S2E2: The NoNa System
What does it take to create a brand-new, gender-neutral grammar system for German? What do you have to consider when coming up with new language forms? And what is it like to be non-binary while speaking such a strongly gendered language such as German?
In this episode I talk to Jona Moro and Noah Frank, who have taken it upon themselves to create a whole new grammatical system for German, the NoNa system, which allows people to talk about others in a gender-neutral way. We talk about why it is necessary for them to come up with new grammar forms, how they arrived at the forms they ended up with, and what their hopes are for the NoNa system.
Outro music: Who Am I Supposed To Be by Euphoniques.
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About this episode's guests
Jona Moro (they/them, hen/hem) is an actor and a student of international development. They identify as non-binary and agender.
Instagram: @jona.moro
Photo © Michael Prokop
Noah Frank (they/them, hen/hem) is a teacher for children with special needs and a student of Scandivanian studies. They identify as non-binary.
Instagram: @noha1lauch
Photo © Dominik Hajek
Links and information
- Jona's and Noah's website with information about the NoNa system: https://geschlechtsneutralesdeutsch.com
- Email: nona@geschlechtsneutralesdeutsch.com
- "Das Nichtbinär-Wiki", a wiki about all topics to do with non-binary identities and generally gender identities that are not (exclusively) male or female: https://nibi.space/
- Jona's and Noah's article, "Aber wie soll ich dich dann jetzt ansprechen?!", about their NoNa system in Lambda, the magazine of the HOSI Wien: https://lambdanachrichten.at/?p=1501
- About the Lambda magazine: https://www.hosiwien.at/projekte/lambda-nachrichten/
- Website of the HOSI Wien: https://www.hosiwien.at/
This episode was first released on 1st February 2022.
YOTE theme music by Vincent Tone (PremiumBeat.com)