Discriminating dictionaries? Feminine forms of profession nouns in dictionaries of French and German*

Abstract

Following societal changes, professions that were traditionally dominated by men are now open to women too, triggering the need for nouns to refer to these female professionals. Languages show differences with respect to the creation and use of these feminine profession nouns. Whereas in German, feminisation has been accepted for quite some time, in French, the use of feminine forms of profession nouns was not very common until recently, but this is changing. This paper investigates the inclusion of feminine forms of profession nouns in different editions of dictionaries of French and German over time. The results show a contrast between French and German when it comes to the presence of feminine forms of profession nouns in dictionaries. Still, the number of feminine forms present has, especially for French, massively increased over time, suggesting that changes are ongoing. Different factors that influence the discrepancy between French and German are discussed.