# Gender neutral alternate for "daughter language"?



## prr

I am wondering if there is a gender neutral alternate for the phrase "daughter language," and one that is at least moderately more palatable than "offspring language." 

The context would be something like, "The constructed proto-Indo-european language splintered off into daughter languages from 3000-1000 BC." 

Or is this phrase still common?


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## JulianStuart

prr said:


> I am wondering if there is a gender neutral alternate for the phrase "daughter language," and one that is at least moderately more palatable than "offspring language."
> 
> The context would be something like, "The constructed proto-Indo-european language splintered off into daughter languages from 3000-1000 BC."
> 
> Or is this phrase still common?


I wonder if this might get more response in the EHL sub-forum Etymology, History of languages, and Linguistics (EHL)


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## GreenWhiteBlue

I don't have any problem with "daughter language", and I see no need for anything more "neutral."  I hear such usage every day.  In my own case, I work in a hierarchical organization where it is entirely common to speak of the [___] Division as being the "parent command" for the X, Y, and Z Units, and the X, Y, and Z Units as being the "daughter commands" of the [___] Division.


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## pob14

I've generally heard "child," not "daughter," in these contexts.


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## dojibear

prr said:


> I am wondering if there is a gender neutral alternate for the phrase "daughter language," and one that is at least moderately more palatable than "offspring language."
> 
> The context would be something like, "The constructed proto-Indo-european language splintered off into daughter languages from 3000-1000 BC."
> 
> Or is this phrase still common?



The search for "gender neutral alternatives" is always to avoid male words, not female words. It is the result of decades of "women's liberation" movements. So far, there has been no significant "male liberation" movement, so you will offend no-one by saying "daughter language".

But "child languages" is used, and is gender-neutral.


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## ewie

Why not call them _gender-neutral offspring languages_?

(This post may contain traces of irony.)


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## JulianStuart

We already have a (n intrisically PC) useful word for "gender-neutral offspiring" - child


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## Loob

ewie said:


> Why not call them _gender-neutral offspring languages_?
> 
> (This post may contain traces of irony.)


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## Katharina Blum

_Language _was of course feminine when it came over in 1066. Is this a valid argument on a language forum?


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## GreenWhiteBlue

pob14 said:


> I've generally heard "child," not "daughter," in these contexts.



No, I have never heard of a "child unit" or a "child command"; if you don't want to say "subordinate", then it is usually "daughter".


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## ewie

Katharina Blum said:


> _Language _was of course feminine when it came over in 1066. Is this a valid argument on a language forum?


Not sure.  What do you mean?
If you mean the word _langage/language _was feminine gender in Norman French, no it doesn't.  English is English.


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## RedwoodGrove

Years ago people might have considered "progeny". The real question is why in the 21st century do people still want to use anthropomorphic metaphors for such things. Don't they know we're all about to be replaced by self-reproducing non-carbon life forms in the very near future?


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## PaulQ

As we have a mother tongue, a daughter language seems reasonable. If it ain't broke ...


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## berndf

prr said:


> I am wondering if there is a gender neutral alternate for the phrase "daughter language," and one that is at least moderately more palatable than "offspring language."


I have never read anything else that _daughter language._ Why would one need an alternative term?


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## Dymn

I'm leaving the planet when people start saying "the parent nature", "my parentland", "in a spirit of siblinghood", etc.


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## heypresto

Dymn said:


> I'm leaving the planet when people start saying "the parent nature", "my parentland", "in a spirit of siblinghood", etc.



Female Parent Earth - the home of personkind?


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## Cenzontle

Computer scientists use the terms "parent" and "child" in reference to nodes in hierarchies, but "child language" already has a well-established, other meaning.
The purpose of gender neutrality is to overcome the notion that only male persons are important.  When using figurative terms, check and see if that notion is still a problem with them.


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## ewie

Cenzontle said:


> The purpose of gender neutrality is to overcome the notion that only male persons are important.


In this particular case [post #1] it would appear to be a masculist rather than a feminist agenda at work.
Perhaps the OP would care to come back and comment on all our rubbish cogitations some time before the next millennium ...

_I've only just noticed that this thread has been moved to another forum: perhaps PRR is lost._


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## prr

I agree that the phrase "daughter language" is more common. I was just wondering if there was anything circulating that was more gender neutral, that I had not heard yet. "Child language" doesn't sound as natural. OK I think I'll stick with "daughter" l. 

ewie, no I wasn't lost, I was getting notifications linking to this thread in the new forum (and a pm from a moderator). Its just that I wanted to see what alternate terms, if any, the regulars here could come up with.


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## Katharina Blum

What about _filial language_?


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## prr

I think "child language" sounds a bit smoother and more natural, but at this point I prefer "daughter l."

Quite possibly, as people would not be expecting to hear that term  (filial), they might even misunderstand me....



Katharina Blum said:


> What about _filial language_?


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