressure (Hopp, 2013 ). This suggests that the central issue is not the inability to acquire the grammar of gender, but rather the amount of experience with the L2 that allows the learner to find out and store the gender of every noun. Indeed, the acquisition of gender may be “for a large part word-learning” (Unsworth, 2008 , p. 365).

Recently, the behavioral results have been complemented by electrophysiological data. Studies of event-related potentials (ERPs) show that in native speakers, the brain’s response to gender agreement errors is a P600 effect associated with syntactic violations. Do non-native speakers show the same response? Results differ. Meulman, Stowe, Sprenger, Bresser, & Schmid ( 2014 ) report that highly proficient L2 learners of Dutch consistently fail to show the expected P600 pattern, regardless of their age of acquisition, their length of residence in the Netherlands, their proficiency, or their offline knowledge about gender. This matches earlier findings, but contrasts with others (see Meulman et al., 2014 for references). One of the explanations suggested is that native-like electrophysiological responses only appear in the latest stages of proficiency, beyond the point where language tests indicate full mastery.

Across studies, the general outcome is positive: even if grammatical gender is a hard feature to acquire as an adult learner, native-like proficiency can be attained.

5. Critical Analysis of Scholarship: Gender in Linguistic Theory

In the linguistic literature, gender is enjoying considerable fame as “the most puzzling of the grammatical categories” (Corbett, 1991 , p. 1). One of the main reasons is the widespread uncertainty about its function. While number, person and tense have clear semantic correlates, gender information seems to contribute little to the semantics of an utterance. Indeed, scholars have famously claimed that gender is little more than “an accident of linguistic history” (Ibrahim, 1973 , p. 50). Defenders of functionality have stressed the fact that gender can help to keep track of referents across a stretch of discourse (Heath, 1975 ; Lyons, 1977 , p. 288; but see Contini-Morava & Kilarski, 2013 for wider considerations). On a critical note, this effect is often overrated in languages that only have two or three genders—the disambiguating power of gender will only be convincing in languages with a larger number of gender values.

Another major issue has been the regularity of gender. With a research tradition focusing on Indo-European, especially French and German, some of the 20th century literature pessimistically claims that gender assignment is arbitrary. In reaction, a variety of studies have appeared attempting to prove that gender assignment is actually regular and predictable. Famous accounts are Köpcke, 1982 ; as well as Köpcke & Zubin, 1984 ; or Zubin & Köpcke, 1986 for German, and Tucker, Lambert, & Rigault, 1977 for French. Since then, the issue has come to appear in a different light by the availability of a broader range of cross-linguistic data (mainly thanks to Corbett, 1991 ). Once the biasing focus on Indo-European is overcome, it turns out that many languages have gender assignment systems that are in fact quite regular.

A related issue is the way gender is transferred or assigned in borrowing and contact; an extensive literature is available, especially on English loanwords (see Corbett, 1991 , pp. 70–82 for an overview, and Audring, 2011 for more references; useful studies are Baetens-Beardsmore, 1971 ; Carstensen, 1980 ; Kilarski, 2001 ; and Poplack, Pousada, & Sankoff, 1982 ). While the focus on English makes good sense—first, because English loans are copious in many languages; second, because a genderless source language helps to control the number of factors to consider—it is doubtful how deeply we understand the mechanisms, especially since many of the borrowing languages investigated have highly complex assignment systems.

Gender is also a much-discussed subject in psycholinguistics, though predominantly in language acquisition research (see section 4). Recently, however, research efforts have turned to gender in processing and production, particularly in relation to models of the mental lexicon, the principles of lexical access, and the processing of grammatical information. Major issues are gender priming (see Bates, Devescovi, Hernandez, & Pizzamiglio, 1996 ; Friederici & Jacobsen, 1999 ), gender in speech errors (Berg, 1992 ), gender in tip-of-the-tongue states (Vigliocco, Antonini, & Garrett, 1997 ), as well as the brain’s reaction to gender violations (an early influential study is Hagoort & Brown, 1999 ; see section 4.2 for more references). A disadvantage is the scarcity of links between experimental and typological studies, though attempts are made to bridge the gap (e.g., Tsegaye, Mous, & Schiller, 2014 ).

Finally, a new line of typological research is currently emerging that investigates the interaction of gender with classifier systems in languages that have both (see the project page of the Surrey Morphology Group, Guildford, U.K.).

Links to Digital Materials

Audring, J. ( 2011 ). Gender . In Oxford Bibliographies: Linguistics. This is an annotated online bibliography of the literature on gender.

Surrey Morphology Group, project Combining Gender and Classifiers in Natural Language , University of Surrey, Surrey, U.K.

World Atlas of Language Structures Online is the best online resource; gender is covered in topics 30 , 31 , and 32 , as well as 44 .

Pride Month

A guide to gender identity terms.

Laurel Wamsley

"Pronouns are basically how we identify ourselves apart from our name. It's how someone refers to you in conversation," says Mary Emily O'Hara, a communications officer at GLAAD. "And when you're speaking to people, it's a really simple way to affirm their identity." Kaz Fantone for NPR hide caption

Issues of equality and acceptance of transgender and nonbinary people — along with challenges to their rights — have become a major topic in the headlines. These issues can involve words and ideas and identities that are new to some.

That's why we've put together a glossary of terms relating to gender identity. Our goal is to help people communicate accurately and respectfully with one another.

Proper use of gender identity terms, including pronouns, is a crucial way to signal courtesy and acceptance. Alex Schmider , associate director of transgender representation at GLAAD, compares using someone's correct pronouns to pronouncing their name correctly – "a way of respecting them and referring to them in a way that's consistent and true to who they are."

Glossary of gender identity terms

This guide was created with help from GLAAD . We also referenced resources from the National Center for Transgender Equality , the Trans Journalists Association , NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists , Human Rights Campaign , InterAct and the American Psychological Association . This guide is not exhaustive, and is Western and U.S.-centric. Other cultures may use different labels and have other conceptions of gender.

One thing to note: Language changes. Some of the terms now in common usage are different from those used in the past to describe similar ideas, identities and experiences. Some people may continue to use terms that are less commonly used now to describe themselves, and some people may use different terms entirely. What's important is recognizing and respecting people as individuals.

Jump to a term: Sex, gender , gender identity , gender expression , cisgender , transgender , nonbinary , agender , gender-expansive , gender transition , gender dysphoria , sexual orientation , intersex

Jump to Pronouns : questions and answers

Sex refers to a person's biological status and is typically assigned at birth, usually on the basis of external anatomy. Sex is typically categorized as male, female or intersex.

Gender is often defined as a social construct of norms, behaviors and roles that varies between societies and over time. Gender is often categorized as male, female or nonbinary.

Gender identity is one's own internal sense of self and their gender, whether that is man, woman, neither or both. Unlike gender expression, gender identity is not outwardly visible to others.

For most people, gender identity aligns with the sex assigned at birth, the American Psychological Association notes. For transgender people, gender identity differs in varying degrees from the sex assigned at birth.

Gender expression is how a person presents gender outwardly, through behavior, clothing, voice or other perceived characteristics. Society identifies these cues as masculine or feminine, although what is considered masculine or feminine changes over time and varies by culture.

Cisgender, or simply cis , is an adjective that describes a person whose gender identity aligns with the sex they were assigned at birth.

Transgender, or simply trans, is an adjective used to describe someone whose gender identity differs from the sex assigned at birth. A transgender man, for example, is someone who was listed as female at birth but whose gender identity is male.

