Non-sexist terms
Sir,—The letter by W. R. Allardyce (July 20) is one of several I have come across this week depicting feminists as spoilsport grizzlers for seeking an alternative to sexist terminology. Such diehard linguistic conservatives as W. R. Allardyce seem to regard the English language as an endangered species, whose word store must be protected from change at all cost. This attitude fails to take account of the fact that the richness of the language is precisely because of its receptivity to change — particularly since the Renaissance when words were lifted wholesale from Latin, French and Italian, and others consigned to obsolescence, to accommodate massive social and cultural change. The English language will continue to evolve in recognition of women’s increasing importance in the public sphere, in spite of these linguistic Canutes, and I personally look forward to the time when sexist terms like "chairman,” "manpower,” etc., have become the quaint archaisms of a bygone age.—Yours, etc CLARE CHAMBERS. July 21, 1989.
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Press, 26 July 1989, Page 16
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163Non-sexist terms Press, 26 July 1989, Page 16
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