Gender-neutral pronouns are defined by the LGBT Resource Centre as providing an identity for a singular person who does not identify as he/him or she/her. An extensive list of more English gender-neutral pronouns in use are available on the non-binary wiki. Some languages, such as English, do not have a gender neutral or third gender pronoun available, and this has been criticized, since in many instances, writers, speakers, etc. In other languages – including most Indo-European and Afro-Asiatic languages – third-person personal pronouns (at least those used to refer to people) intrinsically distinguish male from female. While grammatically correct, using "den/det" to refer to human beings may sound as if the speaker regards the referenced human beings as objects. (Ash ate Ash’s food because Ash was hungry) Some people prefer not to use pronouns at all, using their name as a pronoun instead. After the recent change by the Merriam-Webster dictionary to add ‘they’ as a way to refer to nonbinary people who do not identify as male nor female, the most common gender neutral pronouns are ‘they, them, their, theirs, themself.’. Please don’t! These periphrases can be abbreviated in writing as "he/she", "(s)he", "s/he", "him/her", "his/her", "himself/herself", but are not easily abbreviated in verbal communication. In modern Japanese, kare (彼) is the male and kanojo (彼女) the female third-person pronouns. With the exception of "(s)he" and "s/he", a writer still has the choice of which pronoun to place first. In contrast, gendered pronouns would be: Although their usage as the Western equivalent pronouns tends to be infrequent—because pronouns tend to be dropped in the first place—kare-shi and kanojo are commonly used today to mean "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" respectively. In everyday language, generic you is often used instead of one: It may be that forms of the pronoun he had been used for both males and females during the Middle English and Modern English periods. A third-person pronoun is a pronoun that refers to an entity other than the speaker or listener. (See Gender in English § Metaphorical gender. Everyone slips up from time to time. [17][18][19] This is also extended to the name preferred by the person concerned. For people and animals with specified gender the masculine or feminine are used. Taking an active role in your classes, you may hear one of your students using the wrong pronoun for someone. ", "A Gender-Neutral Pronoun (Re)emerges in China", "Chinese Character Database: Phonologically Disambiguated According to the Cantonese Dialect", Japanese Language, Gender, and Ideology: Cultural Models and Real People, Appendix:English third-person singular pronouns, Appendix:List of protologisms/third person singular gender neutral pronouns, The Epicene Pronouns: A Chronology of the Word That Failed, "She? Grammatical gender § Mixed and indeterminate gender, Grammatical gender § Grammatical gender can be realized on pronouns, Gender neutrality in genderless languages, Gender neutrality in languages with grammatical gender, Gender neutrality in Spanish and Portuguese, "English has a traditional solution to gender-neutral pronouns", "Gender assignment and gender agreement: Evidence from pronominal gender languages", "Canadian War Veterans Allowance Act (1985) as amended 12 December 2013", "Meeting the Health Care Needs of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) People: The End to LGBT Invisibility", "Glossary of Gender and Transgender Terms", "Competencies for Counseling with Transgender Clients", "Frequently Asked Questions on Trans Identity", "Transgender terminology: It's complicated", Reference to Meaning of Word "Persons" in Section 24 of British North America Act, 1867. Arthur Hughes, Peter Trudgill, Dominic Watt, MediaMOO's "person" gender, derived from Marge Piercy's. "[27] An early example of prescribing the use of he to refer to a person of unknown gender is Anne Fisher's 1745 grammar book A New Grammar. give the following example: According to The Handbook of Non-Sexist Writing, it is sometimes the "obvious" choice for children. Thus in French, for example, the first- and second-person personal pronouns may behave as either masculine or feminine depending on the sex of the referent; and indefinite pronouns such as quelqu'un ('someone') and personne ('no one') are treated conventionally as masculine, even though personne as a noun ('person') is only feminine regardless of the sex of the referent. When someone is referred to with the wrong pronoun, it can make them feel disrespected, invalidated, dismissed, alienated, or dysphoric ( often all of the above.). ; and others) do not make male–female gender distinctions; that is, they are gender-neutral. And whatever the grammarians might argue, people have been using the singular “they” for about the last 600 years, though (as mentioned earlier) it