Ontario
College of
Teachers
Feminization
of French
Publications
Table of Contents
Preface ......................................................................................................................... 1
Feminization of French Publications for the Ontario College of Teachers ................. 2
Gender, biological sex and language: Feminization or gender neutral?.................. 2
Strategies.................................................................................................................. 4
Considering the whole text ...................................................................................... 4
Using “doublets”...................................................................................................... 4
Choosing words carefully ........................................................................................ 5
Using feminine titles................................................................................................ 6
Changing sentence structure .................................................................................... 6
Using photos ............................................................................................................ 6
Making plurals agree ............................................................................................... 7
Forms ....................................................................................................................... 7
Legal documents...................................................................................................... 7
Speech and other oral presentations ........................................................................ 8
Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 9
Ontario ................................................................................................................... 10
Québec ................................................................................................................... 10
Canada ................................................................................................................... 15
Belgium.................................................................................................................. 16
France .................................................................................................................... 16
Switzerland ............................................................................................................ 18
International........................................................................................................... 19
Biography .................................................................................................................. 20
Françoise Mougeon (consultant) ........................................................................... 20
Claude Tatilon (consultant) ................................................................................... 21
Pierrette Vachon-L’Heureux (consultant) ............................................................. 21
Page 1
Preface
All languages evolve and reflect the conditions and times in which people live. Like
other languages that have grammatical gender, French has been greatly influenced
since the end of the last century by the massive entry of women into the workforce.
Canada is particularly noteworthy in this respect, with Québec playing a leading role
in the feminist movement around the world, particularly with the establishment in
1971 of the Office of Equal Opportunity for Women one year after the publication of
the report of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women.
The egalitarian women’s worker movement of the 70s rapidly evolved in the 80s
towards achieving recognition of the differences between men and women, and to
equitable representation for women at every level of society, including within the
French language.
Initially – first in French Canada but soon throughout the French-speaking world –
people began to feminize titles to harmonize the language with the reality of our
society, namely access by women to jobs previously held mainly by men.
The introduction of feminized nouns is a change that has had very little impact on the
French language because the rules for gendered suffixes in French already existed
and French nouns therefore lend themselves quite easily to this form of lexical
gymnastics.
On the other hand the structure of French offers many challenges to further
feminization of the sentence. The feminization manuals of the past five years are
much more sophisticated than their pioneering counterparts of the 80s, which
emphasized the feminization of every individual sentence while offering few
strategies on how to go about it.
The new manuals and the new editions of older manuals now recommend a tiered
approach to the feminization of French that uses many different strategies, thus
making it possible to give appropriate recognition to women while preserving the
syntactical, lexical, stylistic and grammatical features that are specific to the French
language.
This document is the result of an in-depth study designed to address this issue in the
context of contemporary society.
Page 2
Feminization of French Publications for the Ontario College
of Teachers
It is important to treat men and women equitably. It is equally important to write
clearly and to write well.
The College has always made sure that parity between men and women is clearly
reflected in its French-language publications, in fact in all its French-language
material. For instance, we have used feminized titles since the College’s inception.
The recommendations for feminization of French publications and the feminization
guide are in keeping with the College’s principles of equity and the most current
recommendations of experts in French linguistics in several francophone
jurisdictions.
Our research led us to consult leading specialists in the field in Canada as well as the
common practice of major French-Canadian publications. We also reviewed a wide
range of documents, guides and publications in use in Ontario, Québec, throughout
Canada, in France, Switzerland and Belgium. The research presented a fascinating
picture of attempts made over the years to feminize French text.
Contained in the appendices to this paper are biographies of the linguistic experts we
consulted and a list of the works we reviewed. Our research also led us to talk with
many organizations, including those from Ontario French papers like Le Droit,
l’Express and le Métropolitain, Ontario broadcast media such as Radio-Canada and
TVO/TFO, and Québec publications such as L’Actualité, Le Devoir, La Presse, Le
Soleil and Gazette des femmes. We consulted with language experts at the Office de
la langue française au Québec and staff at the education ministries of Ontario and
Québec and at teachers’ federations such as the Association des enseignantes et des
enseignants franco-ontariens (AEEFO), OTF-FEO and CTF-FCE.
Our research and consultations, along with information from our francophone focus
groups, provides the underlying principles of feminization.
Gender, biological sex and language: Feminization or gender
neutral?
Unlike French, English has natural rather than grammatical gender. Gender in
English is defined by biological sex. Names of males are masculine, such as John or
brother. Names of females, such as Jennifer or sister, are feminine. Names of things,
like college or courage, are neuter. Names that apply to either males or females, like
teacher or student, are common.
Page 3
Unlike French, adjectives and past participles in English do not change with gender.
