Philosophy

Linguistic Justice

In the Linguistic Justice view of learning, multiple expressions of diversity (e.g., race, social class, gender, language, etc.) are not only recognized but also regarded as assets. Linguistic justice believes that culture and language are not simply additions to but, rather, critical components of education. It raises awareness of the ways hierarchies of oppression, particular in language, limit and individual's and/or group's access to their full potential. In education, the unwillingness to accept multiple Englishes has led to an education system which serves those who speak and write in "Standard American English" at the expense of students who utilize other vernaculars as well as students of multiple literacies. 

For more information, see the videos and books listed below:

Video: Linguistic Justice: Black Language, Literacy, Identity, and Pedagogy. Film by Peter Johnston featuring Dr. April Baker-Bell (2020).

Video: Why English Class is Silencing Students of Color. Jamila Lyiscott, TEDxTheBenjaminSchool (2018).

Habits of White Language (HOWL)

"To really understand what White language supremacy is exactly, and how we might decenter and counter it in our classrooms, we have to understand what the habits of White language, or HOWL, are. Their use and circulation is an important aspect of White language supremacy."

—Dr. Asao B. Inoue

Dr. Asao B. Inoue is a professor of Rhetoric and Composition in the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts at Arizona State University. In 2021, Dr. Inoue coined the term HOWL, which stands for Habits of White Language. All groups of people have linguistic habits which can indicate anything from that group's values to its way of seeing others. Dr. Inoue argues that though habits are natural in language, issues arises when "one group’s habits get used as the standard by which all other people are judged, regardless of their own habits or their goals as students or people." Dr. Inoue identifies six habits of white language:

1. Unseen, Naturalized Orientation to the World: This orientation "assumes, or takes as universal, its own proximities or capabilities to act and do things that are inherited through one’s shared space." For example, a teacher may embody this habit when they assume that their students have "access to the things, language, concepts, histories, and logics that they do," such as their vernacular habits, historical knowledge, or a certain cultural background.
2. Hyperindividualism: This stance values the individual over the collective. "In this way," states Dr. Inoue, "the point of society, school, the classroom and its activities is to serve the interests and growth of the individual, not the community."
3. Stance of Neutrality, Objectivity, and Apoliticality: This orientation assumes that a speaker is neutral, apolitical, non-racial, and non-gendered. This stance may manifest in a classroom when a rubric or set of language expectations is "assumed to be apolitical, outside of the gendered and racialized people who made it or use it."
4. Individualized, Rational, Controlled Self: In this stance, a person is conceived of as "an individual who is primarily rational, self-conscious, self-controlled, and self-determined." This orientation means that success and failure are individual in nature and are a result not of systems but of the singular person operating within them. In other words, an individual is seen as failing to succeed in a system rather than a system failing to serve an individual.
5. Rule-Governed, Contractual Relationships: This habit focuses on an individual's contractual relationships with others, whether through a classroom syllabus or the laws of a society. "There is an importance attached to laws, rules, fairness as sameness and consistency, so fair classrooms are understood to be ones that treat every individual exactly the same regardless of who they are, how they got there, where they came from, or what their individual circumstances are for learning."
6. Clarity, Order, and Control: This habit "focuses on reason, order, and control as guiding principles for understanding and judgement." 'Objectivity' is valued over over the subjective and emotional. "Rigor, order, clarity, and consistency are all valued highly and tightly prescribed, often using a dominant standardized English language that comes from a White, middle- to upper-class group of people." 

Habits of white language contribute to white language supremacy which operates not only in educational contexts but in social, professional, and personal spaces. HOWL, though it values the individual over all else, does not actually appreciate an individual's differences, rather, it encourages conformity which rejecting a person's creative and emotional sides. If you are an educator, teacher, or anyone in a position of power, think about how HOWL is reinforced by your student assessments, feedback, employee evaluations, and everyday communication. If you are a student, consider how HOWL manifests in your everyday communication and reception of your peers' work. Though institutions will often reinforce habits of white language, and going against these habits may have repercussions, thinking about how these habits manifest in your personal life is a great place to start.

For more information, read Dr. Inoue's "Blogbook—The Habits of White Language (HOWL)" and follow his blog.

Video: Dr. Asao B. Inoue, #4C19 Chair's Address. National Council of Teachers of English (2019).

Citations: Asao B. Inoue, The Habits of White Language (HOWL) (July 3, 2021).

Sources

• Resources for Inclusive Writing  (SeattleU Writing Center)
• Radical Copy Editor  (Alex Kapitan)
• Inclusive Writing Guide  (University of Idaho, Brand Resource Center)
• For More Inclusive Writing, Look to How Writing Is Taught  (Laila Lalami, The New York Times, 2021)

Further Reading

• Inclusive and Antiracist Writing Overview  (Simon Fraser University)
• Inclusive Writing Guide (English)  (McGill University)
• Inclusive Assessment of Student Learning  (Brown University)

Illustration: Pronouns, Valerie Morgan (2021).

What are personal pronouns?

A pronoun is a word that refers to a person, group, or thing. 

Everyone has pronouns and getting these pronouns right is not exclusively a transgender and/or non-binary issue. Historically, English offered only three personal pronouns: masculine (he), feminine (she), and the un-gendered “it." The lack of a widely-used gender neutral pronoun in English has long been criticized, since, in many instances, people default to using “he/him” when referring to a generic individual in the third person. Not only does the use of gendered he/she pronouns reinforce a socially constructed gender binary, it also contributes to the use of the masculine "he" as our default.