can only be applied in certain cases. Gender-neutral pronouns. [9] This collective masculine is also the case in ancient languages, like Classical Greek and Biblical Hebrew and have influenced the modern forms. Using gender-neutral pronouns reduces the likelihood of people favouring male stereotypes and improves views of women and LGBT+ people, a new study suggests. [86] There is a recent trend on the Internet for people to write "TA" in Latin script, derived from the pinyin romanization of Chinese, as a gender-neutral pronoun. Gendered appearan c e does not reliably tell you about a person’s gender. It may be appropriate to approach them and say something like “I noticed that you were getting referred to with the wrong pronoun earlier, and I know that that can be really hurtful. "/"The child is allowed to, if it wants to." However, in some languages, such as English, this general system of noun gender has been lost, but gender distinctions are preserved in the third-person pronouns (the singular pronouns only, in the case of English). [61] Jeffrey A. In Swedish, the word hen was introduced generally in the 2000s as a complement to the gender-specific hon ("she") and han ("he"). The feminine counterpart kanojo, on the other hand, is a combination of kano (adjective version of ka-) and jo ("woman"), coined for the translation of its Western equivalents. [8] Pronouns in these languages tend to be naturally gender-neutral. ", "... the ideal that every boy and girl should be so equipped that he shall not be handicapped in his struggle for social progress …", "... She and Louis had a game—who could find the ugliest photograph of himself", "The average American needs the small routines of getting ready for work. These three are considered impersonal. One method is rewriting into the plural, as Swedish – like English – has only gender-neutral pronouns in the plural. In Norwegian, a new word was proposed[weasel words], hin to fill the gap between the third person pronouns hun ('she') and han ('he'). [59][60] Kate Bornstein, an American transgender author, used the pronoun forms ze and hir in the book "Nearly Roadkill: an Infobahn erotic adventure" in 1996. specifically refer to people that you are talking about. These are offensive slurs used against trans and gender non-conforming individuals. for selecting she or he such as: Historically, there were two gender-neutral pronouns native to English dialects, ou and (h)a. The other forms are gender neutral: singular 1st jag, 2nd du, 3rd indefinite/impersonal man, plural 1st vi, 2nd ni, 3rd de. ", She has traditionally been used as a generic pronoun when making generalizations about people belonging to a group when most members of that group are assumed to be female:[31]. He and she are normally used for humans; use of it can be dehumanizing[citation needed], and more importantly implies a lack of gender even if one is present, and is usually thus inappropriate. Examples given include: "It" may even be used when the child's sex is known. SIE for anything female. The usage of generic he has declined in favor of other alternatives. [citation needed] A reason for the marginal interest in a neuter gender word is the constructed nature of the word, and that the word is homonymous with several older words both in official language and dialectal speech, such as hin ('the other') and hinsides ('beyond'). Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Plus (LGBTQ+) Resource Center. People have been searching for gender-neutral pronouns since at least the 18th century as pronouns have played a role in the establishment of our rights and identities. A gender neutral pronoun is a pronoun which does not associate a gender with the person or creature being discussed. [47], More recently, in the city of Baltimore, and possibly other cities in the United States, yo has come to be used as a gender-neutral pronoun.[48][49]. A gender neutral or gender inclusive pronoun is a pronoun which does not associate a gender with the individual who is being discussed. Its entry will cover two definitions: as a reference to individual's belonging to an unspecified sex or third gender, or where the sex is not known. In 2009 it was included in Nationalencyklopedin. In some local dialects and casual speech he and she are used for various objects and named vehicles (like a personal car). Today it's widely used—and it's nudging people to see the world a … If you have this privilege, yet fail to respect someone else’s gender identity, it is not only disrespectful and hurtful, but also oppressive. The word "barn" is grammatically neuter, thus the use of the third-person neuter pronoun "det"); some nouns retain their traditional pronouns, e.g., "man"/"man" uses "han"/"he", "kvinna"/"woman" uses "hon"/"she", and "människa"/"human being" uses "hon"/"she". Ze is pronounced like “zee” can also be spelled zie or xe, and replaces she/he/they. [87][88], The Cantonese third-person-singular pronoun is keui5 (佢), and may refer to people of any gender. Just like Korean, pure personal pronouns used as the anaphor did not exist in traditional Japanese. Gender-neutral pronouns are those that don’t automatically assume a male/female binary. What are the Preferred Gender-Neutral Pronouns in Academic Writing? Michael Newman (1996) Epicene pronouns: The linguistics of a prescriptive problem; Newman (1997) "What can pronouns tell us? Gender-neutral pronouns are pronouns which don’t carry any kind of association with a particular gender, such as they, sie, or ze. "Fido adores his blanket".).