TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Gender-biased language From:Barbara Shwom <bshwom -at- NWU -dot- EDU> Date:Tue, 16 Nov 1993 19:03:06 GMT
Students in my technical writing class posed a question that I can't
answer:
Is the injunction against using gender-biased language in technical writing
an American phenomenon or is it prevalent in other countries? What about in
other languages? Do technical writers in French, Spanish, or German (and
other languages in which nouns have genders) worry about eliminating
gender-specific references to people? If so, what techniques do they use?
If anyone has any experience or knowledge on these issues, we'd be
interested in hearin it.
--
Barbara Shwom
Northwestern University
bshwom -at- nwu -dot- edu