Cisgender and transgender have their origins in Latin-derived prefixes of "cis" and "trans" — cis, meaning "on this side of" and trans, meaning "across from" or "on the other side of." Both adjectives are used to describe experiences of someone's gender identity.

Nonbinary is a term that can be used by people who do not describe themselves or their genders as fitting into the categories of man or woman. A range of terms are used to refer to these experiences; nonbinary and genderqueer are among the terms that are sometimes used.

Agender is an adjective that can describe a person who does not identify as any gender.

Gender-expansive is an adjective that can describe someone with a more flexible gender identity than might be associated with a typical gender binary.

Gender transition is a process a person may take to bring themselves and/or their bodies into alignment with their gender identity. It's not just one step. Transitioning can include any, none or all of the following: telling one's friends, family and co-workers; changing one's name and pronouns; updating legal documents; medical interventions such as hormone therapy; or surgical intervention, often called gender confirmation surgery.

Gender dysphoria refers to psychological distress that results from an incongruence between one's sex assigned at birth and one's gender identity. Not all trans people experience dysphoria, and those who do may experience it at varying levels of intensity.

Gender dysphoria is a diagnosis listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Some argue that such a diagnosis inappropriately pathologizes gender incongruence, while others contend that a diagnosis makes it easier for transgender people to access necessary medical treatment.

Sexual orientation refers to the enduring physical, romantic and/or emotional attraction to members of the same and/or other genders, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and straight orientations.

People don't need to have had specific sexual experiences to know their own sexual orientation. They need not have had any sexual experience at all. They need not be in a relationship, dating or partnered with anyone for their sexual orientation to be validated. For example, if a bisexual woman is partnered with a man, that does not mean she is not still bisexual.

Sexual orientation is separate from gender identity. As GLAAD notes , "Transgender people may be straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual or queer. For example, a person who transitions from male to female and is attracted solely to men would typically identify as a straight woman. A person who transitions from female to male and is attracted solely to men would typically identify as a gay man."

Intersex is an umbrella term used to describe people with differences in reproductive anatomy, chromosomes or hormones that don't fit typical definitions of male and female.

Intersex can refer to a number of natural variations, some of them laid out by InterAct . Being intersex is not the same as being nonbinary or transgender, which are terms typically related to gender identity.

The Picture Show

Nonbinary photographer documents gender dysphoria through a queer lens, pronouns: questions and answers.

What is the role of pronouns in acknowledging someone's gender identity?

Everyone has pronouns that are used when referring to them – and getting those pronouns right is not exclusively a transgender issue.

"Pronouns are basically how we identify ourselves apart from our name. It's how someone refers to you in conversation," says Mary Emily O'Hara , a communications officer at GLAAD. "And when you're speaking to people, it's a really simple way to affirm their identity."

"So, for example, using the correct pronouns for trans and nonbinary youth is a way to let them know that you see them, you affirm them, you accept them and to let them know that they're loved during a time when they're really being targeted by so many discriminatory anti-trans state laws and policies," O'Hara says.

"It's really just about letting someone know that you accept their identity. And it's as simple as that."

Getting the words right is about respect and accuracy, says Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, deputy executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. Kaz Fantone for NPR hide caption

Getting the words right is about respect and accuracy, says Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, deputy executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality.

What's the right way to find out a person's pronouns?

Start by giving your own – for example, "My pronouns are she/her."

"If I was introducing myself to someone, I would say, 'I'm Rodrigo. I use him pronouns. What about you?' " says Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen , deputy executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality.

O'Hara says, "It may feel awkward at first, but eventually it just becomes another one of those get-to-know-you questions."

Should people be asking everyone their pronouns? Or does it depend on the setting?

Knowing each other's pronouns helps you be sure you have accurate information about another person.

How a person appears in terms of gender expression "doesn't indicate anything about what their gender identity is," GLAAD's Schmider says. By sharing pronouns, "you're going to get to know someone a little better."

And while it can be awkward at first, it can quickly become routine.

Heng-Lehtinen notes that the practice of stating one's pronouns at the bottom of an email or during introductions at a meeting can also relieve some headaches for people whose first names are less common or gender ambiguous.

"Sometimes Americans look at a name and are like, 'I have no idea if I'm supposed to say he or she for this name' — not because the person's trans, but just because the name is of a culture that you don't recognize and you genuinely do not know. So having the pronouns listed saves everyone the headache," Heng-Lehtinen says. "It can be really, really quick once you make a habit of it. And I think it saves a lot of embarrassment for everybody."

Might some people be uncomfortable sharing their pronouns in a public setting?

Schmider says for cisgender people, sharing their pronouns is generally pretty easy – so long as they recognize that they have pronouns and know what they are. For others, it could be more difficult to share their pronouns in places where they don't know people.

But there are still benefits in sharing pronouns, he says. "It's an indication that they understand that gender expression does not equal gender identity, that you're not judging people just based on the way they look and making assumptions about their gender beyond what you actually know about them."

How is "they" used as a singular pronoun?

"They" is already commonly used as a singular pronoun when we are talking about someone, and we don't know who they are, O'Hara notes. Using they/them pronouns for someone you do know simply represents "just a little bit of a switch."

"You're just asking someone to not act as if they don't know you, but to remove gendered language from their vocabulary when they're talking about you," O'Hara says.

"I identify as nonbinary myself and I appear feminine. People often assume that my pronouns are she/her. So they will use those. And I'll just gently correct them and say, hey, you know what, my pronouns are they/them just FYI, for future reference or something like that," they say.

O'Hara says their family and friends still struggle with getting the pronouns right — and sometimes O'Hara struggles to remember others' pronouns, too.

"In my community, in the queer community, with a lot of trans and nonbinary people, we all frequently remind each other or remind ourselves. It's a sort of constant mindfulness where you are always catching up a little bit," they say.

"You might know someone for 10 years, and then they let you know their pronouns have changed. It's going to take you a little while to adjust, and that's fine. It's OK to make those mistakes and correct yourself, and it's OK to gently correct someone else."

What if I make a mistake and misgender someone, or use the wrong words?

Simply apologize and move on.

"I think it's perfectly natural to not know the right words to use at first. We're only human. It takes any of us some time to get to know a new concept," Heng-Lehtinen says. "The important thing is to just be interested in continuing to learn. So if you mess up some language, you just say, 'Oh, I'm so sorry,' correct yourself and move forward. No need to make it any more complicated than that. Doing that really simple gesture of apologizing quickly and moving on shows the other person that you care. And that makes a really big difference."

Why are pronouns typically given in the format "she/her" or "they/them" rather than just "she" or "they"?

The different iterations reflect that pronouns change based on how they're used in a sentence. And the "he/him" format is actually shorter than the previously common "he/him/his" format.

"People used to say all three and then it got down to two," Heng-Lehtinen laughs. He says staff at his organization was recently wondering if the custom will eventually shorten to just one pronoun. "There's no real rule about it. It's absolutely just been habit," he says.

Amid Wave Of Anti-Trans Bills, Trans Reporters Say 'Telling Our Own Stories' Is Vital

But he notes a benefit of using he/him and she/her: He and she rhyme. "If somebody just says he or she, I could very easily mishear that and then still get it wrong."

What does it mean if a person uses the pronouns "he/they" or "she/they"?

"That means that the person uses both pronouns, and you can alternate between those when referring to them. So either pronoun would be fine — and ideally mix it up, use both. It just means that they use both pronouns that they're listing," Heng-Lehtinen says.

