Neutral Language Research Articles

Removing the Binary: An Exploration on the Impact Language has on Our Gender Perception

Language, as a reflection of societal values and beliefs, wields the power to shape perceptions of gender, often perpetuating a binary understanding through grammatical gender systems. The influence of the generic masculine and masculine norm within languages with dense grammatical gender reinforces this binary, marginalizing communities and centralizing power within the masculine form. Despite these challenges, endeavours towards gender neutrality within grammatical gender languages offer hope, particularly in their potential to benefit marginalized groups like the LGBTQ+ community. However, while recent advancements demonstrate potential for gender neutrality within language, the possibility of achieving a genuine ‘gender-free’ language remains a question, especially within grammatical gender languages and beyond. In order to begin answering this question, one needs to understand the concept of ‘gendered language’ and how it has impacted our perception of gender throughout history. It is also necessary to analyse how recent linguistic adjustments impact the LGBTQ+ community and the changes in attitudes towards non-binary spaces. By comparing attitudes towards gender in grammatical gender and genderless languages, we gain insight into the intricate relationship between language and societal norms. To do that one needs to look at the contemporary languages such as English, Spanish and Swedish, which are undergoing gender-neutral adaptations within the core lexicon and grammar. In addition to indigenous languages that have historically included a form of gender neutral language. In essence, this examination of language and gender dynamics offers the conclusion that it is possible to remove gender from language, yet cannot change the impact that gendered language has already had on society’s perception of gender.

Does terminology matter when measuring stigmatizing attitudes about weight? Validation of a brief, modified attitudes toward obese persons scale.

Commonly used terms like "obese person" have been identified as stigmatizing by those with lived experience. Thus, this study sought to revise a commonly used measure of weight stigmatizing attitudes, the Attitudes Toward Obese Persons (ATOP) scale. The original terminology in the 20-item ATOP (e.g., "obese") was compared to a modified version using neutral terms (e.g., "higher weight"). Participants (N=832) were randomized to either receive the original or modified ATOP. There was a statistically significant difference, with a small effect size (d=-0.22), between the scores of participants who received the original ATOP (M=69.25) and the modified ATOP (M=72.85), t(414)=-2.27, p=0.024. Through principal component analysis, the modified ATOP was best used as a brief, 8-item unidimensional measure. In a second sample, confirmatory factor analysis verified the fit of the brief, 8-item factor structure. Findings suggest that a modified, brief version of the ATOP (ATOP-Heigher Weight; ATOP-HW) with neutral language is suitable for assessing negative attitudes about higher-weight people. The ATOP-HW may slightly underestimate weight stigma compared to the original ATOP, or the language in the ATOP may magnify negative attitudes. Further examination of the terminology used in weight stigma measures is needed to determine how to best assess weight stigma without reinforcing stigmatizing attitudes. The present study's findings suggest that the use of neutral terms in measures of anti-fat bias is a promising solution that warrants further investigation.

The many features which make the eIDAS 2 Digital Wallet either risky or the ideal vehicle for the transition to post-quantum encryption

The amended Digital Identity Framework Regulation (“eIDAS 2″) is expected to be implemented by 2026, including its new solution of the Digital Identity Wallet from each Member State for its residents, citizens, and businesses. Widely used public key cryptosystems including those in the current EUDI Wallet prototypes are using electronic signatures and authentication that will need to be replaced by post-quantum resistant cryptography (PQC). In April 2024, the EU recommended general action by the Member States to prepare for quantum capability. We suggest that the European Digital Identity Wallet could be the starting point for an impactful debut of hybrid “quantum resistant” cryptography tools to align the Member States in the transition. We look at the awareness campaigns of ENISA and national cybersecurity authorities in the USA, Spain, UK and Germany on the transition to PQC using a hybrid approach. There seems to be some early consensus that NIST's PQC algorithms are likely to set the international standard. Given the eIDAS 2′s flexible, technologically neutral language, it allows the timely implementation of new secure encryption methods. The Wallet could be an exemplary model for large businesses, or app developers, and SMEs that also must transition to PQC to render secure those asymmetrically encrypted quantum-vulnerable digital assets. A very large and relatively fast uptake of the EUDI Wallet system is expected, and if it holds the promises of functionality, user friendliness, and security across the changing technological world, the EUDI Wallet's approach could become a benchmark for the transition to post-quantum capacity.