[12]. Quirk et al. If your family members still refuse to use your gender-neutral pronouns, it's important to take care of yourself first before worrying about how to fix the situation. They are ae/aer/aers and fae/faer/faers. Some people call these “female/feminine” and “male/masculine” pronouns, but many avoid these labels because not everyone who uses he feels like a “male” or “masculine.”. [citation needed] Hin is very rarely used, and in limited special interest groups; it is not embraced by society as a whole. In English and many other languages, the masculine form has sometimes served as the default or unmarked form; that is, masculine pronouns have been used in cases where the referent or referents are not known to be (all) female. Many of the world's languages do not have gender-specific pronouns. This aforementioned hoo is also sometimes used in the West Midlands and south-west England as a common gender pronoun. However, it did not receive widespread recognition until around 2010, when it began to be used in some texts, and provoked some media debates and controversy, but is included since 2015 in Svenska Akademiens ordlista, the most authoritative glossary of the Swedish language, by the Swedish Academy.[82]. [28] Older editions of Fowler also took this view.[29]. Major newspapers like Dagens Nyheter have recommended against its usage, though some journalists still use it. [citation needed] One can also use man or en or den (en means 'one'). It has also been seen as prejudicial by some,[31] as in the following cases: Its use in some contexts may give a jarring or ridiculous impression: "... everyone will be able to decide for himself whether or not to have an abortion. It’s okay! [91], Pronoun that refers to an entity other than the speaker or listener, "Hir" redirects here. [32] The 19th and 20th centuries saw an upsurge in consciousness and advocacy of gender equality, and this has led in particular to preferences for gender-neutral language. This point is important because of something the usual rhetoric around pronouns obscures: gender-neutral pronouns are gender-neutral. Hir is pronounced like “here” and replaces her/hers/him/his/they/theirs. Others throughout this period disagreed, finding it too pedantic. Below is a list of some new gender neutral pronouns used: Himself / Herself – Zieself, Hirself, Eirself, Verself, Terself, Emself His / Hers – Zis, Hirs, Eirs, Vers, Ters, Eirs His / Her – Zir, Hir, Eir, Vis, Tem, Eir Him / Her – Zim, Sie, Em, Ver, Ter, Em She/he – Zie, Sie, Ey, Ve, Tey, E Why is it important to respect people’s pronouns? Just my name please! Also, the dichotomy of “he and she” in English does not leave room for other gender identities, which is a source of frustration to the transgender and gender queer communities. use “he/his” when referring to a generic individual in the third person. "Where a recipient of an allowance under section 4 absents themself from Canada, payment of the allowance shall ..."[11]), Generally speaking, he refers to males, and she refers to females. It was not until the Meiji period that kare and kanojo were commonly used as the masculine and feminine pronoun in the same way as their Western equivalents. Quirk et al. This identical pronunciation of the split characters holds true for not only Mandarin but also many of the varieties of Chinese. This "a" is a reduced form of the Anglo-Saxon he = "he" and heo = "she". Some people choose to use the gender-neutral pronouns “ze/hir/hirs” (pronounced “zee/here/heres”) or “ey/em/eir” (pronounced “ay/em/airs”), among others. In fact, “they” was voted as the Word of the Year in 2015. Here are a few you might hear: Never refer to a person as “it” or “he-she”. This means saying something like “Alex uses the pronoun she,” and then moving on. [25] First, let’s start off with the most frequently asked questions about Personal Gender Pronouns (PGPs). She is sometimes used for named ships and countries, but this may be considered old-fashioned and is in decline. People who are limited by languages which do not include gender neutral pronouns have attempted to create them, in the interest of greater equality. In such cases a gender-specific, usually masculine, pronoun is sometimes used with a purported gender-neutral meaning;[3] such use of he was common in formal English between the 1700s and the latter half of the 20th century (though some regard it as outmoded[4] or sexist[5]). Hen has two basic usages: as a way to avoid a stated preference to either gender; or as a way of referring to individuals who are transgender, who prefer to identify themselves as belonging to a third gender or who reject the division of male/female gender roles on ideological grounds. The most frequently used gender-neutral pronouns are they/them/their. [54][55][56][57] In addition to use when the gender of the antecedent is unknown or indeterminate, some use it as gender-blind language and always replace gender-specific pronouns.