Does the Gender Asterisk ('Gendersternchen') as a Special Form of Gender-Fair Language Impair Comprehensibility?
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| Title: | Does the Gender Asterisk ('Gendersternchen') as a Special Form of Gender-Fair Language Impair Comprehensibility? |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Marcus C. G. Friedrich (ORCID |
| Source: | Discourse Processes: A Multidisciplinary Journal. 2024 61(9):439-461. |
| Availability: | Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 23 |
| Publication Date: | 2024 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Language Usage, Sex Fairness, Comprehension, Aesthetics, Orthographic Symbols, Gender Issues, Barriers, College Students, Foreign Countries |
| Geographic Terms: | Germany |
| DOI: | 10.1080/0163853X.2024.2362027 |
| ISSN: | 0163-853X 1532-6950 |
| Abstract: | Gender-fair language makes women and people of other genders, their interests, and achievements more visible. However, critics argue that gender-fair language impairs the comprehensibility and aesthetic appeal of texts. This study tests these assumptions specifically concerning the gender asterisk, a form of gender-fair language that makes people outside the male-female dichotomy typographically more visible in German. In two experiments with N = 133 and N = 110, subjects were randomly given one of three versions of a text, either with masculine-only forms (e.g. die "Spieler*innen," ~"the fe*male players"), the gender asterisk in its plural form (e.g. "die Spieler*innen," "the fe*male players"), or the gender asterisk in its singular form (e.g. "der*die Spieler*in," "the*the fe*male player"). Subsequently, participants completed a comprehensibility questionnaire. Both experiments show that the gender asterisk in its singular form impairs comprehensibility, but only Experiment 1 shows an impairment due to its plural form. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Notes: | https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/PYKVX |
| Entry Date: | 2024 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1441627 |
| Database: | ERIC |
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