Unsettling lingua franca through translation: Solidarity in migrant cities

Migrational cities are inherently cosmopolitan and translational. In such cities, language is no doubt one of the most difficult barriers for migrants, who are often identified because they speak Englishesrather than English—not only when they donotknow the language of their new “homeland” but also, perhaps even worse, at that stage when they are supposed to have learned it.Many of them never manage to speak the dominant language “well”; they are deemed to speak “weirdly” in terms of both grammar and accent. In this context, translation has much to say. Translation operates within a politics of language. Being translational does not necessarily mean finding common linguistic grounds—or lingua franca, conventionally defined as stable and neutral languages that bridge incommensurable cultures. This paper examines whetherlingua franca can instead be conceived of as being built on uncommon and unsettled grounds, more specifically as temporary, ever-shifting registers borne out of the conference of diverse tongues in particular time-spaces. Translationis understoodas a way to creolize the lingua franca to forge a language that is native to no one and thus potentially available to everyone. This redefinition of lingua franca can lead to a new understanding of solidarity in multilingual cities by advocating for a translationthat highlights rather than smooths over difference.

Does Terminology Matter When Measuring Stigmatizing Attitudes About Weight? Validation of a Brief, Modified Attitudes Toward Obese Persons Scale.

Objective Commonly used terms like "obese person" have been identified as stigmatizing by those with lived experience. Thus, this study sought to revise a commonly used measure of weight stigmatizing attitudes, the Attitudes Toward Obese Persons (ATOP) scale. Methods The original terminology in the 20-item ATOP (e.g., "obese") was compared to a modified version using neutral terms (e.g., "higher weight"). Participants ( N = 832) were randomized to either receive the original or modified ATOP. Results There was a statistically significant difference, with a low effect size ( d =-0.26), between the scores of participants who received the original ATOP ( M = 69.25) and the modified ATOP ( M = 72.85), t (414) = -2.27, p = .024. Through principal component analysis, the modified ATOP was found to be best used as a brief, 8-item unidimensional measure. In a second sample, confirmatory factor analysis verified the fit of the brief, 8-item factor structure. Conclusions Findings suggest a modified, brief version of the ATOP (ATOP-Heigher Weight; ATOP-HW) with neutral language is suitable for assessing negative attitudes about higher-weight people. The ATOP-HW may slightly underestimate weight stigma compared to the original ATOP. Further examination of the terminology used in weight stigma measures is needed to determine how to best assess weight stigma without reinforcing stigmatizing attitudes. The findings of the present study suggest that the use of neutral terms in measures of anti-fat bias is a promising solution that warrants further investigation.

Methods to Enable Evolvable Digital Twins for Flexible Automated Production Systems

Changing requirements cause flexible automated Production Systems (aPS) to evolve over decades. Digital Twins (DT) of the different hierarchy levels and design steps ease this evolution, e.g., by enabling requirement analysis and compatibility checks ahead of any physical changes. To ensure up-to-date models and integrate additional knowledge, information gained during operation is included in DTs. Consequently, evolvability, decomposability, control software modularity, and learning during operation are identified as four requirements to achieve such evolvable DTs. Concepts to realize every requirement are introduced and exemplarily validated using a demonstrator machine. AutomationML (AML), the XML-based vendor neutral language for information modeling and exchange in between different disciplines and their tools and product classification systems like ECLASS that specify components attributes vendor neutral enable evolvability during the design phase. Decomposability is achieved by assembling DTs of components according to ISA 88 levels from control unit to facility. A control primitive concept that realizes control software modularity is introduced and validated. Based on data analytics and operation data the DT can be updated by using the versioning mechanism of AML. Thereby, the DT for the next machine generation is improved with knowledge from operation and represents the already existing machine more precisely.

