美华盛顿州[花六年]使法律“中性化”.docVIP

美华盛顿州[花六年]使法律“中性化” In Washington state, dairymen, freshmen and even penmanship could soon be things of the past. Over the past six years, state officials have engaged in the onerous task of changing the language used in the states copious laws, including thousands of words and phrases, many written more than a century ago when the idea of women working on police forces or on fishing boats wasnt a consideration. That process is slated to draw to a close this year. So while the state has already welcomed firefighters, clergy and police officers into its lexicon, ombuds (in place of ombudsman) and security guards (previously watchmen,) appear to be next, along with dairy farmers, first-year students and handwriting. Some people would say oh, its not a big thing, do you really have to go through the process of changing the language, said Seattle Councilmember Sally Clark who was one of the catalysts for the change. But language matters. Its how we signal a level of respect for each other. About half of all US states have moved toward such gender-neutral language at varying levels, from drafting bills to changing state constitutions, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Florida and Minnesota have already completely revised their laws as Washington state is doing. The final installment of Washington states bill already has sailed through the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee with unanimous approval. The nearly 500bill has one more committee stop scheduled before full Senate debate. Crispin Thurlow, a sociolinguist and associate professor of language and communication at the University of Washington-Bothell, said the project was admirable. He said that as language evolves, such efforts are more than symbolic. Changing words can change what we think about the world around us, he said. These tiny moments accrue and become big movements. As in past bills on the issue that have tackled sections of the state code, some revisions were as simple as adding