Utilizatutilitzada

Utilizatutilitzada is a coined term in discussions of gender-inclusive language, used to describe a gender-inclusive past participle form in Catalan. It combines the masculine form utilitzat and the feminine form utilitzada into a single token, signaling that something has been used by or relevant to all genders. The construction is not part of standard Catalan orthography and is mainly discussed in linguistic debates, writing guides, and online forums exploring inclusive writing practices.

Etymology and form: the word is a portmanteau derived from utilitzar, whose past participles are utilitzat (masculine) and utilitzada (feminine). By merging the two forms, utilitzatutilitzada aims to acknowledge gender plurality within a single grammatical unit. As a nonstandard formation, it is typically presented in quotation marks or as an example rather than as accepted practice.

Function and usage: proponents argue that utilitzatutilitzada can foreground inclusivity when the gender of the referent is unknown or when a text intends to speak to multiple genders. Critics contend that it undermines regular Catalan agreement rules, reduces readability, and complicates typography. In practice, authors who seek gender neutrality often prefer alternatives such as using both forms in parallel (utilitzat i utilitzada), rephrasing to avoid gendered participles, or employing neutral nouns and adjectives.

Reception: within the Catalan-speaking linguistic community, utilitzatutilitzada remains controversial and is not widely adopted in formal writing. It is most commonly cited as an illustrative example of experimental inclusive language rather than as a recommended standard.

See also: gender-inclusive language, inclusive writing, Catalan grammar, masculine generic debate.