One More Perspective

I grew up speaking the Hungarian language and forced to pretend I was learning Russian.  До свидания!  I also inherited my Father’s appreciation of the German language, so I have been dabbling in the study of it my entire life.  I love how the German language sounds, and its rules feel very familiar, as it is almost as structured and prescriptive as Hungarian.  Jawohl.  Of course, I’ve had ample opportunity to admire many more languages, but none do I speak with as much ease as English.  My knowledge of the Hungarian language was critical in helping me learn how to spell in English, but most importantly, in understanding how language influences the concept of gender for example, and even religion.  

Hungarian, like many other languages (but not English), is unencumbered by a gendered expression of a singular third person.  In English, one may say he or she, fully anticipating the Listener will draw a keen difference in their understanding of the message sent based on the Speaker’s selection of a pronoun.  In recent years, many people have begun adopting they in place of the he/she pronouns, whether to keep a message neutral or to leave room for not assuming the third person’s gender identity.  In Hungarian, there is no such thing as he, nor she.  There is one authoritative choice for third-person singular, and it very much stays silent on gender.  Its equivalent in the English language is they, in its recent, nongendered use. 

Why is it important whether a language uses gendered or nongendered third-person singular pronouns?  There are many wonderful, authoritative studies and writings on that, like the BBC article I include below.  I do have personal experience with it, however, about which I feel very strongly.  For example, when I use an online translator like Google Translate to flip an English sentence to Hungarian, the gender from the context of my words is lost.  My Sister in Hungary will not understand whether I’m talking about my Daughter or one of my Sons unless I further specify.  No big burden.  If however, I want to double-check I understood a Hungarian sentence perfectly and I use the online translator, it forces the Hungarian language’s neutral third-person singular to be assigned he!  This means though it’s my Niece in Hungary to whom my Sister may be referring, the translator I employ changes my Sister’s sentence to sound like it is about her Son.  Imagine the greater implications of this with more significant writings! 

How many sacred books have been translated from ancient languages that may or may not have had gendered pronouns, but once they arrived into the English translation, were all of a sudden talking about men?  The world’s historical achievements and the identity of famous individuals…were they all men, or did translation to English, Hebrew, Spanish, or similarly gendered languages force them to be?  I cannot help but wonder what role in our understanding of history this default to male still plays today.  I’m shocked by the fascination in the United States with the definition of gender and, most critically, the drive for segregation of genders, but I digress.  

Another benefit to speaking a second language is understanding certain manufactured expressions only work in their language of origin and cannot be confused with universal truths.  Here is a seemingly benign expression that only works in English: 

In Hungarian, the words present and gift are not synonyms, so the above statement is nonsensical.  No particular harm done with this one…but what about other statements?  What is peddled as truth that only works out as part of the attributes of the English language?   

I’ll close with this bizarre quote from Netflix’s Grace and Frankie show:  “Remember Darlings, you can’t spell funeral without the word fun!”

“The difference between try and triumph is umph!” Boss Baby

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20201006-are-some-languages-more-sexist-than-others