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Article published In: Linguistics in the Netherlands 2025
Edited by Kristel Doreleijers, Remco Knooihuizen and Eva van Lier
[Nota Bene 2:2] 2025
► pp. 508–524

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Non-binary language use in a German novel

A case study of Kim de l’Horizon’s Blutbuch

 | University of Amsterdam
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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Open Access publication of this article was funded through a Transformative Agreement with University of Amsterdam.

Published online: 31 October 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/nb.00046.wes
Abstract
Languages differ in terms of the strategies used to derive (non-binary) inclusive language. In many languages, pronouns present the primary target (e.g., English, Swedish). In other languages, for instance German, inclusive language also affects other parts of grammar, such as nouns. To date, research on German gender-inclusive language has primarily focussed on mental representations, speakers’ attitudes, or use in newspapers. This contribution investigates the use of inclusive language in the recent novel de l’Horizon, Kim. 2022. Blutbuch. Cologne: DuMont Buchverlag.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar. A qualitative and quantitative analysis of the novel reveals the use of different examples of inclusive language, involving, for instance, the gender star (Student*innen ‘students’), in addition to traditional forms. Inclusive language forms not only refer to specific non-binary individuals, but also to groups of unknown gender. As such, they seem to be an addition to the German gender system, rather than a replacement of existing forms.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Inclusive language in German
  • 3.The present study
  • 4.Methodology and results
    • 4.1Preliminary analysis
    • 4.2Systematic analysis
      • 4.2.1Gender star forms
      • 4.2.2The use of mensch instead of man
      • 4.2.3Feminine and masculine forms
  • 5.Discussion and conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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