The Use of Non-Discriminatory Language in the Law
The use of language is fundamental to law. This paper addresses three reasons why lawyers should use non-discriminatory (and especially non-sexist) language: to
promote accuracy in legal writing and speech; to meet current standards of
professional integrity and responsibility; and to be consistent with legal norms of equality and non-discrimination in Canadian law. The paper then examines ways of achieving non-discriminatory language in English and French in a number of concrete situations. The paper examines the `false generics" of "l'homme" and "man"; the problems of gender specific pronouns (a problem which has different implications in English and in French); and the use of a non-sexist vocabulary. Finally, it explores briefly the relationship between non-discriminatory language and other aspects of equality in the legal profession.
The Dictionary of Bias-Free Usage: A Guide to Nondiscriminatory Language
Part 1 User's Guide. Part 2 Writing Guidelines: Definition of Terms Sex and Gender Naming General Rules Pseudogeneric "He" Pseudogeneric "Man/Men/Mankind" Special Problems. Part 3 Word Finder of Non-biased Terms.
Inferring Learning Strategies from Students ’ Errors
Student models in an Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) aim at representing both correct and incorrect knowledge of the student in a particular domain of learning. This data serves as the basis upon which the Tutor can dispense remedial feedback. This paper presents a framework in which learners’ errors are diagnosed, classified and linked to cognitive processes associated with learning. The cognitive processes we identify are those of generalization, misattribution and ignorance. Our system applies to the domain of Second Language Acquisition and our approach uses Chomsky’s linguistic theory of Principles and Parameters. We particularly concentrate on the acquisition of the Phrase Structure component.