Un diccionari jurídic pot passar de sexista a inclusiu?: El 'Dictionary of Legal Terms' com a cas d'interès
Autor | Eivor Jordà Mathiasen |
Páginas | 117-132 |
CAN A LEGAL DICTIONARY GO FROM SEXIST TO INCLUSIVE?:
THE DICTIONARY OF LEGAL TERMS AS A CASE OF POINT
Eivor Jordà Mathiasen*
Abstract
Linguistic sexism can be present in any text, even in those that appear to be neutral. One clear example of this is
dictionaries, as they exhibit a certain image of our society through multiple mechanisms, such as the selection of both
Dictionary of Legal Terms
and Miguel Ángel Campos, and through this analysis the aforementioned mechanisms are highlighted. Furthermore,
in dictionaries.
UN DICCIONARI JURÍDIC POT PASSAR DE SEXISTA A INCLUSIU?:
EL DICTIONARY OF LEGAL TERMS COM A CAS D’INTERÈS
Resum
*
mariaeivor.jorda@universidadeuropea.es
Recommended citationThe Dictionary of Legal
Terms as a case of point. .
Eivor Jordà Mathiasen
Can a legal dictionary go from sexist to inclusive?: the dictionary...
Revista de Llengua i Dret, Journal of Language and Law, núm. 70, 2018 118
Summary
References
Eivor Jordà Mathiasen
Can a legal dictionary go from sexist to inclusive?: the dictionary...
Revista de Llengua i Dret, Journal of Language and Law, núm. 70, 2018 119
1 Introduction
language contributes most crucially to the process of the generating ideology.
slaves of their time as mere use notaries
Dictionary of Legal
TermsÁngel
linguistic sexism through mechanisms such as entry selection and ordering, the use of generic masculine,
regarding treatment of gender, it is also undeniable that some important aspects of linguistic sexism have not
Eivor Jordà Mathiasen
Can a legal dictionary go from sexist to inclusive?: the dictionary...
Revista de Llengua i Dret, Journal of Language and Law, núm. 70, 2018 120
kinship relations, family ties, marriage, divorce, sexual offences, prostitution, abortion, sexual relationships,
Eivor Jordà Mathiasen
Can a legal dictionary go from sexist to inclusive?: the dictionary...
Revista de Llengua i Dret, Journal of Language and Law, núm. 70, 2018 121
both sections.
spheres and aspects of life. One such example in dictionaries is the disproportionate use of lemmas relating to
marital status, certain degrees and professions, physical features, moral attributes and obscenities.
Eivor Jordà Mathiasen
Can a legal dictionary go from sexist to inclusive?: the dictionary...
Revista de Llengua i Dret, Journal of Language and Law, núm. 70, 2018 122
sexual and partner relationships.
2 Forms of linguistic sexism in dictionaries
2.1 Concealing women
2.1.1 Generic masculine
adjectives being presented exclusively in the masculine form. Nevertheless, the masculine as generic in
terms such as “alcahueta” and “alcahuete”, “” and “buscona”, “esposa” and “esposo” or “” and
“
“” for “judge” or “
” for “adulterer”, “adulteress”, “ ” for
“businessman”, “ ” for “testatrix”
and “
”, “”, “empresario”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “ministro”,
Eivor Jordà Mathiasen
Can a legal dictionary go from sexist to inclusive?: the dictionary...
Revista de Llengua i Dret, Journal of Language and Law, núm. 70, 2018 123
“” or “”.
” or “
professional sphere could come to be seen as normal.
o/a
neutrality
feminine forms offered. Curiously, the feminine forms of both these lemmas in English and also of their
2.1.2 Other ways of excluding women from dictionaries
the generic masculine terms are used that refer exclusively to men (such as “
alimento[s]
Eivor Jordà Mathiasen
Can a legal dictionary go from sexist to inclusive?: the dictionary...
Revista de Llengua i Dret, Journal of Language and Law, núm. 70, 2018 124
another one for the feminine (for example, “” and “
as “
empresario, hombre
” and “
esposa” and “esposo” or “” and “
o/a
and the feminine. For example, in the articles for “” and “buscona
2.2 Focusing on women
made use in this article of the term generic feminine
as the main player is so greatly enhanced that men are emphatically removed from the sphere of action
2.2.1 Generic feminine
maternity
(“bear”, “maternal”, “maternity”, “maternity leave”, “surrogacy”, “surrogate mother”, in English, and “
”, “claustro materno”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “
Eivor Jordà Mathiasen
Can a legal dictionary go from sexist to inclusive?: the dictionary...
Revista de Llengua i Dret, Journal of Language and Law, núm. 70, 2018 125
”, “”, “materno”, “”, “”, “”, “parto”
and “permiso por alumbramiento
“claustro materno” or “parto
to men (“paternal”, “paternity” in English, and “”, “”, “”, “”,
“”, “paterno ” or “padre ” are
comercio sexual” and “prostituirse
“prostíbulo”, “prostituta” and “”.
” “ ”, “ ”,
“lupanar” and “prostibulo
alcahueta
ramera
alcahueta” disappeared from the
2.2.2 Other ways of focusing on women in dictionaries
Eivor Jordà Mathiasen
Can a legal dictionary go from sexist to inclusive?: the dictionary...
Revista de Llengua i Dret, Journal of Language and Law, núm. 70, 2018 126
Examples illustrating articles on marriage separation paint a clear picture of traditional marriage. Firstly,
alimento[s]
Nevertheless, examples of use can paint a very clear picture of certain, generally sexist, stereotypes.
acoso
La insistencia en referencias
”.
Looking beyond the examples of use, indirect sexism may arise in any section of the dictionary, particularly
relaciones sexuales”.
“ ” once again assigns the active role to the man and the
Eivor Jordà Mathiasen
Can a legal dictionary go from sexist to inclusive?: the dictionary...
Revista de Llengua i Dret, Journal of Language and Law, núm. 70, 2018 127
current usage.
3 Alternatives
possibility actually becomes a necessity.
and, more importantly, by avoiding the depiction of clearly discriminatory situations in the dictionary.
as neutral hyperonyms.
generic feminine
Eivor Jordà Mathiasen
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Revista de Llengua i Dret, Journal of Language and Law, núm. 70, 2018 128
or another should not be determined by undesirable social stereotypes. Lastly, special care should be taken
4 Conclusions
social values. Obviously, creators of dictionaries are not the creators of language as they are tied to an
meaning is instrumental in the transmission of ideology.
alimento[s]
alcahueta”, have
“these issues of sexism and androcentrism in dictionaries should not be discounted as peripheral concerns to
the lexicographical project at large”.
performativity
Eivor Jordà Mathiasen
Can a legal dictionary go from sexist to inclusive?: the dictionary...
Revista de Llengua i Dret, Journal of Language and Law, núm. 70, 2018 129
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Eivor Jordà Mathiasen
Can a legal dictionary go from sexist to inclusive?: the dictionary...
Revista de Llengua i Dret, Journal of Language and Law, núm. 70, 2018 130
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Eivor Jordà Mathiasen
Can a legal dictionary go from sexist to inclusive?: the dictionary...
Revista de Llengua i Dret, Journal of Language and Law, núm. 70, 2018 131
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Eivor Jordà Mathiasen
Can a legal dictionary go from sexist to inclusive?: the dictionary...
Revista de Llengua i Dret, Journal of Language and Law, núm. 70, 2018 132
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