Advisability of changing meaning of words vs. changing language
In general, is preferable to permit change of consciousness of meaning that people attribute to words rather than press the use of contrived forms of words[edit]
"We have considered your memorandum of 6 June 1989 and appreciate the points you have raised concerning the sensitivity of women, both Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í, to the use of what are construed to be exclusively masculine words in the Sacred Writings of the Bahá’í Faith.
"While we recognize that the problem of gender in language presents difficulties at the present time, we must also recognize that the problem varies considerably from language to language, depending on the number of grammatical genders that each language uses.
"Since the immediate concern in the translations … centres on usage in English, we shall concentrate on the problem as it exists in that language. English is fortunate in having a common gender. The problem of gender-specific nouns is, therefore, susceptible of two lines of solution. One is to change the usage of nouns, the other is to permit the consciousness of sexual equality to modify the meaning of nouns as now used. Undoubtedly both courses will be followed in the evolution of the language. The word “doctor” for example, is now clearly of common gender in English, although originally masculine. Our feeling is that, in general, it is preferable to permit the change of consciousness to change the meaning that people attribute to the words, rather than to press the use of forms of words that seem contrived and, to many people, ridiculous—a reaction that does not help the advancement of the cause of the equality of the sexes. Following this reasoning, as you will have noted, we used the word “chairman” in relation to the sessions of the International Convention, although all were women.
"In respect to the Sacred Writings, the originals, clearly, cannot be changed, and we do not feel at liberty to change Shoghi Effendi’s usage of “man” or “mankind” to “humanity” or “humankind”."
- (27 November 1989, from a memorandum from the Universal House of Justice to a Bahá’í Office of Public Information, at https://bahai-library.com/compilation_masculine_gender_writings#3 )