Treatment of Personal Gender-indexing Nouns in the Ninth Edition of Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English

Abstract

Abstract: The need to promote and use gender-inclusive language has been on an increase quite recently and has led to the coinage of epicenes throughout the English speech community, particularly in the [+ personal} nominal subclass. This paper attempts to address the treatment of gender-indexing personal nouns with a view to pointing out their form, meaning, distribution as well as ideological overload. The findings have identified different subcategories of the gender-indexing personal nouns, ranging from the generic masculine to the epicene. Finally, the study recommends a critical approach to dictionary consultation. Keywords: Gender, gender-indexing language, dictionary treatment, personal nouns, gender ideology