Refuses to Embrace: The Government's Reluctance to Adopt Certain Policies
In a significant development, the Council for German Orthography has introduced new guidelines that do not endorse the use of special characters such as asterisks (*) or internal capitalization in gender-neutral language for official communications.
The new guidelines, which have been in effect since early July, also include a section on special characters in words, as used by advocates of gender-sensitive language. However, they do not include special characters themselves.
The guidelines state that gender-inclusive language should be understandable, readable, and audible. This aligns with the recent decision by Germany's Minister of State for Culture, Wolfram Weimer, who has banned gender-inclusive language involving special characters in his department's official communications.
Weimer stated that gendering is not used in letters, emails, and notes in the Chancellery. His stance is that forced gendering does not reflect how the majority in Germany speaks and may deepen societal divisions.
These new guidelines apply to schools and public administration. A spokesperson for the Digital Ministry in Berlin confirmed this in a government press conference.
It's important to note that the guidelines take into account accessibility and screen readers, and ensure grammatical correctness and clarity. The traditional, gender-inclusive formulations such as the explicit salutation "Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren" ("Dear Madam, dear Sir") remain acceptable.
The development of the overall area (gender-sensitive language) is not yet complete and will continue to be observed. The paragraph does not provide information about the stance of the Digital Ministry or Culture State Minister Wolfram Weimer on the new guidelines.
In summary, official communications follow traditional spelling rules without special gender-neutral characters. The Council for German Orthography thus maintains a conservative stance on special characters in gender-neutral language.
- The new guidelines, implemented by the Council for German Orthography, suggest that gender-inclusive language in policy-and-legislation, family-dynamics, and relationships should be understandable, readable, and audible, avoiding the use of special characters such as asterisks or internal capitalization.
- The controversial stance of the Digital Ministry and Culture State Minister Wolfram Weimer on the use of gender-neutral characters in official communications remains unclear, but it's known that Weimer has banned such practices in his department's communications.
- Despite the shift towards gender-sensitive language in general-news and societal discourse, the introduction and application of these new guidelines in schools and public administration indicate a preference for traditional spelling and a conservative approach to special characters in gender-neutral language.