Schmider says it depends on the person: "For some people, they don't mind those pronouns being interchanged for them. And for some people, they are using one specific pronoun in one context and another set of pronouns in another, dependent on maybe safety or comfortability."

The best approach, Schmider says, is to listen to how people refer to themselves.

Why might someone's name be different than what's listed on their ID?

Heng-Lehtinen notes that there's a perception when a person comes out as transgender, they change their name and that's that. But the reality is a lot more complicated and expensive when it comes to updating your name on government documents.

"It is not the same process as changing your last name when you get married. There is bizarrely a separate set of rules for when you are changing your name in marriage versus changing your name for any other reason. And it's more difficult in the latter," he says.

"When you're transgender, you might not be able to update all of your government IDs, even though you want to," he says. "I've been out for over a decade. I still have not been able to update all of my documents because the policies are so onerous. I've been able to update my driver's license, Social Security card and passport, but I cannot update my birth certificate."

"Just because a transgender person doesn't have their authentic name on their ID doesn't mean it's not the name that they really use every day," he advises. "So just be mindful to refer to people by the name they really use regardless of their driver's license."

NPR's Danielle Nett contributed to this report.

transgender
gender identity

Grammatical Gender: A Close Look at Gender Assignment Across Languages

Annual Review of Linguistics, Vol. 6, Issue 1, pp. 45-66, 2020

Posted: 9 Mar 2020

Ruth Kramer

Georgetown University

Date Written: January 2020

This review takes a broad perspective on one of the most fundamental issues for gender research in linguistics: gender assignment (i.e., how different nouns are sorted into different genders). I first build on previous typological research to draw together the main generalizations about gender assignment. I then compare lexical and structural approaches to gender assignment in linguistic theory and argue that a structural approach is likely more successful at explaining gender assignment cross-linguistically.

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Ruth Kramer (Contact Author)

Georgetown university ( email ).

Washington, DC 20057 United States

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Chapter Systems of Gender Assignment

by Greville G. Corbett cite

In Chapters 30 and 31 we have seen how we as linguists analyze gender systems, and establish how many genders there are. The remaining question is how the speaker assigns nouns to those genders. In other words, if a speaker of Russian uses the word kniga ‘book’ or djadja ‘uncle’, how does he or she "know" the gender? Clearly speakers must know the gender in order to be able to make the appropriate agreements. A model of the way in which speakers allot nouns to genders is called a gender assignment system.

1. Defining the values

Assignment may depend on two sorts of information about the noun: its meaning and its form. We start with what we shall call strict semantic systems. In some languages the meaning of a noun is sufficient to determine its gender, for all or almost all nouns. This type is found in Dravidian languages like Kannada (Karnataka, southern India ; Sridhar 1990 : 198). In Kannada , nouns denoting male humans are masculine, those denoting female humans are feminine. There are also deities, demons and heavenly bodies in these genders. All remaining nouns, including those denoting infants and animals, are neuter. Thus appa ‘father’, and candra ‘moon’ are masculine, amma ‘mother’ is feminine, and na:yi ‘dog’ is neuter.

Many languages have semantic assignment rules which do not cover the noun inventory as completely as do the rules of Kannada . We shall call these predominantly semantic assignment systems . An example is found in Bininj Gun-Wok , which was introduced at the beginning of Chapter 31 . The semantic categories found in each gender are given in Table 1.

The semantics of gender in

This table is from Evans et al. (2002) , and full details of gender assignment in Bininj Gun-Wok can be found there; the items in square brackets represent categories which have moved into the vegetable gender from the neuter in the speech of younger speakers. The important points for our typology are that the semantic assignment rules are considerably more complex than those of Kannada , and yet the coverage is less good. For example, lower animates are split between the masculine and feminine genders, and it is hard to be more specific; nouns denoting reptiles, birds, fish are found in both categories. There may well be principles of categorization here of which we are still unaware, but it seems likely that for at least some nouns there is no longer a principle for assignment which is still "live" for current speakers.

The genders of Bininj Gun-Wok have a semantic core, like those of Kannada . However, the rules of Bininj Gun-Wok are more complex, and still leave more nouns unaccounted for. This typological distinction applies equally well to languages where the dominant semantic principle involves animacy rather than sex. We noted in Chapter 31 how Eastern Ojibwa ( Algonquian ; Ontario, Canada ) assigns nouns to gender according to animacy, but how some nouns do not fall readily under the rule. Thus in languages with semantic assignment systems, the meaning of the noun determines gender. In the strict assignment systems, the rules are obvious and cover (virtually) the entire noun inventory. In the predominantly semantic systems, there is a minority of exceptions; these exceptions have been claimed to be largely only apparent in some languages, once the cultural setting of the language is taken into account. When we ask which are the semantic criteria on which semantic systems can be based, we see recurring patterns and occasional surprises ( Corbett 1991 : 30-32). For the present map we treat strict semantic and predominantly semantic systems together.

In many languages, however, assignment by semantic rules would leave many nouns without an assignment to a gender. In languages like Kannada , the nouns not assigned by the semantic rules (the "remainder" or "semantic residue") all belong to a single gender. In the languages we consider next, these residue nouns are distributed over more than one gender. Here we find additional rules for assigning nouns to genders according to their form. There is a significant asymmetry: languages may base their assignment system on semantic rules, or on semantic and formal rules, but not just on formal rules. Formal assignment rules may in turn access two types of information: phonological and morphological. There may be combinations of such rules. We shall take a clear instance of each, considering languages from the sample.

A good example of assignment depending on phonological information is provided by Qafar ( Eastern Cushitic ; north-eastern Ethiopia and Djibouti ; Parker and Hayward 1985 ). In Qafar the semantic assignment rules are fairly standard, namely, for sex-differentiable nouns, those denoting males are masculine and those denoting females are feminine. It is the nouns which fall outside these semantic rules, the residue, which are of interest. For them there are the following phonological assignment rules: nouns whose citation form ends in an accented vowel are feminine (for example, karmà ‘autumn’), while all others are masculine (for example, gilàl ‘winter’, which does not end in a vowel, and tàmu ‘taste’, which does end in a vowel, but not an accented one). These rules operate with few exceptions. Moreover, nouns denoting males and females typically accord with them too (for example bàqla ‘husband’ and barrà ‘woman, wife’). It might seem that we could dispense with semantic rules for Qafar . However, while the phonological rules give the right result in almost all cases, there are some nouns which show the role of the semantic rules. We find abbà ‘father’, which is masculine, even though it ends in an accented vowel. Conversely, gabbixeèra ‘slender-waisted female’ is feminine, though the accent is nonfinal. In such cases of conflict, the semantic rules take precedence (as is the normal situation in gender assignment systems). Qafar has remarkably simple phonological assignment rules, which assign semantically heterogeneous nouns to the appropriate gender by reference to their form.

The second type of formal assignment rule accesses morphological information. Here Russian is a good example. Once again for sex-differentiables, nouns denoting males are masculine and those denoting females are feminine. But unlike the situation in languages like Kannada , the residue is shared between the three genders, with the neuter gender not even receiving the majority. We might think that further semantic rules would be sufficient, but this turns out to be at best highly unlikely; see the data in Table 2, where the nouns in each row are semantically similar yet belong to three different genders.

nouns belonging to the semantic residue

‘magazine’	‘newspaper’	‘letter’
‘chair’	‘stool’	‘armchair’
‘house’	‘hut’	‘building’
‘tea’	‘water’	‘wine’
‘fire’	‘stove’	‘flame’
‘oak’	‘birch’	‘tree’
‘car’	‘car’	‘taxi’
‘flag’	‘emblem’	‘banner’
‘eye’	‘cheek’	‘ear’
‘elbow’	‘ankle’	‘knee’
‘nerve’	‘bone’	‘heart’
‘evening’	‘night’	‘morning’
‘hour’	‘minute’	‘time’

Thus the nouns of the semantic residue are scattered across the three genders in Russian . This situation is presented in table 3.