Compare the English – a damaged white shirt, a damaged white hat, a nice polite
girl, a nice polite boy – with the French – une chemise blanche abîmée, un chapeau
blanc abîmé, une gentille fille polie, un gentil garçon poli.
When writers make English gender-neutral, it’s largely a matter of judicious word
choice (humankind instead of mankind, chair instead of chairman or chairwoman)
and using the plural to avoid he/she (All teachers should have their reports in by
Tuesday instead of Every teacher should have her or his report in by Tuesday). In
fact, Canadian style guides now accept the use of the plural pronoun as a reflection
of everyday use of non-sexist language (Every teacher should send in their report).
In French, every noun has a gender and adjectives and past participles must agree
with that gender. The gender most often has nothing to do with biological sex (une
table, une personne, un individu, une université, un collège). Nouns that refer to
females or males usually have the same grammatical gender as the biological sex,
but not always (une sentinelle, une majesté, une victime are examples of feminine
nouns that can represent a man, while un individu, un voyou, un bébé are example of
masculine nouns that can represent a woman).
English contains many common nouns, which include both men and women and tend
to neutralize the expression of biological sex: driver, teacher, employee.
French nouns, however, use derivatives a great deal when referring to persons (nouns
formed from a root and a suffix). These derivatives highlight the biological sex
rather than neutralizing it: un conducteur, une conductrice; un enseignant, une
enseignante; un enquêteur, une enquêteuse.
Even in the rare case of an epicene noun (having only one form of the noun for both
the male and the female), gender (and biological sex) is still revealed by the article
and modifier: un élève doué, une élève douée; une grande adulte, un grand adulte.
The noun is spelled the same, but the gender changes to reflect the sex of the
individual it represents.
In English we hide the difference and call it making the language gender neutral. In
French we make the difference visible and call it feminization. Therefore feminization
of discourse is the set of measures taken to give women greater visibility.
The two different languages call for different strategies to give women and men
equitable representation. And French, because of grammatical gender and the need
for agreement, presents much more of a challenge than English.
Page 4
Strategies
The College strives, in all its activities, to treat men and women equitably. The
College also strives to ensure that its publications are well written and easy to
understand.
All material written in French or translated into French must represent women and
men equitably. The material must also be written clearly to reach its communication
goal.
Anyone working with French text will start by considering the whole text and use the
following strategies so that the document represents women and men equitably.
Considering the whole text
Through years of trying to feminize French text, experts have come to agree that no
one answer exists. The consensus that has emerged is that a variety of strategies must
be employed.
Each text must be considered as a whole. The goal in non-sexist writing is to write
differently from the outset to keep the materials readable and engaging. This is
therefore a greater challenge for translators than for writers. Men and women will be
mentioned in terms that are equivalent in meaning and prestige. The feminine and
masculine will be distributed appropriately throughout the text to make sure that both
are visible. Above all, the main concern is the overall impression of the text, whether
it is a letter, a short article or a 50-page report.
Using “doublets”
Guides published in the last decade recommend that writers use “doublets” (two
equivalent words designating men and women who perform the same functions, such
as étudiantes and étudiants ) judiciously throughout a text. As Vachon-L’Heureux
points out in “Féminisation et rédaction” (Correspondence, Centre collégial de
développement de matériel didactique (CCDMD) Vol. 10 no 3, Feb. 2005) the
introduction of too many doublets makes reading difficult.
According to the Guide de féminisation published by the Government of Ontario, the
intensive use of doublets does make women more visible but does not guarantee
them equity. In Femme j’écris ton nom, the guide from the Centre national de la
recherche scientifique, Institut de la langue française (France), Annie Becquer,
Bernard Cerquiglini and Nicole Cholewka write about the negative perception
Page 5
women have of certain feminized terms and their preference for a masculine term
that recognizes their authority and prestige.
A parallel exists in English with the disappearance of the “ess” suffix, which used to
denote a woman in an occupation. Poetess and authoress have disappeared
completely and even the once-common actress is virtually never seen, as women
who act prefer the epicene actor.
Reading a French text about teaching and teachers that says une enseignante ou un
enseignant, une directrice ou un directeur d’école, une agente ou un agent de
supervision every time would be akin to reading an English text about writing that
says author or authoress everywhere – a barrier to reading. Readers understand it’s
about the function, not the individuals.
The French education community stresses the importance of reasonable use of
doublets so as to not make sentences cumbersome in written or oral presentation.
The College will use doublets in a text when addressing people directly (Chères
collègues, Chers collègues) in titles, to set the tone (Ordre des enseignantes et des
enseignants de l’Ontario) as well as throughout a text where appropriate.
Doublets are used appropriately when referring to individuals but not when referring
to a function, particularly when the function is being done by a company or an
organization, be it a faculty, a school or a school board, such as fournisseur,
employeur or client.
