{"id":11648,"date":"2019-04-17T07:19:33","date_gmt":"2019-04-17T07:19:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=11648"},"modified":"2019-04-22T14:52:27","modified_gmt":"2019-04-22T14:52:27","slug":"%d0%bf%d0%be%d1%8d%d1%82-%d0%b8%d0%bb%d0%b8-%d0%b0%d0%b2%d1%82%d0%be%d1%80%d0%ba%d0%b0-gendered-names-of-occupations-in-russian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/%d0%bf%d0%be%d1%8d%d1%82-%d0%b8%d0%bb%d0%b8-%d0%b0%d0%b2%d1%82%d0%be%d1%80%d0%ba%d0%b0-gendered-names-of-occupations-in-russian\/","title":{"rendered":"\u041f\u043e\u044d\u0442 \u0438\u043b\u0438 \u0430\u0432\u0442\u043e\u0440\u043a\u0430: Gendered Names of Occupations in Russian"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Russian is a gendered language, which means that nouns have a grammatical gender (<strong>\u0440\u043e\u0434<\/strong>): feminine (<strong>\u0436\u0435\u0301\u043d\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439<\/strong>), masculine (<strong>\u043c\u0443\u0436\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0301\u0439<\/strong>), or neuter (<strong>\u0441\u0440\u0435\u0301\u0434\u043d\u0438\u0439<\/strong>). True, it can be confusing to grasp why a table (<strong>\u0441\u0442\u043e\u043b<\/strong>) is masculine and a river (<strong>\u0440\u0435\u043a\u0430\u0301<\/strong>) is feminine, but it should be much simpler with names of people&#8217;s occupations, right? In theory, yes, as a gendered language, Russian should have a separate masculine and feminine form for each profession. (It gets much murkier with gender-neutral terms, but that&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/theestablishment.co\/what-happens-if-youre-genderqueer-but-your-native-language-is-gendered-d1c009dc5fcb\/\">a whole different story<\/a>.) In practice, however, talking about occupations is fraught with the traditional division of labo(u)r, people&#8217;s preferences, and the limits of Russian grammar itself.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_11662\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone post-item__attachment\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11662\" class=\"size-large wp-image-11662\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/04\/painter-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"woman painting\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/04\/painter-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/04\/painter-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/04\/painter-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-11662\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/hE8Mog4qK4Y?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">bruce mars<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<h2>Each Noun Has a Gender<\/h2>\n<p>As mentioned above, every noun (<strong>\u0438\u0301\u043c\u044f \u0441\u0443\u0449\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0432\u0438\u0301\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c\u043d\u043e\u0435<\/strong>) in Russian must have a built-in gender. This applies to names of occupations, too. For instance, here are some pairs of masculine and feminine counterparts:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>\u0441\u0442\u0443\u0434\u0435\u0301\u043d\u0442<\/strong> \u2014 <strong>\u0441\u0442\u0443\u0434\u0435\u0301\u043d\u0442\u043a\u0430<\/strong> (university student)<\/li>\n<li><strong>\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0434\u0430\u0432\u0435\u0301\u0446<\/strong> \u2014 <strong>\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0434\u0430\u0432\u0449\u0438\u0301\u0446\u0430<\/strong> (person who sells you stuff; depending on your English variety, they may be called a shop assistant, associate, etc.)<\/li>\n<li><strong>\u0438\u0441\u0441\u043b\u0435\u0301\u0434\u043e\u0432\u0430\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c<\/strong> \u2014 <strong>\u0438\u0441\u0441\u043b\u0435\u0301\u0434\u043e\u0432\u0430\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c\u043d\u0438\u0446\u0430<\/strong> (researcher)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Often, the feminine form is constructed by adding suffixes to the &#8220;baseline&#8221; masculine form, which leads us to our next problem&#8230;<\/p>\n<h2>Masculine Forms Are Neutral, Feminine Marked<\/h2>\n<p>Because the masculine form is perceived as the neutral name of the occupation, adding the feminine suffix may be seen as drawing extra attention to the fact that the professional in question is female. Compare it to things like &#8220;female doctor&#8221; in English. Some women&#8217;s solution is to insist on the &#8220;neutral,&#8221; masculine name. For example, <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/reading-poetry-in-russian\/\">Anna Akhmatova<\/a> (<strong>\u0410\u0301\u043d\u043d\u0430 \u0410\u0445\u043c\u0430\u0301\u0442\u043e\u0432\u0430<\/strong>) did not like being called <strong>\u043f\u043e\u044d\u0442\u0435\u0301\u0441\u0441\u0430<\/strong> (poetess) and preferred <strong>\u043f\u043e\u044d\u0301\u0442<\/strong> (poet).<\/p>\n<p>Complicating matters is the fact that many feminine forms referred not to professionals working in a certain area but rather to the wives of such professionals. For example, <strong>\u0433\u0435\u043d\u0435\u0440\u0430\u0301\u043b\u044c\u0448\u0430<\/strong> was the wife of a <strong>\u0433\u0435\u043d\u0435\u0440\u0430\u0301\u043b<\/strong> (general), and <strong>\u0434\u043e\u0301\u043a\u0442\u043e\u0440\u0448\u0430<\/strong> was the wife of a <strong>\u0434\u043e\u0301\u043a\u0442\u043e\u0440<\/strong> (doctor). In addition, feminine forms are perceived as informal and sometimes derogatory \u2014 if you call your physician <strong>\u0432\u0440\u0430\u0447\u0438\u0301\u0445\u0430<\/strong> rather than <strong>\u0432\u0440\u0430\u0447<\/strong>, listeners may think you are not happy with her services.