One of the hardest parts of French is getting the genders straight. French nouns are either masculine or feminine. There’s no logical way to discern whether the noun is masculine or feline, you just have to memorize it. Adjectives change to agree with the gender and number of the nouns they modify. This means that most of them have four forms!
Traditionally, when you saw the name of a profession, you would immediately know whether the professional referred to was a man or a woman from the form of the noun. It’s comparable to using the term policeman or policewoman (instead of police officer) in English. In Switzerland, French is changing to make professions more gender neutral by standardizing the names. The poster above reads “the times change the language changes too.” It’s not the only way the French language is changing in Switzerland.
As a newcomer, you don’t want to make a faux pas or embarrass yourself. Knowing the correct way to address people is part of this. It is made a little easier by the Swiss custom of not using Miss. That way, you don’t have to find out someone’s marital status refer to them appropriately. All women, regardless of their marital status, use Mrs. It’s a sign of respect…just call me Madame.
schwingeninswitzerland 