‘The poetry of earth is never dead’: Meteorology and Myth in Keats’s Grasshopper Sonnet

Keats’s 1816 competition sonnet ‘On the Grasshopper and Cricket’ is easily dismissed as juvenilia, but when read with an eye to his interest in Greek mythology, the poem rewards further attention. In particular, the myth of Tithonus, who gained eternal life without eternal youth and was transformed into either a grasshopper or cricket, situates Keats’s immortal ‘poetry of earth’ in an ambivalent context that, in turn, makes sense of otherwise curiously neutral language. This ambivalent framing also encourages a new reading of the poem as a product of 1816, ‘the year without a summer’, building a case for the sonnet as an example of what Nikki Hessell has called Keats’s ‘botany of absence’ in the 1817 Poems volume more broadly.

Gender ideology and the “defense of the Portuguese language”: a feminist analysis on the suppression of the debate about neutral language in Santa Catarina

Resumo As questões da linguagem neutra e da ideologia de gênero ganharam destaque no ano de 2021 em Santa Catarina a partir da publicação do decreto 1.329/2021 que, dentre outras questões, veda expressamente as instituições de ensino e bancas examinadoras de seleção de concursos públicos a utilização de novas formas de flexão de gênero, especialmente na linguagem escrita, uma vez que, segundo o decreto, o aumento no número de palavras da língua portuguesa é contrário às regras gramaticais consolidadas. Neste contexto, o presente artigo visa estudar, sob uma perspectiva feminista, o movimento de supressão do debate sobre flexão de gênero e a articulação de discursos como a “ideologia de gênero” e “defesa da língua portuguesa” em Santa Catarina, considerando as tensões produzidas no campo da política e do direito. Trata-se de um estudo de abordagem qualitativa, sob método indutivo, com técnicas de pesquisa monográfica, teórica e documental, em que se pretende responder ao problema: de que forma se articularam posicionamentos de “ideologia de gênero” e “defesa da língua portuguesa” na aprovação do decreto que suprime o debate emSanta Catarina? A partir dessa análise, que não gira em torno da qualidade da linguagem neutra em si, conclui-se que a atuação política e institucional que enfrenta o debate sobre a linguagem neutra no estado não possui caráter democrático ao tolher o debate público sobre tema referente à educação e à cidadania.

Neutralizing the political: Language ideology as censorship in Esperanto youth media during the Cold War

AbstractThis article takes a magazine for Esperanto youth as an entryway to explore the links between language ideologies and censorial practices. During the Cold War, Esperanto print media sought a connection with the Third World to present Esperanto as an alternative to US‐led English and USSR‐led Russian. With anti‐imperialism gaining ground in these magazines, their editors struggled to adhere to the ideology that posits Esperanto as a neutral and international language. Analyzing the editorial work behind the magazine Kontakto, I explore how partly silencing anti‐colonial perspectives worked to safeguard Esperanto's neutrality, ultimately asking: how can language ideologies act as mechanisms of censorship?

Measuring and Clustering Heterogeneous Chatbot Designs

Conversational agents, or chatbots, have become popular to access all kind of software services. They provide an intuitive natural language interface for interaction, available from a wide range of channels including social networks, web pages, intelligent speakers or cars. In response to this demand, many chatbot development platforms and tools have emerged. However, they typically lack support to statically measure properties of the chatbots being built, as indicators of their size, complexity, quality or usability. Similarly, there are hardly any mechanisms to compare and cluster chatbots developed with heterogeneous technologies. To overcome this limitation, we propose a suite of 21 metrics for chatbot designs, as well as two clustering methods that help in grouping chatbots along their conversation topics and design features. Both the metrics and the clustering methods are defined on a neutral chatbot design language, becoming independent of the implementation platform. We provide automatic translations of chatbots defined on some major platforms into this neutral notation to perform the measurement and clustering. The approach is supported by our tool Asymob , which we have used to evaluate the metrics and the clustering methods over a set of 259 Dialogflow and Rasa chatbots from open-source repositories. The results open the door to incorporating the metrics within chatbot development processes for the early detection of quality issues, and to exploit clustering to organise large collections of chatbots into significant groups to ease chatbot comprehension, search and comparison.