Gender assignment in
masculine	feminine	neuter
Sex differentiables denoting males	Sex differentiables denoting females	Part of semantic residue
PLUS part of semantic residue	PLUS part of semantic residue

In order to see how the remaining nouns are assigned, rather than looking at their meaning we should look instead at their morphology. There are four main inflectional classes in Russian , each with several thousands of nouns (for justification of this view see Corbett 1982 : 202-211). There are six cases and two numbers (though no paradigm has twelve distinct forms because of various syncretisms). We give just the singular forms in Table 4.

Inflectional classes in
	I	II	III	IV
Nominative
Accusative
Genitive
Dative
Instrumental
Locative
gloss	‘magazine’	‘newspaper’	‘bone’	‘letter’

Given information about the inflectional class of nouns, the assignment rules are straightforward. Nouns in class I are masculine, those in classes II and III are feminine, and those in IV are neuter. (Further rules are required in Russian for indeclinable nouns, like taksi ‘taxi’, which is indeclinable and neuter; however, indeclinability is itself a morphological property.) In view of the coverage of these rules, we might be tempted to think that we could dispense with the semantic assignment, since mal´čik ‘boy’ is in class I, while sestra ‘sister’ is in class II, and mat´ ‘mother’ is in class III. In other words, many of the sex-differentiable nouns would be assigned to the appropriate gender by the morphological assignment rules. But there are also instances where this is not so, for instance, djadja ‘uncle’, which denotes a male but is in class II, whose nouns are typically feminine. Djadja ‘uncle’ is masculine. Nouns like this confirm, once again, that we do not find languages where formal assignment rules are sufficient.

Of course, there are languages where the rules are more complex than these, but for languages where careful research has been undertaken, gender is always predictable from a set of assignment rules, for at least 85% of the noun inventory and usually for a substantially larger proportion than that. For more details on these assignment systems see Corbett (1991 : 7-69). For the purposes of the map we shall treat phonological and morphological assignment together. Thus the division will be between languages which have semantic assignment rules on the one hand, and those which have semantic and formal assignment rules on the other. The values are as follows:

Systems of Gender Assignment

	Value	Representation
	No gender system	145
	Semantic assignment	53
	Semantic and formal assignment	59
		257

2. Geographical distribution

Of the languages in our sample with gender systems, there is a roughly even split between the two types of assignment system: 53 have semantic assignment while 59 have semantic and formal assignment. The distribution is interesting. Semantic and formal assignment is found mainly in Eurasia and Africa, in the Indo-European , Afro-Asiatic and Niger-Congo families. The convincing accounts of the rise of gender systems provide paths leading to systems with semantic assignment. And there are ways in which such systems may further develop into systems with semantic and formal assignment. Note that there is no necessity for this development to occur: the Dravidian systems have remained as semantic systems for a substantial period. However, one might reasonably expect that if a system is of the semantic and formal assignment type, this is likely to indicate an “old” gender system, since there must have been sufficient time for the system to develop from an earlier semantic assignment system. By contrast, if the system is of the predominantly semantic type we can make no prediction, as such systems can arise at any time. It would follow that “old” gender systems are found in Eurasia and Africa.

3. Theoretical issues

There are several theoretical issues which arise. Given the typology of assignment systems, it is natural to ask what other features might be correlated with the assignment system. There have been several instances of modelling assignment systems, particularly those of the more difficult types, where it is helpful to be able to demonstrate that the proposed system does indeed account for the vast majority of the nouns in the lexicon (see Fraser and Corbett 1995 on Russian , Fraser and Corbett 1997 on Mountain Arapesh , both discussed in Corbett and Fraser 2000 , and Evans et al. 2002 on Bininj Gun-Wok ). Since it has been shown that gender is always largely predictable, this raises an interesting issue for lexicologists: what is the status of a lexical feature which is predictable? Psycholinguists too are beginning to tackle the issue of the place of gender in lexical entries. There has been some interesting work on how children acquire gender systems, for example, Mills (1986) and Müller (2000) . Such studies may also help us to see how such systems change over time, as shown by the work of Polinsky and Jackson 1999 , on Tsez ; see also Comrie and Polinsky 1998 ; for development of the work on modelling change in assignment systems see Polinsky and van Everbroeck 2003 . There are interestingly different gender systems to investigate, and so it is important that we are careful about definitions, in order to ensure that our comparisons are valid.

Related map(s)

Systems of Gender Assignment
Sridhar 1990
Evans et al. 2002
Corbett 1991
Parker and Hayward 1985
Corbett 1982
Fraser and Corbett 1995
Fraser and Corbett 1997
Corbett and Fraser 2000
Muller 2000
Polinsky and Jackson 1999
Comrie and Polinsky 1998
Polinsky and van Everbroeck 2003

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Gender assignment in language contact

This paper deals with an important aspect of the integration of loan nouns into the grammatical systems of languages attesting to grammatical gender, namely gender assignment. Traditionally, it is assumed that gender assignment takes place according to the internal assignment rules of the replica language. In many cases, however, the original grammatical gender is borrowed along with the source word. This is the case of gender copy which often takes place under special (sociolinguistic) conditions and is used as assignment strategy in languages to a different extent. A special focus of my study is on gender assignment and particularly gender copy in the contact of languages of different assignment types (formal vs. semantic). The empirical data comes from five European languages in different sociolinguistic situations, attesting to different assignment systems and of different language branches of two language families – Indo-European (Romanian, Slavic, and Indo-Arian) and Nakh-Daghestanian (Lezgic and Tsezic). The analysis shows that gender copy is possible mostly in the contact of languages of the same assignment type. In the contact of languages of the formal assignment type, gender copy often goes along with the formal adjustment of the loan word. Sociolinguistic circumstances play an important role as to the possibility and frequency of the occurrence of gender copy.

Funding source: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)

Award Identifier / Grant number: 451922097

Acknowledgments

I am grateful to Thomas Stolz for inspiring and fruitful discussions on the subject of gender assignment in language contact and for his valuable comments on the draft version of this paper. I gratefully acknowledge the technical support of my student assistants Iuliia Loktionova, Paula Müller, Lisa Schremmer, and Salka Zufall. My thanks go to my colleagues Kevin Behrens, Julia Nintemann, and Maike Vorholt whose comments helped me to improve this article. All remaining errors are mine.

Research funding: This research was funded by the grant of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) , project “Gender Copy in comparative perspective”, project number 451922097.

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August 5th, 2024 / IBA

heThe International Boxing Association (IBA) has clarified the facts that led to the disqualification of two boxers, Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu-ting of Chinese Taipei.