The College, like most guides, will ask writers to exercise sound judgment.
Choosing words carefully
Wherever appropriate, writers will use generic, collective and epicene nouns, as they
represent both men and women. In grammar terms the nouns are still masculine or
feminine.
Personne, which is feminine, and individu, which is masculine, are generic nouns.
Une équipe, la communauté, which are feminine, and une assemblée, le personnel,
un groupe, which are masculine, are collective nouns.
Les élèves and les adultes are epicene nouns, which represent women and men alike
when used in the plural.
Page 6
Using feminine titles
The College has used the feminine version of titles since its inception and will
continue to use them.
In some instances this has meant reclaiming the meaning of the word. La ministre,
currently used to mean a female minister, not so long ago meant the minister’s wife.
La patronne used to be a pejorative term for wife, much as woman driver used to be
an epithet. Today, une ministre, une juge, une générale, une patronne are in common
use and have the same meanings and authority as their masculine counterparts.
In many titles the noun remains the same and only the article changes. La maire
(female mayor) is as acceptable as le maire (male mayor). La mairesse (rarely used
in our modern times) used to be the female equivalent, gender-wise, but referred to
the mayor’s wife.
Changing sentence structure
Restructuring a sentence can allow the writer to include the feminine by using
alternatives to adjectives or past participles, which need agreement. Writers and
translators will use a variety of the following devices, to name only a few:
•
•
•
•
•
the active instead of the passive voice, for example, nous convoquons vos
collègues à la réunion instead of vos collègues sont convoqués à la réunion
an infinitive, for example, l’élève pourra changer d’école sans avoir à
attendre trop longtemps instead of sans qu’il ait à attendre
change sentence style, for example, Parmi la clientèle étudiante, nous avons
distingué trois groupes : prêt seulement; prêt et bourse; aucune aide
financière instead of Nous avons distingué trois groupes : les étudiants qui
reçoivent un prêt seulement, ceux qui reçoivent un prêt et une bourse, et ceux
qui ne reçoivent aucune aide financière
an adverb or other invariable expression, for example, Les élèves doivent
arriver à l’heure sous peine de conséquence instead of Les élèves ne doivent
pas arriver en retard; S’ils le font, ils devront essuyer des conséquences
an indefinite or possessive adjective, for example, on a demandé à chaque
membre instead of chacun des membres.
Using photos
Appearance is important. The fact that there are female members in the Ontario
College of Teachers is made clear from the presence of women in the cover
photograph of any publication and throughout it. Photographs are the strongest way
to demonstrate the presence of women.
Page 7
Articles in this kind of publication need fewer feminine tags than would be needed in
a letter or a report that has no graphics.
Making plurals agree
In French, unlike English, modifiers must change to agree with the gender of what
they’re modifying. Where a statement contains both masculine and feminine nouns
the agreement of modifiers is with the masculine plural. The style guides and
linguistic experts agree that it is impossible to get around this agreement.
An attempt to make the plural feminine introduces confusion: les étudiants et les
étudiantes diplômées says “all male students but only female students who have
graduated.” The masculine plural, les étudiants diplômés, means “all students who
have graduated” (regardless of whether they are men or women) as according to
French grammar the masculine plural includes both sexes. In order to convey the
meaning that only male students have graduated, the sentence would have to be more
specific. Les étudiants de sexe masculin qui sont diplomés means “only male
students who have graduated.”
When referring to a function the noun is generic, even though most “function” nouns
carry the masculine gender. When it refers to an individual the noun takes on gender
to match the biological sex, as in L’enseignante Julie Thériault est un des
enseignants les plus réputés de la province (Teacher Julie Thériault is one of the
most respected teachers in the province). It is not L’enseignante Julie Thériault est
une des enseignantes les plus réputées de la province, for in that case teacher Julie
Thériault is one of the most respected female teachers in the province.
Forms
For College publications and most other documents these strategies will be effective.
However, forms and legal-type documents fall into another category.
Forms and questionnaires must be simple and are often subject to space constraints.
In these documents, which usually accompany or are part of a larger, informative
document, titles and forms of address will be in both genders. The College will
follow current practice in most jurisdictions and not use brackets, slashes or dashes.
Legal documents
Since the College must harmonize its regulations with the laws under which it
operates, it will continue to follow the practices of major Canadian statutes in the use
of the masculine to express the generic.
Page 8
The report of the committee appointed to prepare bilingual legislative drafting
conventions for the Uniform Law Conference of Canada says that sex-specific
references should be avoided. However, it also states that one may use the masculine
as a generic form (le président, l’auteur de la demande) and the masculine plural (les
employés, les avocats).
The College will add to its legal documents the following, which is often added to a
French translation: La formulation au masculin pluriel est généraique et inclut donc
le masculin et le féminin. (The use of masculine plural is generic and therefore
includes feminine and masculine).
