kylianduguey-blog

[kylianduguey-blog]

The very first non-gender translation tool

Scriptgirl, postman, businessman, mankind, our personal encyclopedia is full of gender-biased words. It becomes even more obvious with job names. This binary division has a significant influence on little girls’ minds : only 4% of them would like to have a job with a gender-biased title.

Because words influence behavior, actions and perceptions, it’s time to reinvent them. The German online translator ElaN has decided to address this challenge with a plug-in added onto the existing algorithm that suggests alternative gender-neutral words options. Thus, cameraman becomes camera operator, fireman becomes firefighter, mankind becomes humankind and so on… And even though the majority of unbiased words are negative for women, the opposite is also true : ElaN suggests that you transform mid-wife to birth assistant and script-girl to script person.

With this unbiased button, ElaN goes back to its initial mission which is to « help people understand one another better, thus creating a sense of belonging » said Robrecht Belien, ElaN Languages CEO. This initiative supports the  #BalanceforBetter movement and encourages the giants of the translation industry to integrate this plug-in into their own tools to build a non-gender world.