Imane Khelif has been participating in the IBA competitions since 2018, and Lin Yu-ting has competed since 2017. Current IBA management, having been in leadership since December 2020, has been on top of the problem from the very first IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships they conducted in 2022. IBA cannot comment on the previous iterations and lack of leadership actions in this regard.
Following many complaints from several coaches, boxers agreed to gender testing. Blood sample collection was made on 17 May 2022. Sistem Tip Laboratory from Istanbul (License Number: 194-MRK) issued its report on 24 May 2022, after the competition ended. The laboratory detected results that didn’t match the eligibility criteria for IBA women’s events.
Khelif won the silver medal in category 63 kg, Lin won the gold medal in category 57 kg.
One test for each athlete was not enough to make a decision with respective consequences; in the case that one test mistake is possible. The lawyers advised to monitor the situation and to contact the IOC.
IBA informed the IOC representatives about these tests, but no reaction followed from the IOC side.
The situation was completely new to boxing, and IBA, following numerous consultations, decided to conduct a second testing before disqualifying the boxers. However, the second testing could only be conducted in a neutral country and within the IBA competition period.
At the next IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships 2023 in New Delhi, Khelif and Lin were tested following their consent again before their first fights. Blood sample collection was made on 17 March 2023. Dr Lal PathLabs from New Delhi issued its report on 23 March 2023. The findings were absolutely identical to the first test results.
On 24 March 2023, IBA Secretary General & CEO at the time, George Yerolimpos, informed both Khelif and Lin about their exclusion from the Championships for not meeting the eligibility criteria. The athletes received a copy of their testing and were informed about the possibility of appealing to the CAS within 21 days.
Khelif and Lin were informed accordingly about the decision and acknowledged it by signing the papers . The test details were attached to the letter.
On 26 March 2023, the IBA Board of Directors by a majority vote decided to ratify the decision taken by the IBA Secretary General & CEO on behalf of IBA to disqualify Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting from the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships 2023.
These tests affect the private life of the person concerned and constitute medical information protected as personal data. We are not allowed to publish these documents without the agreement of the person concerned. However, both Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting received a copy of these tests, and they never disputed it. They know these tests exist and it is not fake.
Both athletes were provided with the right to appeal against the Board’s decision to the CAS.
Lin Yu-ting did not appeal against the decision to declare her ineligible, and it became legal and binding.
On 12 May 2023, IBA amended its Technical and Competition Rules. After internal discussion, it was decided by the Board of Directors that IBA competitions will be conducted only between male athletes and between female athletes. Participation of DSD athletes (“differences of sexual development”) in boxing competitions were found dangerous for health and security of the boxers.
Amendments made by the Board to the T&C Rules:

Definition of Men/Male/Boy = individual with chromosome XY.

Definition of Women/Female/Girl = individual with chromosome XX

Rule 4.2. Eligibility on Gender:

4.2.1.Boxers will compete against boxers of the same gender, meaning Women vs Women and Men vs Men as per the definitions of these Rules.

4.2.2.To determine the gender, the Boxers can be submitted to a random and/or targeted gender test which will be conducted by IBA in cooperation with the selected laboratory personnel.

4.2.3. In case of adverse result, the Boxer will be immediately notified by IBA.

4.2.4. In case of adverse result, the Boxer will be disqualified from such competition with immediate effect and will be prevented from competing in further IBA-owned and sanctioned competitions of that gender. For this purpose, IBA will share such information with the relevant internal bodies respecting its confidentiality.

On 14 April 2023, Imane Khelif appealed to the CAS against IBA challenging the decision to disqualify her from the competitions. IBA paid its share of procedural costs, which demonstrates the good faith of IBA. Not many international federations agree to pay their share of costs in CAS proceedings. On 27 July 2023, the CAS issued the termination order and terminated the proceedings because the appellant did not pay the costs of the proceedings.
After the termination of the proceedings before the CAS, IBA and Imane Khelif were in contact to resolve the situation. In particular, the athlete provided to IBA number of medical documents, which were examined by the IBA Medical Committee.
On 23 March 2023, the IBA Medical Committee issued its report about the eligibility of Khelif.
On 12 April 2023, IBA informed Imane Khelif about the conclusions made by the IBA Medical Committee and confirmed again that she was not eligible to participate in the IBA Women’s Competition. Therefore, her profile in Elite Women Light Welter was removed from the IBA database. She did not appeal against this decision of IBA.
IBA does not want to comment private life of a person. For IBA it is not a matter how Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting identify themselves, and what is written in their passport. IBA’s main concern is that their hormonal imbalance affords them a distinct advantage over their female counterparts within their respective weight categories. It can be dangerous for other female boxers that we have already seen during the Olympic Games. Therefore, she is not eligible to participate in the IBA competitions.
On 5 June 2023, IBA sent an official correspondence to the IOC regarding the case.
On 16 June 2023, the IOC Sports Director Mr Kit McConnell sent the acknowledgment email.
On 31 July 2024, the Italian Boxing Federation office sent an email inquiry to the IBA Sport Department asking about the facts that led to Khelif’s disqualification on the eve of the bout against their boxer Angela Carini at the Paris 2024 Games.
IBA issued the first statement about the Khelif/Lin cases following multiple media requests on 31 July 2024.
On 1 August 2024, Carini abandoned the fight at 66kg against Khelif at the Paris 2024 Games after 46 seconds.
IBA condemned the IOC’s eligibility rules that allowed disqualified boxers to participate in the Games following that the IOC was warned about their ineligibility.
IOC claimed at the press briefing that the organization has never been informed about the case, which was a lie.
IBA was forced to give a press conference on 5 August 2024 in Paris to address the situation in detail.
IBA issued a statement with a list of facts and attached documents following the press conference to conclude the case.

_______________

Media contact:

Elena Sobol, Head of Communications & PR

[email protected]

Featured News

August 2nd, 2024 / IBA

IBA is to award Angela Carini of Italy with Olympic champion prize money

July 30th, 2024 / IBA Courses , IBA & ISDE

Students received first certificates of IBA & ISDE Sports Management Course

Fight card announced for first African IBA Champions’ Night in Addis Ababa

August 9th, 2024 / IBA

The IBA proves IOC member and CONI President Giovanni Malago wrong

INTERNATIONAL BOXING ASSOCIATION. HOME OF BOXING

Grammatical Gender Systems: A Linguist's Assessment

Published: September 1999
Volume 28 , pages 457–466, ( 1999 )

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Bernard Comrie 1

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The notion of grammatical gender is defined and criteria for assigning nouns to genders are discussed, in particular semantic and formal criteria. Data from child language acquisition show that both semantic and formal criteria can be the basis of children's overgeneralizations, although the question of to what extent more opaque semantic or formal gender assignment criteria are available to children remains to be ascertained.

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Semantic gender: Norms for 24,000 Dutch words and its role in word meaning

Gender bias at scale: Evidence from the usage of personal names

L1 Grammatical Gender Variation through the Representation in the Lexicon

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Zubin, D. A., & Köpcke, K.-M. (1981). Gender: a less than arbitrary grammatical category. In Roberta A. Hendrick, Carrie S. Masek, and Mary Frances Miller (eds.), Papers from the Seventeenth Regional Meeting Chicago Linguistic Society, 439-449. Chicago: Chicago Linguistic Society.

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Comrie, B. Grammatical Gender Systems: A Linguist's Assessment. J Psycholinguist Res 28 , 457–466 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023212225540

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American sprinter Kenny Bednarek is accusing race officials of “favoritism” over the lane assignments of the men’s 200 meter final at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Bednarek, the world-ranked No. 2 sprinter behind compatriot Noah Lyles, was unhappy with the lane assignment for Thursday’s race as he was placed away from the “preferred positions.”

Bednarek won his semifinal race with a time of 20.00, the second fastest of the final qualifiers.

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American Erriyon Knighton and Botswanan runner Letsile Tebogo were placed in lanes 6 and 7, respectively.

