Poet or poetess? And what is the right name for a woman working as a doctor, teacher or director? You will say the “school director”, and the person will also be offended! And the thing is that this is not so long ago a feature of our grammar - a rework of words originally formed only in the masculine gender, into the female gender. Feminists in the Russian language have not been worked out too deeply yet, but the language is developing, and this topic is changing along with it.
Deeper and more accurate
Feminists are neologisms that are not considered in too much detail in the rules of the language. In many ways, this phenomenon has yet to be formalized, subordinated to laws, introduced into official language practice. Many say that one of the most important features of the phenomenon is a reflection of how much the language has the ability to form new words. To some extent, word-forming affixes demonstrate the richness of grammar. The scientific materials devoted to this issue are heterogeneous, and the opinions of the authors differ significantly.
Currently, examples of feminitives cause a lot of controversy among professionals. Others are convinced that using such words is a sign of bad taste. There are also opinions that raising such a question is completely useless. Someone believes that the introduction of appropriate words into the language reflects the strengthening of the status of women in society, but there are also those who are ready to argue with this opinion. An artist, an artist - is it so important to indicate gender when the main idea is in essence, that is, the talent to paint pictures?
Is it necessary or not?
According to many, a man and a woman have equal rights, and this fact should be reflected in the language. It is important to introduce a linguistic distinction between men and women, since androcentrism does not allow the fair sex to actively participate in social life. Limitations are everywhere, even in the terminology used. A society that is naturally formed by men and women, due to the peculiarities of word formation, turns into a society consisting mainly of men.
The new feminist words in some cause condemnation. Philologists explain this by the fact that people need time to get used to the new term, and over time, the practice of using such tokens will become stable. And now, neologisms seem to many to be rude, wrong, as if they cut the ear. But there are those who are convinced that new feminine words have already firmly entered our lives. Their sound became familiar, it does not seem that they had to face something special. However, lovers of traditions remain to this day, for whom the new feminine words adopted by the majority of society seem alien and incorrect.
Why is this needed?
Feminists are not just a linguistic phenomenon, but a reflection in the language of women's desire to become visible, to be recognized as part of society. No less important is this in the framework of implementation in the labor field. Feminists are one of the methods for displaying women through linguistic tools, which allows us to fight for gender equality and equal rights for all participants in society. At the same time, the idea of feminism reflects the desire of the grammar of any language to simplify.
The use of neologisms makes it possible to circumvent ugly constructions when the term is masculine, and the verb, adjective convey female affiliation. To avoid a loud phrase, a feminitive could come to the rescue. “Sergeyev’s doctor has replaced” - you see, it sounds illogical. Physician is a word followed by a masculine noun. Of course, you can find a way out of the situation and indicate “female doctor”, but the perception of such phrases is rather complicated, so in real speech it is unlikely to take root. The best way out is feminitives.
How to do it?
Creating a new word is not easy. Not everyone will be able to formulate it sonorous and correct. For example, this is how the word “doctor” appeared, rude, negative - it was not created as part of the constructive idea of reflecting gender equality, but as an attempt to belittle a person.
Feminitives are words that should be formed taking into account linguistic logic by a person with linguistic intuition. The result should be productive, good sounding. It is important that feminitives are consistent with language-specific patterns of words.
What to use?
The main tool to help create feminitives is the suffix. Currently, it is customary to talk about productive and unproductive. The first category includes those that are currently used in our language actively enough to form words. Classic options: -ka, -nica, -inya and the like.
It is customary to attribute the elements –iha, -i, -i (ec) sa, -sa to unproductive. It is also possible to use such in language practice, but the result will have a slightly different connotation.
-ka
This suffix can be safely called one of the most frequently used, especially if we take into account the logic of our language. It is through it that almost all feminists that are applicable at present are formed.
Often, ordinary people perceive words with such an addition negatively, believing that the suffix gives them a derogatory connotation. Linguists explain this by the similarity with the specific slang that exists in school, because the first such neologism that most people think of is “teacher.” This forms a negative pattern for this category of feminitives. In reality, the suffix does not have any marking, including negative connotation. It is ambiguous, belongs to the category of productive, you can safely resort to it in different situations. Returning to the above example about doctors: in the modern literary language there is the word “medic”, which can be used as a normative.
face
Such feminitives are not very widespread, and the most characteristic manifestation currently observed in the language is “kitty / kittens”. It can be explained as follows: now it is quite widely accepted to appeal to a friendly audience of “seals”, but this word has a clear gender identity. Since at times we are talking about the female half, it was necessary to choose an adequate term that would fit into the logic of the language, correctly sound and reflect the semantic load, not directly related to representatives of the animal world.
But if you need to say about a female animal, then a completely normative word is used for her - a cat. It is not a neologism, has nothing to do with feminites, and is not used as a tool to achieve gender equality in society.
-nitsa
This suffix is one of the most commonly used. Feminites, formed with his help, appeared in the language for a long time, therefore they are familiar to most modern people. Surprisingly, the suffix did not always mean exactly what it is currently applied to. For example, “a teacher” will be called such a woman who teaches at school, and in former times the suffix merely indicated that a man belonged to the corresponding specialty due to marriage. For example, the “colonel” was not called the one who had official merits, but only the wife of the colonel.