Unveiling Gender Biases in Recruitment: A Natural Language Processing Approach

This paper investigates the potential of AI to identify gender biases in recruitment for senior management positions in businesses, dealing with many documents. It aims to unravel the impact of gender biases in job advertisements as a possible reason behind the underrepresentation of women in the corporate world. An innovative experiment that extracts and analyses 2.198 job offers published in February and September 2021 in the Financial Times newspaper is presented. Natural language techniques are used. These methods identify the most frequent terms and their appearance rate in the advertisements showing the gender biases they generate. By enabling the analysis of many documents, the method allows the accurate identification of gender biases. This use is unique in management studies. The results show a strong co-occurrence of terms associated with male roles in the studied sectors. The concept of agentic-communal role differentiation, rooted in the Identity, homosocial, and TM-TM theories, supports the findings. This knowledge will contribute to using NLP to discover gender biases in recruitment for high decision-making positions proposing action to improve the present situation. Should more women ascend to decision-making positions, selection processes should be improved to reflect a more neutral language. At the same time, cultural changes should be promoted in the corporate world toward more inclusive workplaces.

An audit and analysis of electro convulsive therapy patient information sheets used in local health districts in New South Wales Australia.

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) is a widely used psychiatric treatment; however, it remains contentious. It is therefore important that people are provided with accurate and balanced information before consenting to ECT. The aim of this study was to audit and analyse the content and language of ECT information sheets used in local health districts (LHDs) across the state of New South Wales Australia. Descriptive content analysis and evaluative linguistic analysis were used to investigate the information sheets, with findings then considered from a mad studies perspective. Thirteen ECT information sheets were obtained and reviewed, with the audit finding they lacked accuracy and balance. Linguistic tools were used to exaggerate positive outcomes and minimise negative effects. Despite commonalities, the structure and content of the sheets varied considerably. Findings indicate a need for co-design and co-production approaches to developing ECT information sheets. This should occur in genuine partnership with lived experience representatives based on current evidence, using neutral language, and with attention to their intent as part of processes of informed consent and decision making.

On Theoretical Edges and Exclusionary Borders: Towards a Genealogy of "Analyzability" in Jungian Psychoanalysis1.

An oft-repeated and largely unexamined assumption in Jungian psychoanalysis is the notion of "analyzability", that is, of an individual's ability or present capacity to think symbolically. It is often taught that if someone is unable to think symbolically, a depth analysis is not possible. Such an individual may be more aptly suited for supportive psychotherapy, the argument goes, an experience that may very well lead to the development of the ego's capacity for symbolic thought but is not, in and of itself, a Jungian analysis. While this sort of categorical thinking has, at times, crossed over into ontological claims about individuals and groups, the notion of analyzability encountered in psychoanalytic theory and praxis is often cloaked in facially neutral language. The impact, however, has been anything but neutral in effect. In this paper, I propose a softening of our theoretical edges through a genealogy of the category of analyzability within the broader history of psychoanalysis. Through this excavation, I explore the contingent nature of the category of analyzability, how it has constricted knowledge, perpetuated inequality, and, more broadly, obscured ways of knowing. In so doing, I recover the radically democratic potential that lies at the heart of Jungian psychoanalysis.

Navigating wartime communications: multinational corporations in the Russia-Ukraine war

AbstractThis article explores the communication strategies of multinational corporations in response to the Russo-Ukrainian War and the public pressure to divest from the Russian domestic market. By content analyzing official statements from the top 50 revenue-generating multinational corporations in Russia, the article identifies patterns in corporate narratives about the war, their actions and concerns, and potential solutions. The findings reveal that most companies declare scaling down their presence in Russia while maintaining certain basic obligations, prioritizing employee safety, and expressing concerns about the global economy. While few explicitly condemn Russia's aggression, many adopt neutral language to avoid naming Russia as the aggressor. Corporations emphasize the importance of diplomacy, adherence to international law, and the pursuit of peace, but often avoid proposing concrete solutions. Despite variations across industries, countries of origin, and decisions to stay or leave Russia, the differences in statements were not significant. The uniformity of corporate statements and evidence that companies frequently do not follow their declared promises suggest potential “bluewashing” – making vague or false claims of social responsibility or anti-war stances to improve their public image. These findings emphasize the need for multinational corporations to develop sincere and original wartime communication strategies.