[58]. Most of the time the language drops the pronoun completely or refers to people using their name with a suffix such as the gender-neutral -san added to it. Note: It is often also acceptable to use the third person plural (they, them, their, themselves) instead of the third-person singular (he/she, his/hers, him/her, himself/herself) when referring to someone who has not expressed a clear pronoun choice. People who are transitioning in some way might choose to change their pronouns. Baron goes on to describe how relics of these gender-neutral terms survive in some British dialects of Modern English (for example hoo for "she", in Yorkshire), and sometimes a pronoun of one gender might be applied to a human or non-human animal of the opposite gender. Various proposals for the use of other non-standard pronouns have been introduced since at least the 19th century. It was proposed again in 1994, with reference to the Finnish hän, similarly pronounced, a personal pronoun that is gender-neutral, since Finnish completely lacks grammatical gender. Some languages, such as English, do not have a gender neutral or third gender pronoun available, and this has been criticized, since in many instances, writers, speakers, etc. When writing about a person who uses gender–neutral pronouns, there are several ways to figure out which pronouns to use. "[85], The creation of gendered pronouns in Chinese was part of the May Fourth Movement to modernize Chinese culture, and specifically an attempt to assert sameness between Chinese and the European languages, which generally have gendered pronouns. Gender-specific pronouns are the ways we refer to each other in the third person. The masculine pronoun is he (with derived forms him, his and himself); the feminine is she (with derived forms her, hers and herself); the neuter is it (with derived forms its and itself). Gender neutral pronouns are terms that an individual may prefer to be addressed by, such as ‘they’, ‘ze’ and ‘xe’. Since at least the 14th century, they (including derivatives and inflected forms, such as them, their, theirs, themselves, and themself) has been used, with varying degrees of general acceptance, to refer to a singular antecedent. [31] Since she brings a female image to mind, it isn't either. Using gender-neutral pronouns means we don’t associate the person we’re talking about with a specific gender. In most cases, it is appropriate to gently correct them without further embarrassing the individual who has been misgendered. [2], Problems of usage may arise in languages like English which have pronominal gender systems, in contexts where a person of unspecified or unknown gender is being referred to but commonly available pronouns (he or she) are gender-specific. Traditionally, Swedish offers other ways of avoiding using gender-specific pronouns; e.g., "vederbörande" ("the referred person") and "man" ("one", as in "Man borde..."/"One should...") with its objective form "en" or alternatively "en" as both subjective and objective since "man"/"one" sounds the same as "man"/"male adult" although they are discernible through syntax. Modern English retains features relating to natural gender, namely the use of certain nouns and pronouns (such as he and she) to refer specifically to persons or animals of one or other … Used in several college humanities texts published by Bandanna Books. Others in 1795, 1825, 1863, 1898, 1926, and 1982 argued against it for various reasons. The word was proposed by Rolf Dunås in 1966, and could be used occasionally, like in a guideline from the Swedish building council from 1980, authored by Rolf Reimers. The English pronoun they is an epicene (gender-neutral) third-person pronoun that can refer to plural antecedents of any gender (or unknown gender) and, informally, to a singular antecedent that refers to a person of either or unknown gender, the "singular they". I hope I see them soon to hear all about it! (See Grammatical gender § Grammatical gender can be realized on pronouns.). Pronouns such as who and which are not discussed here, though similar but different consideration may apply to them. The third-person plural they and its inflected and derived