On Monday, 16 October 2023 at 1.30 p.m. in the Open University (Faculty of Humanities, ul. Uniwersytecka 4 in Katowice) a meeting presenting An inclusive handbook of job titles, functions and professions… (inflectional-word-formation dictionary), a new publication of the University of Silesia Press edited by: Ewa Biłas-Pleszak, PhD, Assoc. Prof.; Marcin Maciołek, PhD; Katarzyna Sujkowska-Sobisz, PhD, Assoc. Prof.; Jaśmina Puchała, PhD; Prof. Jolanta Tambor; Kinga Wąsińska, PhD.
An inclusive handbook… is available for free on the website of the University of Silesia Press. The publication is intended to help those who want to use feminatives and personatives (i.e. forms that do not indicate gender), but do not always know which ones to choose or how to create them, and for those who are against such forms, but may want to familiarise themselves with such forms. The study is also one of the elements of the Gender Equality Plan – the strategic programme of the University of Silesia for 2022–2024, aimed at equalising development opportunities for all who build the university community.
Why ‘handbook’? Because it is supposed to be a handy tool for Polish language users. Reviewer, prof. Małgorzata Gębka-Wolak from the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń (UMK), wrote: ‘the publication is advisory, not prescriptive. It is up to language users […] to choose linguistic means naming positions, functions and professions’. As the authors give the answer NO to the question: ‘Is it necessary to use female terms, i.e. feminatives?’ And the answer YES to the question: ‘Is it possible to use female terms, i.e. feminatives?’ The decision in this matter depends on the preferences of the person performing a given function, holding a position, having a title, rank, performing an activity or profession, and the preferences of the person denoting to them. Only such an attitude allows respect for diversity and the need to express it freely and without pressure.
The meeting will be an opportunity to listen to a lecture by Prof. Jolanta Tambor, and a discussion on the contemporary Polish language and how it reflects phenomena and social dilemmas that are important for current users of the Polish language. The event will be held in the Open University, as the meeting itself is of open nature.
Publication to download
An inclusive handbook of job titles, functions and professions… can be downloaded from the University of Silesia Press – a free copy is available in PDF.