American Kenneth Bednarek accused the Olympics of "favoritism" after he was given an unfavorable lane for the Men's 200m final on Thursday.

The middle 5-8 lanes are considered the preferred positions for the 200m, as the inside and outside lanes have issues with visibility around the bend.

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Bednarek launched a protest about the lane assignments, and organizers to reassign the lanes.

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Noah Lyles, the world number 1 rank, will race from lane 5 in the finals.

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How to cite ChatGPT

Use discount code STYLEBLOG15 for 15% off APA Style print products with free shipping in the United States.

We, the APA Style team, are not robots. We can all pass a CAPTCHA test , and we know our roles in a Turing test . And, like so many nonrobot human beings this year, we’ve spent a fair amount of time reading, learning, and thinking about issues related to large language models, artificial intelligence (AI), AI-generated text, and specifically ChatGPT . We’ve also been gathering opinions and feedback about the use and citation of ChatGPT. Thank you to everyone who has contributed and shared ideas, opinions, research, and feedback.

In this post, I discuss situations where students and researchers use ChatGPT to create text and to facilitate their research, not to write the full text of their paper or manuscript. We know instructors have differing opinions about how or even whether students should use ChatGPT, and we’ll be continuing to collect feedback about instructor and student questions. As always, defer to instructor guidelines when writing student papers. For more about guidelines and policies about student and author use of ChatGPT, see the last section of this post.

Quoting or reproducing the text created by ChatGPT in your paper

If you’ve used ChatGPT or other AI tools in your research, describe how you used the tool in your Method section or in a comparable section of your paper. For literature reviews or other types of essays or response or reaction papers, you might describe how you used the tool in your introduction. In your text, provide the prompt you used and then any portion of the relevant text that was generated in response.

Unfortunately, the results of a ChatGPT “chat” are not retrievable by other readers, and although nonretrievable data or quotations in APA Style papers are usually cited as personal communications , with ChatGPT-generated text there is no person communicating. Quoting ChatGPT’s text from a chat session is therefore more like sharing an algorithm’s output; thus, credit the author of the algorithm with a reference list entry and the corresponding in-text citation.

When prompted with “Is the left brain right brain divide real or a metaphor?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that although the two brain hemispheres are somewhat specialized, “the notation that people can be characterized as ‘left-brained’ or ‘right-brained’ is considered to be an oversimplification and a popular myth” (OpenAI, 2023).

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

You may also put the full text of long responses from ChatGPT in an appendix of your paper or in online supplemental materials, so readers have access to the exact text that was generated. It is particularly important to document the exact text created because ChatGPT will generate a unique response in each chat session, even if given the same prompt. If you create appendices or supplemental materials, remember that each should be called out at least once in the body of your APA Style paper.

When given a follow-up prompt of “What is a more accurate representation?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that “different brain regions work together to support various cognitive processes” and “the functional specialization of different regions can change in response to experience and environmental factors” (OpenAI, 2023; see Appendix A for the full transcript).

Creating a reference to ChatGPT or other AI models and software

The in-text citations and references above are adapted from the reference template for software in Section 10.10 of the Publication Manual (American Psychological Association, 2020, Chapter 10). Although here we focus on ChatGPT, because these guidelines are based on the software template, they can be adapted to note the use of other large language models (e.g., Bard), algorithms, and similar software.

The reference and in-text citations for ChatGPT are formatted as follows:

Parenthetical citation: (OpenAI, 2023)
Narrative citation: OpenAI (2023)

Let’s break that reference down and look at the four elements (author, date, title, and source):

Author: The author of the model is OpenAI.

Date: The date is the year of the version you used. Following the template in Section 10.10, you need to include only the year, not the exact date. The version number provides the specific date information a reader might need.

Title: The name of the model is “ChatGPT,” so that serves as the title and is italicized in your reference, as shown in the template. Although OpenAI labels unique iterations (i.e., ChatGPT-3, ChatGPT-4), they are using “ChatGPT” as the general name of the model, with updates identified with version numbers.

The version number is included after the title in parentheses. The format for the version number in ChatGPT references includes the date because that is how OpenAI is labeling the versions. Different large language models or software might use different version numbering; use the version number in the format the author or publisher provides, which may be a numbering system (e.g., Version 2.0) or other methods.

Bracketed text is used in references for additional descriptions when they are needed to help a reader understand what’s being cited. References for a number of common sources, such as journal articles and books, do not include bracketed descriptions, but things outside of the typical peer-reviewed system often do. In the case of a reference for ChatGPT, provide the descriptor “Large language model” in square brackets. OpenAI describes ChatGPT-4 as a “large multimodal model,” so that description may be provided instead if you are using ChatGPT-4. Later versions and software or models from other companies may need different descriptions, based on how the publishers describe the model. The goal of the bracketed text is to briefly describe the kind of model to your reader.

Source: When the publisher name and the author name are the same, do not repeat the publisher name in the source element of the reference, and move directly to the URL. This is the case for ChatGPT. The URL for ChatGPT is https://chat.openai.com/chat . For other models or products for which you may create a reference, use the URL that links as directly as possible to the source (i.e., the page where you can access the model, not the publisher’s homepage).

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International consultant to support the UNCT-SWAP Gender Equality Scorecard

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Home based with travels to Kazakhstan

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

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In 2006, following the background paper of UN Development Group (UNDG, now UNSDG) Task Team on Gender Equality on accountability mechanisms in UNDG agencies, an agreement was reached on development of a UNCT-level “Accounting for Gender Equality” Scorecard that sets minimum requirements for UNCTs to assess their performance across the system.

The Gender Scorecard was endorsed by the UNDG in 2008 in response to the UN Chief Executive Board for Coordination 2006 Policy on gender equality and the empowerment of women (CEB/2006/2) to establish an accountability framework for assessing the effectiveness of gender mainstreaming by UN Country Teams.

The 2016 QCPR calls for the United Nations development system to expand and strengthen the use of the Gender Scorecard as a planning and reporting tool for assessing the effectiveness of gender mainstreaming in the context of the UNDAF (OP 83; now Cooperation Framework). Building on this call, an updated version of the framework, the UNCT-SWAP Gender Equality Scorecard, was launched in 2018, resulting from almost two years of work by the UNSDG Task Team on Gender Equality under the Results Group on Voice, Values and Norms, to align the Action Plan with the SDGs and to it with its entity level equivalent, the United Nations System-Wide Action Plan, drawing on good global practices with motivating, managing and measuring institutional change processes. Furthermore, the 2019 UNSDG United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework Guidance calls for UN entities to “put gender equality at the heart of programming, driving the active and meaningful participation of both women and men, and consistently empowering women and girls, in line with the minimum requirements agreed upon by the United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG) in the UNCT System-wide Action Plan (SWAP) Gender Equality Scorecard (UNCT-SWAP)” (para 20). The UNCT SWAP-Scorecard assessment was conducted in Kazakhstan each year during 2018-2023. As the successor of the UN Development Assistance framework (UNDAF), UNCT Kazakhstan developed a nationally owned UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for 2021-2025 through anchoring it in national development priorities, the 2030 Agenda and the principles of the UN Charter. UNSDCF 2021-2025 articulates the strategic programmatic collaboration between the UN system and the Government of Kazakhstan through six Outcomes under three Strategic Priority Areas – namely: Empowered People, Good Governance, Inclusive Economy and Protected Planet – that address the challenges and risks to accelerating and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Under this UNSDCF cycle, RGs were envisaged as a tool to reinforce the coherence and joint reflection with enhanced strategic linkages in cross-sectoral areas to ensure complementarity between intervention areas. The Gender Theme Group (GTG) in Kazakhstan works towards ensuring gender mainstreaming in UNSDCF planning and implementation and supports UN agencies to promote coordinated UN joint programming that advances gender equality and the empowerment of women.