forms (them, their, themselves, etc.) They/them/theirs (Shea ate their food because they were hungry.) Another method is writing the pronoun in the referent's grammatical gender ("Barnet får om det vill. Ze/zir/zem/zeir are one set of gender-neutral pronouns. For other uses, see, "S/he" redirects here. When speaking about a person we have to make a choice between using she, he, or a gender-neutral pronoun such as the singular they. To denote a sense of authority, males will tend to resort to ore to display a sense of confidence to their peers. For example, if a person uses “ze/hir/hirs,” it is inappropriate to replace those pronouns with “they/them/theirs.” You can also trace the pronouns other writers and researchers have used when writing about your resear… As he shaves or blow-dries his hair or pulls on his panty-hose, he is easing himself by small stages into the demands of the day. Using correct pronouns for non-binary and trans people is a simple indication of acknowledgement and respect. Around 1795, the language authorities Lindley Murray, Joseph Priestly, and Hugh Blair, amongst others, campaigned against pronoun irregularities in pronoun use, such as lack of agreement in gender and number. The generic he has increasingly been a source of controversy, as it appears to reflect a bias towards men and a male-centric society, and against women. (Judicial Committee of The Privy Council). are gender-neutral and also used to refer singular, personal antecedents (e.g. Today, it is unexceptional and often not regarded as incorrect, especially in informal language. In spoken standard Mandarin, there is no gender distinction in personal pronouns: the pronoun tā (他) can mean "he" or "she" (or "it" for some animals). This can be used in conjunction with the generic he according to the preference and style of the writer. [44], In some West Country dialects, the pronoun er can be used in place of either he or she, although only in weak (unstressed) positions such as in tag questions. When a person has adopted a persona of a different gender (such as when acting or performing in drag), pronouns with the gender of the persona are used when referring to that apart from the usual identity of the person. Moreover, while the character keui5 (佢) has no meaning in classical Chinese, the character keui5 (姖) has a separate meaning unrelated to its dialectic use in standard or classical Chinese.[89]. In the following story, the characters refer to the boy-child at the center of the narrative as a "he", but then the narrator refers to it as an "it": In this case, the child has yet to be developed into a character that can communicate with the reader. This feature commonly co-exists with a full system of grammatical gender, where all nouns are assigned to classes such as masculine, feminine and neuter. There are no gender neutral pronouns, but there is a neutral pronoun gender. Is there a gender-neutral substitute for "his or her"? What's In a Gender Pronoun". Pronouns are sometimes reversed (gender transposition) in gay slang. A system of grammatical gender, whereby every noun was treated as either masculine, feminine or neuter, existed in Old English, but fell out of use during the Middle English period. [19][20][21] LGBTQ+ advocacy groups also advise using the pronouns and names preferred or considered appropriate by the person concerned. [45], Additionally, in Essex, in the south-east of England, in the Middle English period, the spelling "hye" could refer to either he[46] or she. Originated by editor Sasha Newborn in 1982. Neutral is characterised by the definite singular article '-t' whereas the rest end with '-n'. Note: the top line is meant to indicate two separate – but similarly spelled – sets of pronouns. Some languages of the world (including most Austronesian languages, many East Asian languages, the Quechuan languages, and the Uralic languages[7]) do not have gender distinctions in personal pronouns, just as most of them lack any system of grammatical gender. There are also lots of gender-neutral pronouns in use. Ze/hir/hir (Tyler ate hir food because ze was hungry.) According to Dennis Baron’s Grammar and Gender: He goes on to describe how relics of these sex-neutral terms survive in some British dialects of Modern English, and sometimes a pronoun of one gender might be applied to a person or animal of the opposite gender. Would you be okay with me taking them aside and reminding them about your pronouns?” Follow up if necessary, but take your cues from the comfort level of your student. A case study of English epicenes", Studies in language 22:2, 353–389. I wonder if it has anything to do with their weekend? It’s different for everyone. Visit our COVID-19 website for information about UWM’s response to the pandemic. However, when not referring specifically to children, "it" is not generally applied to people, even in cases where their gender