Western Kentucky University TopSCHOLAR® Student Research Conference Select Presentations Student Research Conference Spring 2017 Singular They: The Best Epicene Pronoun Brittney Grubber Western Kentucky University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at:http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/sel_pres Part of theEnglish Language and Literature Commons, and theRhetoric and Composition Commons Recommended Citation Grubber, Brittney, "Singular They: The Best Epicene Pronoun" (2017).Student Research Conference Select Presentations.Paper 45. http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/sel_pres/45 This Conference Proceeding is brought to you for free and open access by TopSCHOLAR®. It has been accepted for inclusion in Student Research Conference Select Presentations by an authorized administrator of TopSCHOLAR®. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Brittney Gruber Singular They: The Best Epicene Pronoun English 304: English Language Gruber 1 Singular They: The Best Epicene Pronoun Abstract: The English language does not possess a third person epicene pronoun, and speakers must fill the gap, most commonly with they. Scholars understand the implications of a gender neutral pronoun for non-binary persons, but besides linguists, they do not thoroughly examine grammatical reasons for the resistance to new pronouns. This paper addresses the grammatical issues and options available to the language. Even with minor faults, they is widely used in both spoken and written English and should be adopted by Standard English. American Standard English should adopt they as a third person epicene pronoun, also coined a gender neutral, gender-fair, or common-gender pronoun (Adami 281, Baranoski 379). Generic he has persisted since the 1850 Act of Parliament that declared it so, but is he truly generic (Zuber and Reed 519)? The use of he is sexist, excluding females and people who do not fall neatly within the male-female gender binary (Strahan 17). English also lacks a third person pronoun for instances when a person’s gender is unknown. To combat this void, speakers use they, a plural pronoun which is grammatically incorrect when referring to a singular antecedent, making the usage non-standard. There are ways to avoid gendered pronouns and many people have suggested pronouns to add to the language. Pronouns are very resistant to change, though, and for the sake of convenience, third person gender neutral they should be allowed in Standard English. First, a brief grammar lesson to define terms. In English, first person pronouns include I, me, and we; second person pronouns include you and your; and third person pronouns include he, she, it, and them. An antecedent is a noun or subject of the sentence, and the pronoun takes the place of the antecedent. Gruber 2 For example, in the sentence “Jamie bought her shirt at the store,” the antecedent is Jamie and the pronoun is her. Grammatically, gender is a noun class, or a way to distinguish nouns. Unlike Spanish where words are feminine or masculine, English does not have grammatical gender but refers to humans and animals, which are animate, based on perceived gender (Adami 282). Sex is determined by biology and based on the male-female binary, but people who are intersex are born with both or neither sex characteristics fall between the spectrum (For term definitions, see Appendix 1). Socially constructed gender is separate from sex, and each individual chooses how to express gender. People who choose to express non-heteronormative genders refer to themselves as genderqueer or gender fluid, loosely meaning on the spectrum or changing across the spectrum, respectively. Since some do not characterize themselves as male or female because of their biology and others decide to express a gender different from their sex or outside the male-female spectrum, I will use the term non-binary throughout this paper. First, why is they the best option for an epicene pronoun? They already exists in the language, so speakers are accustomed to hearing and using it. The scholars I cite examined texts from at least the seventies for pronoun usage; although they is rarely found in formal writing due to Standard English’s proscriptions, their research shows uses of he, she, and he-she combinations, called paired pronouns, which can be awkward. Singular they dates back to the fourteenth century, and he was never fully accepted into informal language Gruber 3 (Baranowski 379, LaScotte 76). They has been used for six hundred years by authors including William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Mary Shelley, and Emily Dickens making it the “most natural candidate,” (Darr and Kibbey 80, Zuber and Reed 520). They is commonplace for speakers and with more acceptance, especially by Standard English and style books, the gap in the language would be filled. Zuber and Reed claimed pronoun usage doubles as a political statement and examined grammar handbooks’ usages and rationales. Handbooks possess power to control the language in their attempts to conserve certain aspects without regard to language evolution. When a language changes to meet the needs of its speakers, prescriptive grammarians and their “bibles” refuse to budge. In the 1960s and ‘70s, grammarians and educators explained the implications of using they and the options available to writers as they came to a certain acceptance of the pronoun. However, in the ‘80s and’90s, they returned to prescriptivism. For example, Little, Brown Handbook declared they as “wrong” in 1986 although a previous edition stated the pronoun only contradicted readers’ expectations (Zuber and Reed 525). Handbook authors continue to support class and gender divisions in language and perpetuate linguistic discrimination through similar proscriptions (Zuber and Reed 526). In retaliations against grammarians, they supporters claimed he was as ungrammatical as singular they; while they does not match the antecedent’s number, he does not match the gender (Adami 283). They reminded Gruber 4 grammarians of the historical evolution of second person pronouns where thou was singular and you was plural and the fact that tenses condensed or disappeared through language change (Adami 283). Adami analyzed corpora of academic texts in an attempt to determine which pronouns were used and how frequently, since academic texts must cater to popular prescriptions of the time and editors. Before the “He/She Battle” of the ‘60s and ‘70s, generic he was the most popular pronoun. After the battle, he usages dropped considerably, while s/he rose. However, generic she still has not gained much notoriety except with stereotypical female roles such as shopper (Adami 290, 291). Her research proves that as a result of a conflict over sexist language, prescriptions and proscriptions have changed and are reflected in written English. S/he was the most common gender neutral pronoun, which is not as cumbersome as the full she or he, but in time may fall behind they for greater convenience still. In the 1990s, the American Psychological Association, Modern Language Association, American