One: The forms totis, ellis, fillis are not normative. Two: Splitting can be pertinent as long as it does not lead to abuse. And three: The unmarked gender, as is the case in all Romance languages, is the masculine.
As a result of the multiple inquiries and statements about the uses of the inclusive language, where each group has opted for tailor-made solutions, the Philological Section of the Institute of Catalan Studies has issued a statement with several considerations in this regard.
The document, entitled "Inclusive language: compatibility of the stylistic resources of non-sexist uses with linguistic regulations", clearly addresses which solutions are in line with the regulations and which are not.
Taking a step beyond the document that the RAE once published, the IEC considerations do not prohibit splitting, as long as they are done with moderation and in response to stylistic considerations.
It does classify forms such as totis, ellis, fillis as outside the regulations, both lexically and grammatically. And remember that the unmarked gender is the masculine, so the use of the feminine gender as unmarked responds to political and social criteria, but not linguistic ones.
The IEC, which is the high institution that ensures the good use and regulations of the Catalan language in all the territories where it is spoken, expresses through the Philological Section that "recently, a set of linguistic resources that aim to avoid discrimination in language, whether based on gender, race, language, age or sexual orientation, among others.
The IEC recognizes that "social changes, when they are important and create lasting situations, usually cause changes in the language", which is why its document exposes in a very cautious way what the current situation is and points out solutions, always normative, for those speakers who are not comfortable with the exclusive use of the masculine as an unmarked gender.
The third point of the document addresses some strategies for the visibility of women, such as measured unfoldings and collective names. Likewise, it recommends the use of the treatment of vós, which is the same form for the masculine and feminine gender, as well as the use of the pronoun tothom, instead of a split like that of tots i totes.
In conclusion, the Secció Filològica maintains that "these resources are acceptable as long as they are used appropriately and do not create problems of ambiguity, fluidity or complexity."
You can read the full document here
Article in Catalan, here