Speech and other oral presentations
For oral presentations, the College will use all the above strategies with the
exception of doublets if the words are homophones: Chers collègues instead of
Chères collègues, Chers collègues; les professionnels instead of les professionnelles
et professionnels.
Page 9
Conclusion
Feminization of titles is now common in the French language. Feminization of text is
less so. As writing in a genderless fashion is much more a challenge in French than
in English, French will focus more on representing both men and women fairly
instead of hiding them.
It is imperative that French-language publications of the College reflect the equity
between women and men. At the same time the College must keep up its standards
for clear, well-written material.
The linguistic experts agree that no one strategy exists. The answer is to use many
strategies.
The College began to implement these strategies as the research and development of
this paper proceeded.
In all its publications the College will use a variety of feminization strategies to
ensure that members see themselves treated fairly.
1. Writers and translators for the College will consider the entire text and treat it as
a whole, using feminization strategies that ensure the text clearly recognizes the
feminine.
2. The College will use “doublets” (feminine-masculine pairs) in forms of address
(Chères collègues, Chers collègues) in titles as well as throughout the text where
appropriate.
3. Writers and translators will look for words that include both men and women,
using collective, epicene or generic nouns wherever possible and appropriate.
4. The College will use the feminine version when the title is that of a woman.
5. Writers and translators will look for ways to alter sentence structure to avoid
constructions that require agreement.
6. Designers will use photos and graphics representing women.
7. In legal documents the College will follow the practices used in major Canadian
statutes.
8. When used, masculine plural nouns include both men and women, as per
common French grammar.
9. For oral presentations the College will use all the above strategies with the
exception of doublets if the words are homophones.
Page 10
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Page 17
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Page 19
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Page 20
Biography
Françoise Mougeon (consultant)
Françoise Mougeon has a doctorate from the Université de Paris X in linguistics and
language sciences (1999) and a master’s in linguistics from the Université de Paris
VII (1970).
Having worked as an educational advisor for the federal government’s Language
Training Program until 1986, she has since been a professor at York University’s
Glendon College in Toronto, where from 2000 to 2002, she was the head of the
French-language program and from 2001 to 2003 the head of the French Studies
Department. She was Glendon’s Associate Principal, Academic from 2003 to 2004.
She has been the Director of York University Masters Program in French Studies
since July 2005.
Mougeon has published many articles about bilingualism, the French spoken in
“language isolates” and the influence of information technology on the structure of
French, along with a work about oral French entitled Quel français parler? Initiation
au français parlé au Canada et en France [Which French? An introduction to
spoken French in Canada and France] (Éditions du GREF, 1995; 2nd revised,
corrected and expanded edition, 1998), a CD-ROM to accompany the work
(produced in co-operation with Dominique Scheffel-Dunand): Paroles
francophones: Quebec, Ontario, France (Éditions du GREF, 1999).
In addition, working once again with Dominique Scheffel-Dunand, she created an
online course on Interculturality in a francophone network.
In 2003 she collaborated with Raymond Mougeon to publish a pedagogical guide for
teachers working in French Immersion schools entitled Mille Images (Éditions
Beauchemin).
Her research interests include stylistic variation in French, teaching and acquiring
variation in a first and second language.
She is currently conducting research projects on code switching in bilingual subjects
and on the sociolinguistic competence of university graduates from immersion
programs.
Page 21
Claude Tatilon (consultant)
Claude Tatilon has taught linguistics and translation at the University of Western
Ontario and was a visiting professor at the University of Ottawa School of
Translation and Interpretation. He is currently a full professor of linguistics and
translation at Glendon College, the bilingual faculty of York University. In 1979 he
established the Glendon BA Program in Translation and later became Director of the
MA Program in Translation and head of the Department of French Studies.
He has published many translations in a variety of fields (fine arts, literature,
advertising, education, board games), including, with his colleague Alain Baudot,
Jungle canadienne : la période méconnue d’Arthur Lismer [French translation of
Dennis Reid’s Canadian Jungle: the later work of Arthur Lismer] (Art Gallery of
Ontario, 1991). He has also written approximately 100 articles on language, as well
as a number of specialized works, including Sonorités et Texte poétique
(Montreal/Paris, Didier, 1976), Traduire : pour une pédagogie de la traduction
(Toronto, GREF, 1987) and Écrire le paragraphe (Toronto, Gref, 1997).
Together with his colleague Alain Baudot he was the joint editor of Georges
Mounin’s final work, Travaux pratiques de sémiologie générale (Toronto, GREF,
1994) and of La Linguistique fonctionnelle au tournant du siècle (Toronto, GREF,
2002). After Helena (Paris, Arcantère, 1991) he returned to novels with Les
Portugaises ensablées (Toronto, GREF, 2001; a finalist for the French-language
CBC Readers Award). He is currently working on some of the problems involved in
non-sexist writing.