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To guide and support the Inter-Agency Assessment Team (IAT), the consultant will conduct the following activities within the stipulated timeframes:

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Documents to be reviewed:

UNCT-SWAP Gender Equality Scorecard Technical Guidance and Framework
UNCT-SWAP reports for Kazakhstan during 2018 - 2023
Current country CCA and UNSDCF or equivalents
New UNSDG United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework Guidance
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GTG Work Plans
Other relevant documents to the exercise such as the CEDAW related reports

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Conducting an orientation session for the UNCT member on what UNCT-SWAP Comprehensive Scorecard Exercise on Gender is, who is responsible for which tasks, how the reporting process would be executed in a most effective way, how the findings of the assessment should be used to identify the gaps, producing best practices and developing advocacy messages within and out of UNCT.

3. Initial assessment and data collection mission (in-country, 5 working days)

Prepare initial scoring based on information obtained through questionnaires, identify information gaps and prepare instruments for data collection in the country.
Facilitate a SWAP assessment with members of the GTG, RGs, and relevant UNSDCF groups through individual and group interviews (format to be discussed).
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Conduct interviews with external stakeholders: representatives of governments, civil society organizations/groups, business entities and other partners.
Debriefing with GTG and RCO on country mission.

4. Assistance and support for the IAT to be performed reporting and development of action plan (10 working days) - Conduct gender analysis of verification documents required to help the IAT rate areas of performance. - Complete the rating matrix based on IAT discussions and agreements. - Draft UNCT-SWAP narrative report, with inputs from IAT. - Prepare Action Plan based on agreed follow-up action points identified through the assessment.

5. Validation and finalization of SWAP assessment report and action plan (3 working days) - Facilitate a debrief with the UNCT HOAs to discuss findings and proposed actions. - Complete the UNCT-SWAP narrative report and Action Plan based on feedback, including from the UNCT HOAs. - Enter the data to the UNCT SWAP Gender Score Card online platform by set deadlines. Address comments and recommendations of the SWAP Gender Score Card Secretariat and finalize inputs to the SWAP online platform by set deadlines.

Deliverables: - Inception report document approved describing how to execute the assignment with a detailed methodology, instruments, time frame. - UNCT orientation session facilitated including the preparation of relevant materials. - Completed UNCT-SWAP Gender Scorecards Rating Matrix including relevant documents required for country submission as per the guidelines. - Final UNCT-SWAP comprehensive assessment report including narrative report and action plan and a summary presentation to the UNCT.

Competencies

Core Values: - Respect for Diversity - Integrity - Professionalism

Core Competencies: - Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues - Accountability - Creative Problem Solving - Effective Communication - Inclusive Collaboration - Stakeholder Engagement - Leading by Example

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Required Skills and Experience

Advanced (Masters) degree in social and political sciences, human rights, gender equality and other relevant field of study.
At least 5 years of experience in the field of gender mainstreaming in development programmes/projects at national and international levels;
At least 3 years’ experience of work on results based management, review and/or evaluation;
Experience in gender data collection and analysis, including interviews, survey and focus groups is an asset;
Previous experience with the Gender Equality Scorecard, narrative report and follow-up matrix is an asset;
English, knowledge of Russian is an asset.

Application Process

The application should include:

Personal History Form (P-11 form) - including past experience in similar assignments; can be downloaded at https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-07/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form-en.doc , a signed copy should be submitted ;
Technical proposal describing how the expected assignment will be performed. The technical proposal should also include supporting materials to learn about candidate’s experience and skills.

Evaluation process

Candidates will be evaluated based on set technical qualification requirements:


1	Advanced (Masters) degree in social and political sciences, human rights, gender equality etc.	Yes - 150 points No - 0 points
2	At least 5 years of experience in the field of gender mainstreaming in development programmes/projects at national and international levels	Yes – 500 points No – 0 points
3	At least 3 years’ experience of work on results based management, review and/or evaluation	Yes – 100 points No – 0 points
4	Experience in gender data collection and analysis, including interviews, survey and focus groups	Yes – 100 points No – 0 points
4	Previous experience with the Gender Equality Scorecard, narrative report and follow-up matrix	Yes – 100 points No – 0 points
5	Knowledge of Russian	Yes – 50 points No – 0 points

Kindly note, that the system will only allow one attachment, hence all supporting document e.g., P11, CV must be scanned as one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

Qualified women and members of minorities are encouraged to apply. UN Women applies a fair and transparent selection process that would take into account the competencies/skills of the applicants as well as their financial proposals. Due to the large number of applications received, UN Women will inform only the successful candidate about the outcome or status of the selection process.

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

Gender equality at risk: UN officials highlight danger of pulling peacekeepers out

A wide view of the UN Security Council chamber during the meeting on women and peace and security.

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Senior UN officials on Wednesday warned of the consequences for protection of women and their rights in conflict zones, amid recent decisions to close or shrink peacekeeping and special political missions.

Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women , which champions gender equality worldwide, told ambassadors in the Security Council that cuts are being made by some governments despite an uptick in conflict and insecurity.

“ It is counter-intuitive that, in the face of unprecedented levels of conflict and violence, the number of deployed peacekeeping personnel has dropped by almost half from 121,000 in 2016 to approximately 71,000 in 2024.”

She highlighted growing misogyny and violence against women and girls, adding that wars are being fought with clear disregard for their lives, rights, welfare or autonomy.

Rushed transitions amid volatility

Also briefing, Martha Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa at the department of peacebuilding affairs, warned of the implications of rushing through a transition process in a tense political climate, persisting security threats, protection concerns and unprepared national stakeholders.

“ Unless transitions are well-structured, adequately resourced and gender-responsive, women and girls will be at risk of setbacks,” she said.

These could include losing access to essential services, being excluded from decision-making and becoming vulnerable to further violence.

Alarm goes off in Haiti

UN Women’s Ms. Bahous cited the case of Haiti, where calls were made protect gender equality gains shortly after the departure of the UN peacekeeping mission, MINUSTAH . Alarms were sounded over increased kidnappings, rape and other violence against women and girls by criminal groups.

Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women, briefs the Security Council meeting on women and peace and security.

“ That was April of 2019. Ten months later the peacekeepers had left ...four and a half years ago,” she said.

“Almost 5,000 cases of rape were reported to case managers and service providers in Haiti in 2023, with homicides, kidnappings, and sexual violence rising every year with no sign of slowing down,” she added.

Gains rolled back in Mali

Ms. Pobee noted the situation in Mali, where the UN peacekeeping MINUSMA closed in December 2023 at the insistence of transitional military authorities.

Prior to its accelerated departure, the country had witnessed “transformative” progress that enhanced women’s political participation.

“The drawdown of MINUSMA has however negatively impacted peacebuilding programmes focusing on women and girls and sustaining the gains made in the political sphere,” Ms. Pobee.

Fears for DR Congo, Sudan

She also voiced concerns over the recent departures of missions from key hotspots in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that have led to security vacuums and greater vulnerability for women and girls.

Martha Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, briefs the Security Council meeting on women and peace and security.

The drawdowns have diminished the UN’s capacity to support national partners in addressing conflict-related sexual violence altogether in areas including investigation, reporting and assistance to survivors.