Since the three personal pronouns, he/she/it, do not adequately express the variety of gender expressions that have been present throughout history, some people choose to go by pronouns that more accurately reflect their gender. Sometimes, this pronoun is a gender neutral pronoun such as "they." "They" is already commonly used as a singular pronoun when talking about someone with unknown pronouns. For example, we might say, "someone left their jacket on this chair" or "they just went outside."

Using someone's preferred pronouns is not only respectful, it shows that you care and are working to create a welcoming environment for them and others. Below is a chart that lists some of the most commonly used personal pronouns along with examples of their use.

This pronoun chart is directly based off the one created by the University of Wisconsin Madison's Gender and Sexuality Campus Center.

Adapted from: Laurel Wamsley, A Guide To Gender Identity Terms, NPR (June 2, 2021); Sala Levin, How to Use Pronouns Appropriately, MarylandToday (June 28, 2021).

What is gender-inclusive writing?

Academic style guides agree on the importance of achieving gender-neutral writing, and the problem of using “he” as a universal pronoun. You have probably encountered texts where masculine nouns and pronouns have been used to refer to a subject with unknown pronouns or to a group of people that does not only include men. For example, terms and phrases such as "freshman" and "all men are created equal" were coined when only men could access higher education and political life. We know, however, that much has changed in the English language since then. Most readers no longer understand the word “man” to be synonymous with “person,” so clear communication requires writers to be more precise. 

For a time, academic style guides suggested the use of “he or she” or alternating between “he” or “she” in writing. You may have seen manifest as the use of "he/she" or "s(he)." These constructions are now acknowledged as being not only clunky and awkward, but exclusionary to people who do not fit neatly into the gender binary implied by “he or she.” 

Using gender-neutral language has become standard practice in both journalistic and academic writing, as you’ll see if you consult the style manuals for different academic disciplines. Gender-neutral language avoids bias toward certain genders. In other words, it avoids the use of masculine or feminine pronouns and prioritizes gender-inclusive nouns and pronouns. The singular “they,” in use since the 14th century in informal and spoken speech, is a gender-inclusive pronoun that can be used in academic writing. More on the history of singular “they” can be found at the Oxford English Dictionary’s website and Historians.org.

How can I make my writing gender-inclusive?

"Men" and words that end in a form of "-man" are prominent in the English language. See below for a chart on ways that you can replace these gendered nouns with ones that are more inclusive.

Image: Inclusionary word choices chart, Enago Academy.

Gender-Inclusive Language Checklist

Ask the following questions as you write and review your paper:

1. Have you used “man” or “men” or words containing them to refer to people who may not be men?
2. Have you used “he,” “him,” “his,” or “himself” to refer to people who may not be men?
3. If you have mentioned someone’s sex or gender, was it necessary to do so?
   • Example: Did you use a phrase like "female doctor" or "male secretary"? Use the unmodified "doctor" and "secretary" if possible.
4. Do you use any occupational (or other) stereotypes?
5. Do you provide the same kinds of information and descriptions when writing about people of different genders?
6. Imagine a diverse group of people reading your paper: Would each reader feel respected? Would they feel like they are represented in your writing?

Adapted from: The Writing Center, UNC Chapel Hill, Gender-Inclusive Language.

The Singular "They" in 2023

Academic Style Guides adapt slowly to changes in grammar and these guides are always in flux. To understand Academic Style Guides’ current and past positions on singular “they” as a gender-neutral unknown referent, it is important to keep in mind that Academic Style Guides do not create grammatical rules. Rather, they establish formal guidelines that follow spoken and grammatical conventions. Academic Style Guides can be slow to adopt conventions they might see as temporary. Despite the long history of the singular “they,” which mirrors the grammatical evolution of singular “you,” some style guides have waffled on sanctioning its use.  

As of 2023, all three major guides (APA, MLA, and Chicago) acknowledge the ubiquity of singular “they” for use with an unknown referent in informal writing and speech. However, only one of the three guides, the 7th Edition of APA’s Style Guide, fully endorses the use of singular “they” as “a generic third-person singular pronoun to refer to a person whose gender is unknown or irrelevant to the context of usage” (APA, 120). MLA, which leaves grammar largely up to the discretion of the author, neither endorses nor prohibits the use of singular “they” in this sense. As a result, it is acceptable in MLA Style. The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) has a particularly complicated history with singular “they” as a gender-neutral unknown referent. In the 1993 edition, it endorsed “they/their” in this sense (Chicago, 13th Ed. 2.98). However, this was removed from subsequent editions. Though CMOS acknowledges the ubiquity of this usage, it continues to prohibit its use and instead recommends rewriting the sentence in some way that eliminates the need for a pronoun. For more on the history of singular “they” and the Chicago Manual of Style, take a look at this 2018 article written by Cai Fischietto on IU Libraries’ website.

Further Reading on Gender-Inclusive Writing

• Suggested Rules for Non-Transsexuals Writing about Transsexuals, Transsexuality, Transsexualism, or Trans ____.  (Jacob Hale)
• Style Guide  (Trans Journalists Association)
• Gender Inclusive Language Handout  (Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

Further Reading on the Singular Pronoun "They"

• The Evolution of the Singular "They"  (Words at Play Blog, Merriam-Webster)
• Word of the Decade: Singular "They"  (American Dialect Society)
• Academic Style Guides on the Singular Pronoun "They"  (Cai Fischietto, IU Libraries Blog)
• Gendered Pronouns and Singular "They"  (OWL at Purdue Writing Lab)

Further Reading—General

• A Guide on How Gender-Neutral Language Is Developing Around the World  (Miriam Berger, The Washington Post)
• Gender-Inclusive / Non-Sexist Language Guidelines and Resources  (University of Pittsburgh)