La grammatica la fa… la differenza
(Grammar does make the difference) Book not yet available in English
Summary:
What if one day in class the teacher read the story of a girl who wanted to be a calciatrice (female footballer) instead of a calciatore (male footballer)? Or if the teacher gave a good mark to a girl who wrote in her essay that she wanted to be a medica (female doctor) instead of a medico (male doctor)? And if, in the morning newspaper, you found news of an ingegnera (female engineer) who was appointed as sindaca (female mayor) instead of sindaco (male mayor)? In short, what would happen if the world of words, as if by magic, overturned like a sock? If you believe in this magic, you’ll find out what happens when words respect the gender of the people they refer to, fitting them perfectly…
Edited by: Centro MeTRa - Università di Bologna (Italy)
Comment:
Born from an idea of Associazione Donna in Rete di Foggia (Foggia Women’s Network Association), this is a book of tales, nursery rhymes and fairy tales which show children how and why we should use gender-inclusive language. Indeed, the new role of women in society requires a change of pace also in linguistic terms, overcoming the gender asymmetry produced by the use of generic masculine forms. We need to start from the language and we need to educate boys and girls since their first approach to it. This book aims to arouse curiosity towards apparently unchangeable topics, showing that language already has the tools to change our way of speaking and thinking in relation to the female gender, and that we just need to start using them correctly. The book comes with an insert which is aimed mainly (but not only) at teachers and which contains sheets that explain the core issues of the use of gender-sensitive language. This resource provides the tools to deepen such topic with children, and to guide the reading of nursery rhymes and tales. Fairy tales, stories, games, and nursery rhymes written by Anna Baccelliere, Annamaria Piccione, Flavia Rampichini, Chiara Valentina Segrè, Luisa Staffieri, and Giamila Yehya.