Other challenges relate to limited funding, and the ability to implement existing national action plans relating to women, peace and security.

Close the gaps

Ms. Bahous urged key steps to help address the gaps left by the accelerated drawdown of UN missions.

The Security Council should ensure that transitions protect gender equality and women's participation through routine decisions and interactions with host governments and organizations, she said.

Alongside that, there should be regular engagement with women from civil society to chart the impact on the ground, while also facilitating oversight by the Informal Expert Group on Women and Peace and Security .

It should also prioritize financing for women's peace and security work, collaborate with financial institutions and ensure sufficient resources are allocated when missions are being wound down.

“ We fear a future of increasing atrocities against women, their ever-greater marginalization from decision-making and ultimately a failure of the international community ,” she said,

“That prospect should be, and I am confident is, unacceptable for all of us.”

security council
women peace and security

More From Forbes

Scribe jewelry speaks volumes in coded gemstone acrostic love language.

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Scribe's Rainbow Compass Signet Ring spells out LOVE STORY with labradorite, opal, violet amethyst, ... [+] emerald, sapphire, turquoise, opal, ruby and yellow sapphire.

If your jewels could speak, what would they say?

The luxurious 14-karat SCRIBE brand “speaks” the coded gemstone language of acrostic jewelry, which uses the first letter of a gemstone to spell out a word. Designed by Elizabeth Gibson , jewels in the SCRIBE collection may communicate secret endearments or monograms, announce proper names or convey other meanings. While the jewels glitter with charm, as the Austin, Texas-based designer explained, “In acrostic jewelry, the word DEAR is spelled out by placing a diamond, emerald, amethyst and a ruby together one after another.” While the word HOPE is “spoken” with hematite, opal, peridot and emerald, Elizabeth Gibson’s initials, EG, are symbolized by an emerald and a garnet side-by-side.

Austin, Texas-based Scribe Jewelry is the beloved brainchild of designer Elizabeth Gibson.

“SCRIBE injects jewelry with subtle messages that can express positive emotion and personal significance,” Gibson noted. “Everything in the collection is geared toward jewelry lovers who are individualists and romantics, but it’s also for realists who want to wear or give meaningful jewels to their friends, families and co-workers.” Toward that end, the SCRIBE website allows customized message-making, so people can make jewels communicating their chosen word.” The artistry of SCRIBE also embodies Gibson’s proprietary emblems: these are based on antique European ironwork, classical architecture, flora and fauna and other symbolic motifs, such as shields, doves and compasses. What’s more, the elegant and impeccably made 14-gold chains and charms in the SCRIBE range offer a broad spectrum of styles at fairly accessible price points. While Gibson is too modest to say it, many SCRIBE jewels look indistinguishable from antiques.

Scribe's 14-karat gold Love Medallion glitters with labradorite, opal, violet amethyst and emerald ... [+] as well as white diamonds.

The coded love language of acrostic jewelry is believed to have originated in 18th century France, at the court of Versailles, where nobles and royalty used jewels as adornments, fascinators and facilitators of amorous intrigues. Romantically inclined, adventurous and adulterous men and women of all ages found acrostic jewelry’s ability to secretly serve as tokens of love and affection irresistible. The luxury loving, historically documented jewel fiend and queen of France Marie Antoinette is said to have worn an acrostic ring that spelled out JADORE (“I Love”) in French. Studded with jade, amethyst, diamond, opal, ruby and emerald, her ring was believed to have been created by the Parisian jeweler Jean-Baptiste Mellerio, who enjoyed the queen’s patronage shortly after he began selling to the Versailles court in 1777. (SCRIBE’s ADORE ring is a 21 st century take on the French queen’s ring.)

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Colorful and classic, these Scribe earrings with baguette-cut colored gemstones spell out LOVE YOU ... [+] in gemstone acrostic code.

While British and Italian dignitaries who visited the court of Versailles carried the jewelry genre back to upper classes of their respective countries, Napoleon Bonaparte also admired acrostic jewels and in recent years, the Place Vendôme jeweler Chaumet displayed an acrostic bracelet that he had commissioned the jeweler to create for his first wife, Joséphine Beauharnais. (Marie-Étienne Nitot, who served as the official jeweler to the Emperor Napoleon, founded the house of Chaumet in 1780.) At the Emperor’s behest, Nitot created three acrostic bracelets for his second wife, Marie-Louise, which spelled out the date of his birth, Marie-Louise’s birth and their marriage date. Minor French royals and major nobles also commissioned acrostic jewels from Chaumet.

Acrostic jewelry reached the zenith of its popularity during the Victorian age (1837-1901) when it was worn by Queen Victoria and jewelry-loving commoners in Great Britain. After the death of her adored Prince Albert, with whom she had nine children, Queen Victoria mourned him by wearing a bracelet that spelled out Albert in amethyst, lapis, beryl, emerald, ruby and turquoise.

14-karat gold Scribe medallions can be customized to spell out endearments or proper names.

If Queen Victoria were alive today, she’d most likely opt for SCRIBE’s customizable Love Note Bangle, which allows for an acrostic message of 40 characters maximum. Victoria might also gravitate towards the Compass Medallion, which features gemstones that according to jewelry lore symbolize direction, inspiration, and motivation: all essential resources for a woman at the head of an empire upon which the sun never sets! As Victoria was also an intense romantic, she would doubtless love the nine-stone message on this medallion, which spells out LOVE STORY.

Scribe also offers chains for its medallions, which can be worn in layers.

One of SCRIBE’s most in-demand designs for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, as well as new mothers and birthday celebrants is the Love Drop necklace with sunburst florets. In this 15-16" necklace, the word LOVED is spelled out with labradorite, opal, violet amethyst, emerald and diamond set in 14-karat gold florets. In the earring department, labradorite, opal, violet amethyst, emerald, yellow citrine, onyx and ultramarine, (otherwise known as lapis), say LOVE YOU in a colorfully compact, disc-shaped stud. These would make a fine addition to the jewelry wardrobes of anyone of any gender anywhere on the planet.

Because they can be customized to spell out a meaningful word or name, Scribe Medallions can mark ... [+] life's milestones like no other jewelry.

Speaking of globalism, English is one of the world's three most spoken languages, according to the United Nations, and approximately 1.5 billion people speak it globally as of March 2024. While English is an official language in 67 countries and is also spoken as a de facto working language in 10 countries which have a combined population of around 254 million people, SCRIBE embodies the potential to become a globally influential jewelry brand.

Scribe acrostic rings can embody initials, proper names and/or secret words of love and affection.

In addition to leading the 21 st century revival of acrostic jewelry with SCRIBE, Elizabeth Gibson is also the founder and owner of the Austin, Texas jewelry store Eliza Page, which opened its doors 20 years ago. Featuring design-driven fine jewelry including amulets and talismans, cuff bracelets, rings, necklaces and earrings, Eliza Page offers a selection of emerging and established brands, including SCRIBE. “All SCRIBE designs can be customized to tell your personal story,” Gibson says. “By referring to our website’s gemstone alphabet, you can choose stones that spell a word, secret saying, monogram or name.” Given that we live in such an image-saturated era, it makes ironic sense that the hidden textual appeal of acrostic jewelry is making a comeback through SCRIBE with its emotional, personalized and uniquely bejeweled WORDS.

Discover the Gemstone Alphabet at: https://www.scribejewelry.com/pages/scribe-stones-meanings

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COMMENTS

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