The change in the social structure could not but reflect on the language, and the words on-front became independent. Now they are used to describe a woman by herself, and not to characterize a man through her. Colonel can only be called one who herself holds the corresponding post. However, the word is exclusively colloquial. If you need to draw up an official document, you have to use the “colonel”, “teacher”. It is possible that over time the feminists of this group will enter the language as official, independent, literary, normative words, but so far this has not happened.
h
For the Russian language, this suffix is quite typical and characteristic, and the feminitives formed with its use seem logical and acceptable for everyday speech. Others, however, believe that such an increase gives a hint of mockery, disrespect. Currently, the word formation method is quite widely used both in writing and in conversation.
-inya
You can often find this suffix when it comes to the type of activity, profession, the name of which comes from the ancient Greek language. If the end of the word is a log, then the designation of female affiliation will most often be made through the suffix -in.
The indicated suffix is quite typical for the scientific environment and the medical field. The points of view of some linguists, the formation of feminitives in the future through -in will be the most characteristic option for the indicated type of words, as well as similar to them. For example, the “Duchess”, “Princess”, even if they have nothing to do with scientific activity or medical activity, but are educated by the same logic. These words seem harmonious, acceptable, and for the method of word formation, according to many, the future, in which the language will be a reflection of equality.
-is
This suffix is a classic representative of the unproductive group. Currently, it is used very little in narrow circles. Linguists have been arguing for quite some time about what meaning the suffix conveys. Some believe that this is a derogatory treatment, and the word “director” will be a classic example. There are opponents of such an idea, explaining that in this particular case, negative emotional coloring is associated with a specific atmosphere in the school and has nothing to do with the suffix as an instrument of word formation. Some are promoting the option of "director" as the most productive, positive, without negative connotations.
essa
In modern Russian, this suffix is rarely used. In general, its use gives the word an elevated connotation, changing the style of speech. For this type of words, a slightly unusual pronunciation for the Russian language is characteristic. Before [e], the consonant sounds solid. That is what the word "poetess" is.
-ha
This method of word formation as a result gives a rather simple, rough word. In earlier times, the option was used to designate a woman whose husband has some profession, and they used it only in colloquial, simple speech. For example, a colonel’s wife could easily be called a colonel’s wife, but not in the eye - otherwise the lady would be offended. An alternative use of this method of creating neologisms is to indicate that a woman belongs to some profession. From here came the words "weavers" and the like. Modern Russian language is distinguished by a negative assessment of words formed using this suffix. Neologisms designed to strengthen the position of women in society are not created with its use.
-us
Like the method described above, this suffix results in a word that sounds extremely dissonant for a modern Russian person. In earlier times, it was applied to women whose husbands owned some kind of profession. Currently, this practice has not been preserved, it is considered an obsolete form. In dictionaries, words formed through this suffix are marked as vernacular. They can not be used in normative speech or simple conversational, without fear of offending the interlocutor.
Feminists on-sha exist, although there are very few of them. This is the exception rather than the rule. Such words have never been used to indicate that a woman belongs to some man. So, the literary background to the formation of the feminist “musician” is quite interesting, which is currently free to use. The word “librarian” is also not offensive. From the point of view of a number of linguists, it is necessary to use the “librarian” option, but in the real language the first took root much better. However, some philologists say that "librarian" is the very word that balances on the verge between the vernacular and neutral. But the word "giantess" is known to everyone, it is widely distributed, is often found in literary works and can be used in ordinary speech. It does not acquire any negative subtext due to the suffix.
Controversial and Similar
But the word "captain" is somewhat different from the others formed through the same suffix. For him, it is impossible to form a feminitive using the classic add-ka, since the captain is the name of the headgear. According to some linguists, it would be correct to use the suffix -ess, which would result in a “captainess”. However, a living spoken language exists according to its own rules, and if you ask the layman how he will name the captain’s wife or the woman who controls the ship, the answer will be one - “captain”.
The last two suffixes examined have much in common. They are characterized by a strong colloquial subtext. The three main meanings of these suffixes are:
- female affiliation;
- marker of neglect;
- designation of colloquial expression.
th
From the point of view of the stylistic rules of the Russian language, such a suffix is neutral. Its only meaning is the designation of the object's belonging to the female sex. The practice of adding such a suffix to those words whose basis ends in -un has been established.
Traditions: it's time to change
Centuries ago, each gender had clear roles that were not transmitted from representatives of one to the other. Now life has changed quite a lot, this separation is a thing of the past. People are faced with the need to maintain new tools for designating the gender of the object in question. It is important at the same time to be able to convey the characteristic in an adequate, neutral way, without resorting to derogatory, mocking suffixes. A woman strives for equal rights - and this is perfectly reasonable and natural. Securing privileges as substantial as men in all areas of life is not only wages and employment opportunities, but also the right terminology, respectful attitude, recognition of a person's capabilities, regardless of gender.
Feminitives are neologisms, at least at the current moment of language development. Many linguists, as well as specialists in social development, suggest that soon such words will become normative, familiar to the masses, and used in a variety of situations. It is important to formulate them taking into account linguistic logic, in accordance with the word-formation models characteristic of the Russian language, and then the result will be really good - this will give useful words that will make the language gender-sensitive.