Inclusive language is language that avoids certain words or expressions that might exclude particular groups of people. (It is used only for people; inclusive language does not apply to things or animals).
This type of language is now used in the areas of Marketing, Corporate Communications, Audiovisual, Literature, Medicine, and many more.
Keep reading to learn about the use of inclusive language in translation.
Why is inclusive language relevant for translation?
It is very important for translation especially because some languages are not gender neutral. It is a challenge to translate from and into languages with grammatical gender, which is the case of Brazilian Portuguese. Languages with rules saying that words ending in “o” can be both male and neutral.
These rules cause invisibilization of women, trans and non-binary people.
We (translators) must keep the meaning of the source. In that sense, if we don’t have the context, we need to be careful not to define a gender if the original language is neutral gendered. For example, the word “doctor” applies to both male and female in English. But many people still initially assume it refers to a man.
Available inclusive language solutions in Brazilian Portuguese
Originally, the solution of using @ or the letter “x” at the end of words was being used not to mark gender. However, in addition to being unpronounceable, this solution is not inclusive as it does not work for blind people who use screen readers, people with dyslexia or other disabilities.
Alternatively, there are a few gender-neutral language systems currently used in Brazil, such as ELU, ILE and ILU.
These systems don’t need to be used for everyone, only for non-binary people. If a person identifies as a woman or man, there is no need to use neutral gender for them.
In Portuguese, the solution using these systems is pronounceable, but it’s still nonstandard language and is not included in spell checks, for example.
There are, however, inclusive solutions in grammar without the need for nonstandard language. For now, I will focus on those.
Here are a few examples of how to do it:
- Using the word “pessoa” (“person”) instead of using the “male neutral” form.
For example: “Aquela pessoa é do Brasil” (“That person is from Brazil”) instead of “Ele é brasileiro” (“He is Brazilian”) / “Ela é brasileira” (“She is Brazilian”).
- Restructuring sentences to avoid gender specific terms.
For example: “Já se inscreveu” (Have you subscribed yet?”) instead of “Já está inscrito?” (“Are you subscribed yet?”).
- Avoiding offensive language.
We should not use words and expressions that are racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableism, sexist, and so on. It’s not that we have never used an offensive term in the past. Nobody is perfect. It’s about: the moment we learn a certain term is offensive, we do not use the term anymore.
Whichever approach chosen to translate inclusively depends on context. What pronoun people use, or if the person doesn’t use one altogether.
There are options to use inclusive language in translation without the need for nonstandard language, but it is always the client’s choice which solution to use to respect gender identity.
It is necessary to do the exercise of trying to include as many people as possible. It’s not easy. We will learn, we will make mistakes. But with practice, we can improve.
Please leave a comment if you have anything to add.
To learn more about inclusive language in Brazilian Portuguese, you can check out the
Manual prático de linguagem inclusiva: uma rápida reflexão, 12 técnicas básicas e outras estratégicas semânticas by Andre Fischer (2020).