this post was submitted on 27 Feb 2024
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Spanish speakers could have dropped all the final vowels and basically speak Catalan "los ciudadanos" > "els ciutadans", easy! two problems (gender inclusivity and secession of Catalonia) solved at once.../s
But the Catalan articles are still gendered
What puzzles me is that many IALs/conlangs based on the Romance languages (Interlingua, Elefen, etc.) insist on having a definite article (either la or le) when it could as well be dropped.
Yeah, some Catalan politicians say “els ciutadans i les ciutadanes”, much like some Spanish politicians say “los ciudadanos y las ciudadanas”. Romance languages tend to have gendered nouns (and by extension articles). 🤷♂️
You are right, I don't speak Catalan and I was trying to downplay a little on a topic which is dramatic (not for the language per se but for the people who can be hurt by it). Auxlangs, being designed for a purpose, could make some little more effort towards inclusiveness. And that would be one of the few reason to prefer them to natlangs (e.g. for institutional communications).
Tsk, tsk, this willow wants to get rid of THE definite article, but they're too afraid to even say it.