Pierrette Vachon-L’Heureux (consultant)
Pierrette Vachon-L’Heureux is a leader in translation strategies and terminology with
extensive experience in both federal and Québec government service.
Her 45 years of experience in the field has led to her current interest in the
feminization of speech and written text. Currently, a leading terminologist with
Québec’s Office de la langue française, she is widely published and quoted as one of
the world’s foremost authorities in this area.
Professional experience
Vachon-L’Heureux joined the Quebec government to work with public service
linguists responsible for carrying out the work required by the Charter of the French
Language. She specialized in language assistance in order to develop a team of
language experts to provide linguistic advice to the Quebec community on the one
hand, and at the same time to develop an ad hoc terminological methodology, a
Page 22
discipline which underlies this activity.
The increasing needs involved in operating and adding information to the rapidly
expanding Banque de terminologie du Québec (BTQ – Québec Terminology Bank),
made this linguistic planner into an experienced terminographer.
Throughout the many phases in the development of language policy in Québec at the
Office de la langue française, she pursued her career as a project leader in this field
from 1978 onward.
Areas of interest, research in progress, previous research and major
publications
Her basic research into the science of language addresses the noun phrase, the parts
of speech, the theory of words and terms, the material signified and the formal
signified, lexical semantics and grammatical semantics, the term and
terminologization, language power and language effect, discourse, phrasal intent and
lexical morphology.
Her applied research is on the development of feminine morphology in French, the
effects of feminization on speech, the influence of English on Québec French
language and syntax, general and technical language neology under the influence of
society and social change, the history of French spelling, linguistic reforms and
changes, the development of Québec lexicography, the instrumentation of language
quality, the dominant norm, terminological and lexicographical tagging, pedagogical
materials, linguistic evaluation criteria, anglicization factors in occupational and
technical training, etc.
Vachon-L’Heureux has contributed to six books: Méthodologie de la recherche
terminologique ponctuelle : Essai de définition (Collection: Études, recherches et
documentation, Québec, Office de la langue française, 1984, 171 pages); Le français
quotidien des gestionnaires; Le français quotidien des secrétaires; Le français
quotidien des communicateurs; Le français quotidien; Au féminin : Guide de
féminisation des titres de fonction et des textes. All of these works were published by
the Government of Québec.
She writes regularly (articles and mission reports) and delivers frequent papers at all
the relevant symposia. Her most recent article appeared in Langue française in
December 1995. It was entitled: La variation graphique et les rectifications de
l’orthographe française (1990). Issue 108 published the proceedings of the CNRSHESO-AIROE symposium in June 1993, which she attended as the Québec
representative.
Page 23
Accomplishments
Vachon-L’Heureux completed a terminological internship with the United Nations in
1980, was Vice-President of the Association internationale de psychomécanique du
langage (1983 – 93), represented linguists from government agencies for the
Association québécoise de linguistique (1980 – 90), was the delegate to the Conseil
de la langue française as a member of the Québec committee on the modernization of
spelling (1989), gave a practicum in terminology in Cotonou (Benin) for the ACCT,
established a Network of language specialists for the Québec government, chaired
the committee to review management terminology in health care, directed the
professional training project team and was also a member of the Terminogramme
editorial board (1991 – 96).
Ontario
College of
Teachers
French
Feminization
Guide
Table of Contents
Feminization of text at the Ontario College of Teachers............................................. 1
Introduction.................................................................................................................. 2
1. Consider the whole text ....................................................................................... 2
2. Use doublets......................................................................................................... 3
3. Choose words carefully ....................................................................................... 5
4. Use feminine titles ............................................................................................... 6
5. Change sentence structure ................................................................................... 7
6. Make plurals agree............................................................................................... 8
7. Working with forms............................................................................................. 8
8. Working with legal texts...................................................................................... 9
9. Speech and other oral presentations .................................................................... 9
Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 10
Page 1
Feminization of text at the Ontario College of Teachers
The College has undertaken to develop guidelines that will allow French-language
texts to reflect the role of women in the teaching profession and in society – making
women visible in its written materials while ensuring that its writing is clear, concise
and of a high standard. The guidelines illustrate the College’s commitment to nonsexist usage that is consistent with accepted standards of French language. The
guidelines are intended to reflect the way that Ontario Francophones write and speak
– in the press, on television and in our schools.
The College’s feminization guide acknowledges that there are many linguistic and
stylistic approaches, and that each publication has its own requirements. Everyone
who is required to write documents in French for the College must be given the tools
for making sound choices when replacing sexist or awkward turns of phrase, and for
finding appropriate expressions that do justice to women while remaining clear and
elegant.
