Double vowels, double fairness? Assessing the viability of diphthongs as novel strategies for gender fairness in Italian

Proposals for gender-fair language in Italian include Alternative grammatical Gender Encoding Devices (AGEDs) such as the schwa (ə) or asterisk, potentially also accommodating non-binary identities. These solutions, though, often pose challenges for oral communication, accessibility, and social acceptance, as they may be perceived as external to the Italian language system. We examined the possibility of employing diphthongs—integral components of standard Italian phonology—as more internalized AGEDs by testing whether replacing typical masculine or feminine word endings (-o/-i (M), -a/-e (F)) with various diphthongs (e.g., ai, eu) could produce forms interpreted by native speakers as more gender-neutral. We conducted a within-subject experiment, where Italian participants (N = 424) were asked to rate words ending in diphthongs (1) along a five-point scale from feminine to masculine and (2) as singular, plural or unclear for number. Results revealed a significant Diphthong × Number Judgement interaction, with certain diphthongs interpreted as more gender-neutral than others. Specifically, diphthongs that excluded or combined the sounds typically associated with masculine and feminine grammatical genders were rated as more neutral. These findings suggest that select diphthongs could serve as AGEDs, potentially offering an accessible, linguistically coherent pathway toward more inclusive and gender-fair Italian language practices.