Extensively studied and heavily debated, inclusive language is a hot topic. Despite decades of research and scholarship, findings on its importance slip into neglect. How do we convince speakers of the importance of inclusive language? Christiane Luck’s Rewriting Language provides one possible answer: read fiction.
 
By engaging readers with the issue, novels spread awareness and promote linguistic change. Novels have the power to paint the problems presented with accessibility and spark change. Analyzing five iconic literary texts, including Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness, Verena Stefan’s Häutungen, Marge Piercy’s Woman on the Edge of Time, and June Arnold’s The Cook and the Carpenter, Luck dives into the possibilities and challenges of linguistic neutrality. Rewriting Language illustrates the link between language and imagination. As Luck concludes, novels are valuable tools to embolden inclusive language use.
 

Christiane Luck is an interdisciplinary scholar who combines literary and social research methods to investigate the impact of literature on readers’ perceptions.
 

Introduction 1. Linguistics and literature 2. Problematising the linguistic status quo – The LeftHand of Darkness and Häutungen 3. Proposing linguistic neutrality – The Cook and theCarpenter and Woman on the Edge of Time 4. Reversing the linguistic status quo –  Egalias døtre 5. ‘It’s good to make people realise … double standards’ – Evaluating the impact of literary texts thematising sex/gender and language Conclusions Works Cited Index