Schwa: Do you know what the symbol for inclusive language is?

It’s a “And” upside down and it could be the solution to a linguistic question that becomes a question of rights. It is not an invention, it is a symbol that exists in phonetics and has always been used to define the pronunciation of some vowels in different languages.

Do not look for it on the computer keyboard, it is not there, but it is among the symbols in writing programs. It is called “schwa” and would cancel the asterisks or the at sign that some people use not to use the masculine or the feminine for adjectives, nouns, pronouns without inclusiveness towards those who do not recognize themselves in one of the two genders.

The abolition of genders is not at stake, but the aim is to leave an open space for those who do not recognize themselves in the feminine or masculine.

For linguist Vera Gheno, the most effective solution is to “schwaBecause it has a pronunciation, which does not have an asterisk, and therefore would not only have value for the written form, but also for the oral one. In an interview, reported by SkyTg24, he explained that “schwa, from the semantic point of view, can function as an indistinct genre, because it indicates a sound that is in the center of the rectangle of vowels, so it is neutral in pronunciation: the average vowel par excellence. For this reason, it seemed to me particularly suitable for indicating an indistinct gender ».

The sound is that of u’s survive in English, but also of about, and some pronunciations of vowels of some dialects of central Italy. The term comes from medieval Hebrew and some connect it to the Hebrew word shav, which means “nothing”, others associate it with the meaning of “equal”. It also defines the symbol of the two dots that indicate a very short vowel or the absence of a vowel in biblical Hebrew. The symbol was indicated by a German linguist precisely for short vowels.