Article published In:
English World-WideVol. 22:1 (2001) ► pp.105–119
Non-sexist language reform and generic pronouns in Australian English
This paper explores changes in the use of generic pronouns in Australian English. We examine a database of public non-scripted speech to establish to what extent generic pronouns promoted through non-sexist language reform have become part of public speech. The results show that the use of masculine generic he has decreased substantially mainly in favour of singular they. The pronoun he or she does not appear to have been adopted widely by people speaking in a public context.
Cited by
Cited by 21 other publications
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2021. Nonnative English learners’ use and understanding of singularthey. Language Awareness 30:1 ► pp. 84 ff. 
Lee, Jackie F. K.
2007. Acceptability of Sexist Language among Young People in Hong Kong. Sex Roles 56:5-6 ► pp. 285 ff.
2015.
Chairperson or chairman? – A study of Chinese EFL teachers’ gender inclusivity. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics 38:1 ► pp. 24 ff.
2018. Gender representation in Japanese EFL textbooks – a corpus study. Gender and Education 30:3 ► pp. 379 ff.
Lee, Jackie F. K. & Peter Collins
2006. Linguistic Acceptability in Hong Kong English. Asian Englishes 9:1 ► pp. 24 ff.
2008. Gender Voices in Hong Kong English Textbooks—Some Past and Current Practices. Sex Roles 59:1-2 ► pp. 127 ff.
2009. Australian English‐language textbooks: the gender issues. Gender and Education 21:4 ► pp. 353 ff.
2010. Construction of gender: a comparison of Australian and Hong Kong English language textbooks. Journal of Gender Studies 19:2 ► pp. 121 ff.
Lee, Jackie F.K. & Andy C.O. Chin
2019. Are females and males equitably represented? A study of early readers. Linguistics and Education 49 ► pp. 52 ff.
Loureiro-Porto, Lucía
2020. (Un)democratic Epicene Pronouns in Asian Englishes: A Register Approach. Journal of English Linguistics 48:3 ► pp. 282 ff.
2021. Linguistic democratization in HKE across registers: The effects of prescriptivism. Research in Corpus Linguistics 9:2 ► pp. 64 ff.
Orfan, Sayeed Naqibullah
2021. High school English textbooks promote gender inequality in Afghanistan. Pedagogy, Culture & Society ► pp. 1 ff.
2022. Gender voices in Afghanistan primary and secondary school English textbooks. The Curriculum Journal
Paterson, Laura L.
2020. Non-sexist Language Policy and the Rise (and Fall?) of Combined Pronouns in British and American Written English. Journal of English Linguistics 48:3 ► pp. 258 ff.
Pauwels, Anne & Joanne Winter
2004. Generic pronouns and gender-inclusive language reform in the English of Singapore and the Philippines. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics 27:2 ► pp. 50 ff.
2006. Gender Inclusivity or ‘Grammar Rules OK’? Linguistic Prescriptivism vs Linguistic Discrimination in the Classroom. Language and Education 20:2 ► pp. 128 ff.
Stormbom, Charlotte
2018. Epicene pronouns in intermediate to advanced EFL writing. International Journal of Learner Corpus Research 4:1 ► pp. 1 ff.
2019. Language change in L2 academic writing: The case of epicene pronouns. Journal of English for Academic Purposes 38 ► pp. 95 ff.
2022. Singular they in English as a foreign language. Applied Linguistics Review 13:5 ► pp. 873 ff.
Winter, Joanne & Anne Pauwels
2003. Mapping trajectories of change – women’s and men’s practices and experiences of feminist linguistic reform in Australia. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics 26:1 ► pp. 19 ff.
[no author supplied]
2013. Reference Guide for Varieties of English. In A Dictionary of Varieties of English, ► pp. 363 ff.
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