We have prepared an inventory of the various types of documents prepared by the
College to formulate rules appropriate to each.
•
•
•
•
Informative documents. The rules for these may be applied to all written
materials, except legal documents and forms.
Regulations, policies and other legal documents.
Forms, questionnaires and surveys. These are intended for a wide range of
people and the syntax used should be simple and to the point.
Speeches and other oral presentations.
Page 2
Introduction
This guide has been prepared in conjunction with the document Feminization of
French Publications for the Ontario College of Teachers. The guide is to be
followed by those who translate in French or write textual material in French for the
College.
The College’s mandate includes serving Ontario Francophones – both members and
the public. This guide reflects the linguistic reality of the province and the evolution
of feminization in Canada. The proposed strategies will make it possible to skillfully
introduce feminine forms and reflect the female presence without an adverse impact
on readability.
Important note
The ways of expressing oneself being countless, linguistic strategies are equally
numerous. The following strategies are only examples. The College realizes that to
use varied strategies while maintaining an attractive and readable style, writers will
need to have an advanced knowledge of French grammar as well as an excellent
appreciation of stylistic turns of phrase.
1. Consider the whole text
Through years of trying to feminize French text, experts have come to agree that no
one answer exists. A consensus has emerged that a range of strategies is needed.
To feminize a text elegantly, the text must be considered as a whole and not word by
word or sentence by sentence, so that feminization tags, for example, can be spread
out judiciously and appropriately. The repeated use of doublets (feminine and
masculine pairs) is a form of emphasis that can draw the reader’s attention away
from the text’s principal message. This strategy should therefore not be used
excessively.
The goal is not simply to add the feminine and masculine form of each word, but
rather to write differently from the outset. The techniques used should not disturb the
flow or confuse the reader. Feminine and masculine tags should be distributed
appropriately throughout the text to make sure that both are generally visible. Above
all, the main concern is the overall impression of the text, whether it is a short article
or a 50-page report. This overall impression is more important than any individual
words. It is also important to ensure that men and women are mentioned in terms that
are equivalent in meaning and prestige. One’s writing therefore needs to be adapted
to the text.
It is imperative that French-language publications of the College present men and
women equitably. At the same time, the College must maintain its standards for
clear, well-written material.
Page 3
Appearance is therefore important. For example, the feminization requirements for a
letter being sent out to members of the College need not be exactly the same as for
materials that are heavily illustrated with photographs with a more artistic layout.
The cover page of a French publication of the Ontario College of Teachers clearly
uses the pair enseignantes and enseignants to set the tone. The fact that there are
women members of the College can be made clear not only through cover
photography but also within each publication. In such cases, fewer text-based
strategies are required because photographs are a stronger way of presenting the
presence of women than many lexical strategies. Excessive feminine tags in articles
where women would already be predominant in the reader’s mind would only draw
attention to something that is taken for granted and may divert attention from the
text’s primary intent.
However, more attention is likely required where fewer photographs are used and
where the textual material is more dense, such as a report.
Lastly, while distributing feminization strategies appropriately throughout a text, one
must not forget that in common French grammar the use of masculine (singular and
plural) is the gender used to express the generic.
2. Use doublets
Use doublets when addressing people directly: Chères collègues, Chers collègues…,
as well as in titles, to set the tone. (Ordre des enseignantes et des enseignants de
l’Ontario).
Doublets can also be used when referring to individuals, but not when referring to
the function, particularly when the function is being done by a company or
organization, such as fournisseur (supplier), employeur or client.
Exercise sound judgment, so that the document is well written and easy to
understand in order to communicate a clear message to a target audience.
•
masculine-feminine pairs (repeat adjective before the noun)
Guide destiné aux nouvelles enseignantes et aux nouveaux enseignants
des facultés d’éducation
•
words spelled the same way in both genders are not repeated
La ou le titulaire vs La titulaire ou le titulaire
L’unique représentante ou représentant (vs l’unique représentante ou
l’unique représentant)
La nouvelle ou le nouveau cadre vs (La nouvelle cadre ou le
nouveau cadre)
Page 4
•
repeat article (offers of employment and other similar material)
La ou le chef
Une ou un élève
•
noun plus adjective: person + adjective
Les personnes incommodées voudront s’adresser à la direction.
Les conseils scolaires prévoient des mesures en vue de faciliter l’accès
des écoles aux personnes handicapées.
But:
Les responsables de la formation (vs Les personnes responsables de la
formation.)
•
noun and modifier (read Le bon usage by Grevisse for more information)
In the singular, modifiers (such as articles, demonstrative adjectives,
etc.) and singular nouns are written in both genders.
Cette étudiante ou cet étudiant
In the plural, plural nouns are to be written in both genders.
Ces conseillères et conseillers Les postulantes et postulants
Comment, if the modifiers take a different form in the masculine and
feminine plural, the modifier is repeated.
