Nonbinary Czech language

Abstract

As a morphologically rich Slavic language, Czech contains many possibilities for nonbinary language use. The broad aim of this article is to provide insights into existing and emerging nonbinary language strategies and the metadiscourses that surround them. After outlining the available means of gender-fair language, the analysis turns to possibilities for expressing nonbinarity, presenting emic insights regarding nonbinary community members’ own language use, choices, innovations and metalinguistic reflections, as well as wider out-group responses. Discourses coming from the nonbinary community draw attention to less understood connections of language, self-expression, authenticity and social perception, whereas outgroup discourses draw on broad views of what is ‘natural’ in language and society. Emerging voices suggest that despite the general absence of debates surrounding nonbinary language in Czech academia and public discourse, much is happening ‘underground’ in personal language use and community interactions, reflecting the ongoing negotiation of tensions between gender-normative structures and the range of feasible agentive practices used to subvert them.Cestina jako morfologicky bohaty slovansky jazyk nabizi mnoho moznosti pro nebinarni vyjadrovani. Sirsim cilem clanku je poskytnout vhled do vznikajicich i jiz existujicich jazykovych strategii a taktez do metadiskurzu, ktere je obklopuji. Po nastineni dostupnych prostredku genderove vyvazeneho jazyka se analyza zameruje na moznosti vyjadreni nebinarity a predstavuje emicke poznatky tykajici se vlastniho uzivani jazyka nebinarni komunitou, jejich volby, inovace a metajazykove reflexe, stejne jako sirsi reakce mimo komunitu. Diskurzy vychazejici z nebinarni komunity se venuji predevsim mene znamym souvislostem jazyka, sebevyjadreni, autenticity a socialni percepce, zatimco diskurzy pochazejici mimo tuto skupinu venuji pozornost predevsim sirsimu kontextu toho, co je a neni v jazyce a spolecnosti ,,prirozene". Objevujici se hlasy naznacuji, ze navzdory obecne absenci debat o nebinarnim jazyce v ceskem akademickem prostredi a verejnem diskurzu se toho hodne deje ,,pod povrchem", tj. v osobnim uzivani jazyka, v interakcich dane komunity, coz odrazi probihajici obrusovani hran mezi genderove normativnimi strukturami a skalou moznych agentivnich praktik k jejich prekonani.