socialmediapeasant:

dasakuryo:

latinextra:

curles:

since this “latinx or latine” discussion is getting attention again, i’d like to point out that it’s important to know how disabled people feel about it, and why you should consider using “e” instead of “x” for making gendered words neutral.

basically, a blind brazilian and anti-ableism blogger first spoke about this issue in january 2015, claiming that words such as “latinx” and “bonitx” are actually anything but inclusive, since visually impaired people can’t understand what you’re saying, because their reading-out-loud softwares can’t pronounce these words. she then suggests that using “e” as a neutral term can be way more inclusive both to nonbinary and visually impaired people (ex.: latine, bonite). she also states that you can be neutral without using “ela” or “ele” by using instead “a pessoa/that person” or simply using the person’s name.

she stills talks about this issue on her page to this day, as well as many of other anti-ableism activists on facebook, and they ask us to spread the word by sharing their posts – so as a non-disabled person, that’s what i’m doing. i hope this helps!

other articles about this topic: [x], [x]

I just want to add, before anyone asks, that for spanish/portuguese speakers the “x” is really hard to use because %99 of the time it doesn’t come out natural at all. We literally don’t know how to say it, like the softwares. If we use it, it usually interrumps our speech all the time because we have to think how we say it. The “x”/the sound that it makes is not usual in our languages. The “e” not only helps disabled people but also it helps us because its easier and more natural in our tongues. 

On top of the aforementioned reasons to shift from latinx to latine for gender neutrality, doing so will not be difficult in oral speech even for native English speakers (instead of saying
/ˈlætɪnɛks/  = Lah-teen-ex

you say
/ˈlætɪnɛ/ = Lah-teen-eh).

If we’re thriving for inclusive language, we should thrive for an inclusive language that effectively includes everyone. The use of Latine (and -e suffixes for gender neutrality in Portuguese and Spanish), unlike that of Latinx (and -x suffixes for gender neutrality in Portuguese and Spanish), does not have ableist consequences, and does not exclude visually impaired people.

Like @curles said, spread the word!

Just wanna boost this because of how difficult it is for my Portuguese mom to pronounce things with x.

For example, XOXO.

I say ex-oh-ex-oh. My mom says shosho. The common xyl grouping in words like xylophone or xylitol becomes shy instead of zy.

I remember my mom bringing this up to me, as latinx would just become latinsh or latinecsh if she tries really hard. The same goes for people who use the pronoun xe. I get embarrassed trying to say it because I might slip and say she because of how I learned English from my mom. It’s for the same reason I might forget the th sound in thrift store and say trift instead. I adore your pronouns and I’m not saying you shouldn’t use them but please be understanding of the linguistic capabilities of others.

Using latine instead of latinx just makes it easier for everybody, as Portuguese or Spanish speakers might be put off from these terms if they cannot say them confidently.