Toutes les finissantes et tous les finissants
•
compound noun
Compound nouns are written out in full in both genders
La directrice adjointe ou le directeur adjoint
•
adjective and participle
Adjectives or participles are not repeated.
L’étudiante ou l’étudiant inscrit
In the singular, the adjective or participle that precedes the noun and that
has a different written form in each gender is repeated.
La nouvelle étudiante ou le nouvel étudiant inscrit
•
agreement of attributive adjective and participle
For the masculine-feminine pair, it is preferable to place the masculine
noun closest to the verb, adjective or participle for agreement purposes.
L’étudiante ou l’étudiant inscrit (vs L’étudiant ou l’étudiante inscrit)
Page 5
3. Choose words carefully
•
fonction (name of job title)
En plus d’assumer les responsabilités de supervision…
(vs En plus d’assumer les responsabilités de superviseur…)
•
service (department)
service de traduction (vs traducteurs et traductrices)
service informatique (vs informaticiens et informaticiennes)
service du feu (vs pompiers )
•
personnel (staff)
personnel enseignant (vs enseignantes et enseignants)
personnel d’appui (vs n’importe quoi selon le contexte)
personnel d’entretien des routes (vs les cantonniers)
personnel administratif (vs les employés de bureau)
personnel (vs salariés ou employés)
•
corps (body)
corps électoral (vs électeurs et électrices)
corps enseignant (vs professeures et professeurs)
•
groupe (group)
groupe d’accompagnement (vs accompagnateurs)
groupe de renseignement ou officiers de renseignement (vs espions)
•
équipe (team)
équipe rédactionnelle (vs rédacteurs et rédactrices)
Limits
The expressions “Le directeur conduit la négociation” and “La direction
conduit la négociation” are not strictly speaking equivalent: the collective
word “direction” may have a broader meaning and designate more than
one person.
•
name of the administrative unit (unless the incumbent of the position is being
referred to)
La direction d’école est responsable de commander les nouveaux livres.
(vs Le directeur d’école est responsable de commander les nouveaux
livres.)
•
generic word
La réunion du personnel enseignant de l’école aura lieu vendredi.
(vs La réunion des enseignants de l’école aura lieu vendredi.)
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•
indefinite adjective
On a demandé à chaque membre de l’Ordre de voter.
(vs On a demandé à chacun des membres de l’Ordre de voter.)
•
epicene relative pronoun
Ne pas nommer l’élève pour qui on a adapté la leçon.
(vs Ne pas nommer l’élève pour lequel on a adapté la leçon.)
•
personal pronoun
Les travaux des élèves leur seront remis.
(vs Les travaux des élèves seront remis à ces derniers.)
•
epicene part of speech of the same type
Les responsables devront informer les parents.
La personne responsable devra informer les parents.
(vs Le ou la responsable devra informer les parents.)
•
another way of wording
…il faut de l’expérience et un cours du programme choisi.
(vs …il faut de l’expérience et un cours du programme de l’étudiant.)
…avec obligation de leur part d’enseigner.
(vs …avec obligation pour eux d’enseigner.)
•
appropriate noun that fits
Les membres…. L’assemblée procédera à leur nomination…
(vs Les membres assureront la présidence aux comités. Ils seront
nommés…)
•
possessive adjective followed by a noun
…en cas d’absence de l’enseignant. Si son absence…
(vs …en cas d’absence de l’enseignant. Si l’absence de celui-ci…)
•
avoid the use of the masculine-feminine pair in “hommes et femmes” to
designate those who work in the same field.
Les juristes exercent une profession libérale.
(vs Les hommes et les femmes de loi exercent une profession libérale.)
Les gens de lettres convoitent ce prix.
(vs Les hommes et les femmes de lettres convoitent ce prix littéraire.)
4. Use feminine titles
Use the feminine version of the title when the person is a woman. Use both feminine
and masculine versions in titles of articles, reports, forms, forms of address in
memoranda and letters if the title refers to individuals.
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5. Change sentence structure
•
impersonal wording
Si l’élève le désire, il lui est possible de parler à…
(vs Si l’élève le désire, il peut parler à…)
•
verb in the infinitive
L’élève pourra changer d’école sans avoir à attendre trop longtemps.
(vs L’élève pourra changer d’école sans qu’il ait à attendre trop
longtemps.)
•
adverb or another invariable expression
Les élèves doivent arriver à l’heure sous peine de conséquences.
(vs Les élèves ne doivent pas arriver en retard. S’ils le font, ils subiront
des conséquences.)
•
substitute active voice for passive voice
Nous convoquons vos collègues à la réunion.
(vs Vos collègues sont convoqués à la réunion.)
•
elimination
L’élève doit en faire la demande en personne.