Study on predictive models for swallowing risk in patients with AECOPD.

Dysphagia is considered a complication in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD). However, AECOPD may have risk factors for dysphagia. Through a cross-sectional study, which included 100 patients with AECOPD. General information, Pulmonary function, COPD assessment test (CAT) and modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) were collected by questionnaire. The questionnaires were administered by uniform-trained investigators using standard and neutral language, and swallowing risk was assessed by using a water swallow test (WST) on the day of patient admission. Among the 100 included patients, 50(50%) were at risk of swallowing. Multivariate analysis using logistic regression analysis showed that age ≥ 74 years old, mMRC ≥ level 2, hospitalization days ≥ 7 days and the use of BIPAP assisted ventilation were important influencing factors for swallowing risk in patients with AECOPD. Patients with AECOPD are at risk for dysphagia, assessing age, mMRC, hospitalization days and the use of BIPAP assisted ventilation can be used to screen for swallowing risk, thus contributing to the implementation of early prevention measures.

Best Nursing Practice: Safe and Inclusive Healthcare Environments for Transgender People: A Systematic Review.

(1) Background: The aim of this study was to review the scope of the existing scientific literature on creating safe and inclusive healthcare environments for transgender people and provide an overview of the resources and nursing skills required to do so. (2) Methods: With the research question in mind, an exploratory search of six databases was conducted to identify all relevant primary studies. After screening and selection of articles based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 41 articles were included and reviewed. (3) Results: The results were classified under four headings: the training of health professionals, the creation of safe spaces, the nurse as facilitator, and best care practice. Most of the evidence indicates that it is essential for nurses and other healthcare staff to be trained in specific skills to provide comprehensive, high-quality care to transgender people; however, there is a lack of material and human resources to do so. (4) Conclusions: The trans-inclusive care competent nurse should use neutral language that respects the person's preferred name and pronouns in a safe healthcare environment that offers and ensures warmth, respect, and inclusivity in the care provided. This study was registered with the Open Science Framework (OSF) on 9 January 2024 (osf.io/rpj6a).

MAXWELL’S UNIFICATION OF OPTICS AND ELECTROMAGNETISM AND THE INCOMMENSURABILITY TENET

It is contended that one of the promising directions for solving the problem of incommensurability of paradigms, coined by T. Kuhn and P. Feyerabend, can be associated with the trend of advancement of neo-Kantian epistemology, presented by the writings of Ernst Cassirer. According to Cassirer, the statements fixing connections and relationships between mathematical ideal constructs form a “neutral language” that can serve as a firm ground for comparing the “old” and “new” paradigms. A case study of the genesis and functioning of a neutral mathematical language related to the Maxwellian synthesis of optics and electromagnetism isprovided. It is elicited that its basis is constituted by the mathematical language of continuum mechanics. The main function of the neutral language was to project the consequences of all the unified theories onto the mathematical model, “rewrite” all known laws in this mathematical language, compare their conclusions with each other to eliminate contradictions and generalize the stuff in a self-consistent system of equations.

Going green: Framing effects in a dynamic coordination game

We study decision-making in a (novel) dynamic coordination game that simulates ‘social tipping’. The game involves groups of three subjects who initially find themselves in a stable state with positive network externalities. Over seven rounds, they have the opportunity to transition to an alternative stable state with higher payoff, based on the other network. The transition is slow, costly and requires coordination to minimize costs.In the experiment, the game is repeated five times, which enables groups to learn to coordinate. We compare a neutral language treatment with a ‘green framing’ treatment, in which meaningful context is added to the instructions. Our findings reveal that green framing significantly increases the number of successful transitions, but also reduces the group's ability to coordinate in subsequent games. Consequently, while green framing results in twice as many transitions, these are also more costly such that payoffs do not differ between treatments.In the context of environmental policy, the experiment suggests general support for ‘going green’, but it also points to green framing causing proponents and opponents to stick to their strategies reducing potential gains from coordination between proponents and opponents of environmentally friendly actions.

