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.
2024. A corpus-based study of epicene pronouns used by Macedonian learners of English. Open Linguistics 10:1
Zhang, Xiufeng & Hengwen Yang
2024. Perception and usage of English epicene pronouns among L2 teachers in China‐focusing on he, he or she and they. European Journal of Education 59:3
Orfan, Sayeed Naqibullah
2023. Gender voices in Afghanistan primary and secondary school English textbooks. The Curriculum Journal 34:2 ► pp. 208 ff.
Orfan, Sayeed Naqibullah
2023. High school English textbooks promote gender inequality in Afghanistan. Pedagogy, Culture & Society 31:3 ► pp. 403 ff.
LaScotte, Darren K.
2021. Nonnative English learners’ use and understanding of singularthey. Language Awareness 30:1 ► pp. 84 ff.
Loureiro-Porto, Lucía
2020. (Un)democratic Epicene Pronouns in Asian Englishes: A Register Approach. Journal of English Linguistics 48:3 ► pp. 282 ff.
Loureiro-Porto, Lucía
2021. Linguistic democratization in HKE across registers: The effects of prescriptivism. Research in Corpus Linguistics 9:2 ► pp. 64 ff.
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.
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.
2006. Gender Inclusivity or ‘Grammar Rules OK’? Linguistic Prescriptivism vs Linguistic Discrimination in the Classroom. Language and Education 20:2 ► pp. 128 ff.
Pauwels, Anne
2003. Linguistic Sexism and Feminist Linguistic Activism. In The Handbook of Language and Gender, ► pp. 550 ff.
2013. Reference Guide for Varieties of English. In A Dictionary of Varieties of English, ► pp. 363 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 4 january 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
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