is unknown. The best thing to do if you use the wrong pronoun for someone is to say something right away, like “Sorry, I meant (insert pronoun)”. It was also included in Webster's Second New International Dictionary, though it is absent from the first and third, and it still has its supporters today. [citation needed] Amongst LGBT interest groups the word 'hen' is now in use after the Swedish implementation in 2010. Trans people sometimes use binary or non-binary pronouns, depending on what their gender is and how they identify. For the music album, see, "He/she" redirects here. In 1770, Robert Baker suggested use of “one, ones” instead of “one, his”, since there was no equivalent “one, hers”. However, when the antecedent of the spoken pronoun tā is unclear, native speakers will assume it is a male person. It is important to let your student know that you are their ally. There are a lot of good reasons to get into the habit of using gender-neutral pronouns, but here are the two big ones: 1. ", "A New Gender-Neutral Pronoun in Baltimore, Maryland: A Preliminary Study", "Technical - Declension of the Major Gender-Neutral Pronouns", "Appendix 1 – Use of gender-neutral pronouns", "Beyond 'he' and 'she': 1 in 4 LGBTQ youths use nonbinary pronouns, survey finds", "1 in 4 LGBTQ+ Youth Use Gender Neutral Pronouns, New Study Shows", "Bør vi begynne å si «hen» i tillegg til «hun» og «han» også i Norge? [24] It can be used when the gender of a person is not known or when it is not desirable to specify them as either a "she" or "he". In contrast to most Chinese characters coined to represent specifically male concepts, the character tā is formed with the ungendered character for person rén (人), rather than the character for male nán (男). If you realize your mistake after the fact, apologize in private and move on. For example, "She (Ms. Saitō) came" would be "斎藤さんが来ました" (Saitō-san ga kimashita). Some languages which historically did not have gendered pronouns have introduced them to translated Western literature. "There was rather an extended period of time in the history of the English language when the choice of a supposedly masculine personal pronoun (him) said nothing about the gender or sex of the referent. This avoidance of the "generic" he is seen by proponents of non-sexist writing as indicating that the purportedly gender-neutral he is in fact not gender-neutral since it "brings a male image to mind". Actually, Gender-Neutral Pronouns Can Change a Culture In 2012 a nongendered pronoun dropped into Swedish discourse. There is no universal agreement on a gender-neutral third-person pronoun which could be used for a person whose gender is unknown or who is a non-binary gender identity; various alternatives are described in the following sections. [83][failed verification]. As is the case with some other questions on nonbinary pronoun use, there are notable differences by age and party on whether Americans feel comfortable using gender-neutral pronouns to address those who ask for it, with young adults and Democrats more likely than older Americans and Republicans to express comfort. [40], They may be used even when the gender of the subject is obvious; they implies a generic (or representative of type class) rather than individuated interpretation:[41]. Gender pronouns (he/she/they/ze etc.) The other English pronouns (the first- and second-person personal pronouns I, we, you, etc. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Written Chinese has gone in the opposite direction, from non-gendered to gendered pronouns, though this has not affected the spoken language. Authors sometimes employ rubrics[according to whom?] [52] "Co" is in common usage in intentional communities of the Federation of Egalitarian Communities,[53] and "co" appears in the bylaws of several of these communities. Your actions will be greatly appreciated. In English, the term gender-neutral pronouns usually refers to third-person pronouns (generally alternatives to he and she), since there are no gendered first- or second-person pronouns (I and you are ungendered). Several variants of ze have been proposed, with different object forms, to meet the need of unspecified gender situations and transgender persons. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. What are your pronouns? While the use, in formal English, of he, him or his as a gender-neutral pronoun has traditionally been considered grammatically correct,[30] such use may also be considered to be a violation of gender agreement.[31]:48. Whereas "he" and "she" are used for entities treated as people (including supernatural beings and, sometimes, sympathetic non-human animals, especially pets), the pronoun "it" is normally used for entities not regarded as persons, though the use of "he" or "she" is optional for non-human animals of known sex[24] (and obligatory for animals referred to by a proper name[12]).