Unveiling the power of neutral and inclusive language in tuberculosis prevention and care.

Language plays a crucial role in shaping discourses and responses related to disease, particularly tuberculosis (TB). Stigmatising language and attitudes surrounding TB can lead to discrimination and marginalisation of affected individuals, creating barriers to seeking proper diagnosis and treatment. The terminology used to describe TB-affected individuals can be disempowering and criminalising, reinforcing an "othering" of those affected. To combat this, engaging with TB-affected communities is essential to co-construct a neutral and inclusive vocabulary that respects the dignity of individuals and fosters empathy and support. Thus, an inclusive language approach empowers affected individuals as active participants in their health management, encouraging open communication and the development of support networks. By adopting a neutral and inclusive language system, healthcare providers and communities can work together to remove unnoticed hurdles and align with the World Health Organization's TB care and prevention goals.

Language Dynamics and their Influence in Zambia’s Political Discourse

Abstract Purpose – A world with an increasing number of questions needs people willing to contribute solutions. The fulcrum of this study is centred on assessing the language dynamics and impact of the English language hegemony over local languages in the social, political, and economic life of the Zambian population. The study gleans on the implications of English hegemony and its concomitant colonial undertones and effects particularly on marginalised groups. Notably, the study provides a critical and reflexive development study analysis that eschews the norm: this approach – leaning towards the developmental interests of indigenous and local constellations – enables a rethink of who really benefits from language policies and politics, allowing for a repositioning of who in fact the language development paradigm is for. Method of Enquiry/Design – Data were collected through an analysis of both latent and extant literature derived from a variety of scholarly sources on language dynamics and imperial notions associated with domineering languages. This approach of navigating through a juxtaposed pool of scholarly works provided a confluence of propositions that informed the study’s inferences, particularly by highlighting the subtleties embedded in the English language hegemony. Most significantly, the themes are also informed by this author’s own personal field anthropological observations; having been born and grown up in Zambia under this same hegemonic English language environment. Findings – The study finds that language regimes that put English above local languages (as is the case in Zambia) have enormous ramifications on the education and emancipatory objectives of locals, especially the marginalised groups. For instance, women are burdened in the sense that they must – in addition to the confronts associated with the imposition of the English language – also struggle to navigate the already challenging patriarchy terrains that are rooted in the Zambian cultural and political settings. Imposing additional inequalities makes the attainment of societal development goals a tall order to achieve. The study concludes that to redress this situation, the local educational curriculum needs to be re-designed and aligned to respond to the aspirations and context of local constellational demands. Also, Black consciousness as an ideology framed in liberation philosophy needs to be re-energised as a pathway towards a society free from systematic foreign oppression; this is the only way that sustainable development could be attained in Zambia. Originality/Value – The study exposes the prevalent fallacy – especially by Western institutions – that Zambians willingly seek out to learn the English language: To the contrary, the choice and acquisition of the English language is often a result of coercive circumstances. In contemporary Zambia, the English language is – to a greater extent – a means to an end; a means for survival in the modern environments that prioritise English language over any local language or local skill. In Zambia, the criteria for skill or intelligence are only seen through the prism of English language competency. Local initiatives and skills suffer stigma as they are perceived to be primitive, backwards, and redundant. English and ‘whiteness’ are seen as the ‘standard measure of goodness’. In fact, many white-collar job workers are ashamed of speaking their local languages in public spaces. In this context then, English in Zambia is not a luxury but a convenient necessity that allows local people to navigate other critical avenues of contemporary life. The study also lays bare the fact that the English language hegemony has brought about elements of distortion of ethnic identity particularly on how people can access their cultural rights. Furthermore, far from being a neutral language – English, in fact aids the entrenchment of neo-imperialist tendencies such as discrimination, exclusion, and subtle promotion of economic inequalities, and educational elitism.