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_11663\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone post-item__attachment\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11663\" class=\"size-large wp-image-11663\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/04\/writer-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"woman working in a cafe\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/04\/writer-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/04\/writer-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/04\/writer-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-11663\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/ohQPI-OQmcg?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Wenni Zhou<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<h2>Reclaiming the Feminine<\/h2>\n<p>Recently, the opposite trend has emerged in Russian society\u2014namely, normalizing feminine forms by using them whenever talking about a female professional. A lot of these words are accepted by most speakers and dictionaries. Here are some common feminine-masculine pairs:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>\u043f\u0440\u0435\u043f\u043e\u0434\u0430\u0432\u0430\u0301\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c\u043d\u0438\u0446\u0430<\/strong> \u2014 <strong>\u043f\u0440\u0435\u043f\u043e\u0434\u0430\u0301\u0432\u0430\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c<\/strong> (instructor)<\/li>\n<li><strong>\u043f\u0438\u0441\u0430\u0301\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c\u043d\u0438\u0446\u0430<\/strong> \u2014 <strong>\u043f\u0438\u0441\u0430\u0301\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c<\/strong> (writer)<\/li>\n<li><strong>\u0443\u0447\u0451\u043d\u0430\u044f<\/strong> \u2014 <strong>\u0443\u0447\u0451\u043d\u044b\u0439<\/strong> (scientist)<\/li>\n<li><strong>\u0443\u0431\u043e\u0301\u0440\u0449\u0438\u0446\u0430<\/strong> \u2014 <strong>\u0443\u0431\u043e\u0301\u0440\u0449\u0438\u043a<\/strong> (janitor)<\/li>\n<li><strong>\u043f\u0435\u0432\u0438\u0301\u0446\u0430<\/strong> \u2014 <strong>\u043f\u0435\u0432\u0435\u0301\u0446<\/strong> (singer)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>At the same time, the proposed feminine names for some occupations are new, ambiguous, or not widely accepted. I will be using an asterisk (*) with nouns that may cause objections. Examples include such forms are <strong>\u0430\u0301\u0432\u0442\u043e\u0440\u043a\u0430<\/strong>* (author), <strong>\u0432\u043e\u0434\u0438\u0301\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c\u0448\u0430<\/strong> (driver), and <strong>\u043f\u0440\u0435\u0437\u0438\u0434\u0435\u0301\u043d\u0442\u043a\u0430<\/strong> (president). As you imagine, there&#8217;s been considerable pushback against this, with detractors saying feminists are distorting the language out of political correctness (<strong>\u043f\u043e\u043b\u0438\u0442\u043a\u043e\u0440\u0440\u0435\u0301\u043a\u0442\u043d\u043e\u0441\u0442\u044c<\/strong>).<\/p>\n<p>An interesting observation is that adding the feminine suffix <strong>-\u043a\u0430<\/strong> is a fairly typical for Russian nouns with stress on the last syllable, like <strong>\u044e\u0440\u0438\u0301\u0441\u0442&gt;\u044e\u0440\u0438\u0301\u0441\u0442\u043a\u0430*<\/strong>, lawyer, or <strong>\u0430\u043d\u0430\u0440\u0445\u0438\u0301\u0441\u0442<\/strong>&gt;<strong>\u0430\u043d\u0430\u0440\u0445\u0438\u0301\u0441\u0442\u043a\u0430<\/strong>, anarchist. Words like <strong>\u0430\u0301\u0432\u0442\u043e\u0440\u043a\u0430*<\/strong> sound &#8220;weird&#8221; in part because nouns where the last syllable is unstressed (<strong>\u0430\u0301\u0432\u0442\u043e\u0440<\/strong>) don&#8217;t usually add the suffix <strong>-\u043a\u0430<\/strong>. So, if I decide to call myself a female blogger, I would be better off saying <strong>\u0431\u043b\u043e\u0301\u0433\u0435\u0440\u0448\u0430*<\/strong> rather than <strong>\u0431\u043b\u043e\u0301\u0433\u0435\u0440\u043a\u0430*<\/strong>. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<p>What do you think? Are feminine names of occupations a good idea, or should we stick with the presumably neutral masculine?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<img width=\"350\" height=\"233\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/04\/writer-350x233.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"woman working in a cafe\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/04\/writer-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/04\/writer-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/04\/writer-1024x683.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p>Russian is a gendered language, which means that nouns have a grammatical gender (\u0440\u043e\u0434): feminine (\u0436\u0435\u0301\u043d\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439), masculine (\u043c\u0443\u0436\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0301\u0439), or neuter (\u0441\u0440\u0435\u0301\u0434\u043d\u0438\u0439). True, it can be confusing to grasp why a table (\u0441\u0442\u043e\u043b) is masculine and a river (\u0440\u0435\u043a\u0430\u0301) is feminine, but it should be much simpler with names of people&#8217;s occupations, right? In theory, yes&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/%d0%bf%d0%be%d1%8d%d1%82-%d0%b8%d0%bb%d0%b8-%d0%b0%d0%b2%d1%82%d0%be%d1%80%d0%ba%d0%b0-gendered-names-of-occupations-in-russian\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":11663,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,6,8],"tags":[74,7544,2529],"class_list":["post-11648","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-grammar","category-language","tag-gender","tag-professions","tag-society"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/113"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11648"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11648\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11670,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11648\/revisions\/11670"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}