(vs L’élève doit en faire lui-même la demande.)
•
restructure sentence
L’agent de supervision responsable qui le jugera nécessaire écrira une
lettre
(vs L’agent de supervision responsable écrira une lettre s’il le juge
nécessaire.)
•
change sentence layout
Parmi la clientèle étudiante, nous avons distingué trois groupes :
– prêt seulement
– prêt et bourse
– aucune aide financière.
(vs Nous avons distingué trois groupes : les étudiants qui reçoivent un
prêt seulement, ceux qui reçoivent un prêt et une bourse, et ceux qui ne
reçoivent aucune aide financière.)
•
invert sentence order / favour active voice
Les ministres devront assumer la charge de leur ministère. La première
ministre procédera à leur nomination.
(vs Les ministres devront assumer la charge de leur ministère. Ils seront
nommés par la première ministre.)
On a prié les spécialistes de remettre leur rapport dans le délai prescrit.
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(vs Les spécialistes ont été priés de remettre leur rapport dans le
délai prescrit.)
6. Make plurals agree
•
pronoun
Personal, demonstrative, possessive and indefinite pronouns are written
in the masculine plural if it is clear that they include both genders in the
preceding sentence:
o Les enseignantes et enseignants sont venus nombreux. Ceux qui….
o Les agentes et les agents de supervision….Chacun a donné son avis.
o Les directrices et directeurs d’école…. Ils ont ensuite participé à la
conférence.
•
agreement of predicative adjective and participle
The predicative adjective and participle agree with the singular masculine
if the masculine-feminine pairs are joined by the word “ou”
La candidate ou le candidat sera présent...
They agree with the plural masculine if the masculine-feminine pairs are
joined by the word “et”.
Les enseignantes et enseignants sont invités...
•
if a comparison is made between feminine subject and mixed group, sentence
needs to be rearranged in the masculine to avoid any ambiguity
Reconnue comme l’un des meilleurs artistes internationaux, elle a exposé
dans le monde entier.
(vs Reconnue comme l’une des meilleures artistes internationales, elle a
exposé dans le monde entier.) [Was she one of the best women or one of
the best among men and women?]
Julie Thériault est un des enseignants les plus réputés de la province.
Julie Thériault est une excellente enseignante.
(vs L’enseignante Julie Thériault est une des enseignantes les plus
réputées de la province.) [Was she one of the best women or one of the
best among men and women?]
•
use your creativity
Ce cours vise à éveiller la curiosité des journalistes en herbe des écoles de
la province.
(vs Ce cours vise à éveiller la curiosité des futurs journalistes des écoles
de la province.)
La consultation effectuée par le ministère a permis aux personnes
concernées d’exprimer leurs préoccupations.
(vs La consultation effectuée par le ministère a permis aux intervenants et
aux intervenantes d’exprimer leurs préoccupations.)
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7. Working with forms
Forms and questionnaires must be simple and are often subject to space constraints.
In these documents, which usually accompany or are part of a larger, informative
document, titles and forms of address will be in both genders, as much as possible.
The style will be generic and impersonal. The College will follow current practice in
most jurisdictions and not use brackets (e), slashes /e or dashes -e.
8. Working with legal texts
The College will follow the practices of major Canadian statutes in the use of the
masculine to express the generic.
The report of the committee appointed to prepare bilingual legislative drafting
conventions for the Uniform Law Conference of Canada says that sex-specific
references should be avoided. However, it also states that one may use the masculine
as a generic form (le président, l’auteur de la demande) and the masculine plural
(les employés).
The College will add to its legal documents the following, which is often added to a
French translation: La formulation au masculin pluriel est générique et inclut donc
l’homme et la femme.
9. Speech and other oral presentations
For presentation to be spoken, the College will use all the above strategies with the
exception of doublets if the words are homophones: Chers collègues (instead of
Chères collègues, Chers collègues); les professionnels (instead of les
professionnelles et professionnels).
In general, exercise sound judgment, so that the presentation is well written, easy to
read and easy to understand.
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Conclusion
While the feminization of titles is now taken for granted, the feminization of texts
remains a hot topic that affects everyone who has to write, translate or deal in French
with College textual material. This guide takes current feminization trends into
account, as observed in the French-speaking world, Canada and more particularly in
Ontario.
The representation of women in College texts ought to be natural and elegant, using
a wide range of strategies available. The strategies are offered as examples that will
allow us to make women more visible while keeping College texts intelligible,
elegant and highly readable.
Just as language evolves, ways of feminizing the language continue to evolve and
become more refined. The College’s feminization guide will also continue to
develop in order to better serve its Francophone members.
Ontario College of Teachers
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Ce document est également disponible en français sous le titre
Féminisation des documents en français de l’Ordre des enseignantes et des enseignants de l’Ontario.