Ilona M. Derik
PhD in Philology, Associate Professor, Head of the Chair of Translation, Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, State Institution «South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University named after K. D. Ushynsky», Odesa, Ukraine
e-mail: ilonaderik@gmail.com
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8979-4745
Alexander I. Iliadi
Doctor of philological sciences, Professor of the Chair of Translation, Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, State Institution «South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University named after K. D. Ushynsky», Odessa, Ukraine
e-mail: alexandr.iliadi@gmail.com
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5078-8316
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24195/2616-5317-2024-38.1
SUMMARY
In the focus of the article there is the problem of gender neutralization phenomenon in the modern English language in general and in contemporary English Internet discourse in particular. The changes in the English language in diachrony are studied and interpreted in close connection with the review of «political correctness» and general tendency of euphemizing acute issues in the social life. The research was chiefly performed on the basis of the British National Corpus and the samples of English Internet discourse with the total amount of the analyzed texts about 4000. Therefore, the findings of the research can be fully regarded as trust-worthy and highly informative. The results have proved the slow-down in the process of replacing gender marked job titles by gender-neutral words. The research has perspectives for the future. The perspective may be seen in employing other corpora. The chief purpose is to prevent any form of linguistic bias that may occur in Internet discourse. The comparative analysis of these processes in British, American, Australian and Canadian English might also be noteworthy. Nevertheless, the diversity and profoundness of the researches in this field have proved the urgency of the topic involved.
Key words: gender neutralization, job titles, English Internet discourse, political correctness, corpus.
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