Medical Association, American Marketing Association, and Association of American University Presses instructed writers to avoid masculine constructions when referring to men and women, and the Chicago Manual of Style even endorsed they (Madson and Hessling 559-560, 571). Of course, in informal language, they reigns. LaScotte conducted a survey for native English speakers to examine which pronouns participants used for the antecedent student. In the language, there are methods to avoid gender and awkward paired pronouns, including the use of one and oneself, repetition of the Gruber 5 antecedent, use of second person pronouns, and pluralization of the antecedent (See Appendix 2). First, the participant wrote an opinion on a great student, which would reveal the person’s true usage of a particular pronoun and consistency. The remainder of the survey asked which pronouns sound best in formal and informal contexts, and they won, especially for informal situations. Opposition included the opinions that he is used for males and females, she is exclusive to males, and paired pronouns are cumbersome. Although several participants stated they is ungrammatical in formal language because it is plural, many reiterated its gender inclusion of women and non-binary people. Additionally, singular they is an important component of tag questions. In a sentence containing an indefinite pronoun like anyone or everyone, they is preferential to he (521). For example, the second sentence may sound awkward to most speakers, especially in informal speech. No one can disagree with us on this, can they? No one can disagree with us on this, can he? (521) They is not flawless, and the reasons why style guides are reluctant to accept the pronoun are valid. A common way to avoid pronoun antecedent mismatching is pluralization. If a writer makes the antecedent plural, he can use the pronoun they, but the sentence’s meaning can become unclear if the sentence contains multiple plural nouns like the example from Frank and Treichler: “Readers' perceptions of alternating text may be attractive to authors, depending on their goals” (Madson and Hessling 571). To whose goals is the sentence referencing? They can also alter the meaning of a sentence that “refers Gruber 6 exclusively to a singular referent” (Madson and Hessling 571). Still, I believe the advantages of the pronoun outweigh these issues. Although this paper examines American English, examining other dialects’ pronoun usage and inclusive language is useful. Since Australia changed the words in its national anthem from “Australian sons” to “Australians all” in 1984, inclusive language has been encouraged, and style books hold that singular they is correct “specifically to avoid using a gendered pronoun" or the repetition of he or she (Strahan 17, 20). She noted that Australians use they even when the gender (Strahan uses sex) of the referent is known because it may be irrelevant to the sentence or it may keep the referent anonymous (19, 22). Strahan makes a distinction that words can be dual- or triple-gendered if he and she can be used as pronouns or he, she, and it, respectively (18). First year university students were examined by Strahan and found to use they even in formal writing (18). From over a hundred papers, seventeen used they, but the usage was limited to the abstract, introduction, and methodology sections (22). The topic was child language acquisition, so students introduced the children they studied and used they to refer to child. Because child is triple-gendered, the correct gender-neutral pronoun was it, but it refers to inanimate objects, so the students used they. Strahan concluded they is common in Australian English not only as a third person plural and a third person singular pronoun, but as a “third person ‘gender not relevant to discussion’ pronoun” (27). Gruber 7 Currently, they is the best epicene pronoun because it is the most common and new pronouns have only been temporary. Thus, students should be taught gender inclusive language and preferred gender pronouns, or pronouns chosen by an individual, especially when the individual does not want to be referred as male or female. Gender inclusive language would teach elementary and middle schoolers respect and equality, while high school and college students should learn the grammatical aspects of epicene pronouns, including current usages of they, style guides’ proscriptions, and the methods to avoid the pronoun. English educators shared their views and instructional beliefs on an online forum where Smagorinsky said the “problem can be overcome with persistence,” just as the title Ms. evolved (Bystricky). Women wanted a term not based on marital status like Mrs. and Miss, and through continual assertion, Ms. became popular (Bystricky). LaScotte demanded English language learners also be taught the use of they, describing it as “an important aspect of descriptive language” (76). Educators should not only create a basis for correct Standard English, but demonstrate that in informal situations or for non-binary people, they is acceptable. English does have other options besides they. The language’s style guides and grammarians can attempt to keep it where it is, but speakers will help it evolve. Paired pronouns can be used more widely or grammarians could rule she an epicene pronoun. Adami iterated since he is a generic pronoun, it does not necessarily produce a male referent, or an image in the reader or listener’s Gruber 8 mind of a male (301). They functions similarly by not concretely producing a male or female, but rather an androgynous figure or the preference of the reader or listener (301). However, she is a “marked term” that definitively produces a female referent and prevents the pronoun from being generic, but I disagree (Adami 301, Madson and Hessling 569). If a person generally imagines a referent similar to his or her gender, because gender is how the person expresses himself or herself rather than sex, a person identifying as female will picture a female and a male will picture a male. Each time I saw he in my life, I pictured a female, therefore causing he to become generic. If I can imagine a female for he, I believe males can imagine males for she, and society could render she a generic pronoun. Rather than ditching he completely, alternating text is gaining popularity, especially in studies to determine perceived gender bias. Alternating text utilizes he and she separately throughout the piece, attempting to avoid sexist language, paired pronouns, and they. In Madson and Hessling’s research, they stated feminine pronouns can only be used for females, and feminine pronouns are atypical in gender-neutral contexts, making feminine pronouns prominent and creating female bias in alternating text (562). In the study, a second text that used paired pronouns was perceived as somewhat favoring males, but still less gender-biased than the alternating text (569). Madson and Hessling mused that paired pronouns are the effect of an author deliberately trying not to be sexist, and the participants inferred the author was not biased rather perceived no bias