Pronouns: Difference between revisions

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*Conclusion: Request that people use these pronouns for you.
*Conclusion: Request that people use these pronouns for you.


Based on the above, here is a [[template letters|sample letter]] of a fictional person announcing their pronoun change. You can use it as a template for writing your own.<blockquote>Dear Stuart,</blockquote>
Based on the above, here is a [[template letters|sample letter]] of a fictional person announcing their pronoun change. You can use it as a template for writing your own.


<blockquote>As you know, I have a nonbinary gender identity, meaning that I don't think of myself as a woman or a man. I'm transitioning to a gender expression that feels more like the real me. Since being called "he" or "she" doesn't feel right to me, I have decided to change my pronouns to singular they (they, them, their, theirs, themself). For an example of these pronouns in a couple sentences: "They are Morgan, that's them. They will read their book by themself". I like these singular gender-neutral pronouns the best because they were used by Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and other great writers. They have been a part of English for a long time. From now on, please call me by "they" pronouns, instead of "he" or "she".</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Dear Stuart,


<blockquote>Thank you,</blockquote>
As you know, I have a nonbinary gender identity, meaning that I don't think of myself as a woman or a man. I'm transitioning to a gender expression that feels more like the real me. Since being called "he" or "she" doesn't feel right to me, I have decided to change my pronouns to singular they (they, them, their, theirs, themself). For an example of these pronouns in a couple sentences: "They are Morgan, that's them. They will read their book by themself". I like these singular gender-neutral pronouns the best because they were used by Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and other great writers. They have been a part of English for a long time. From now on, please call me by "they" pronouns, instead of "he" or "she".
<blockquote>Mx Morgan Doe</blockquote>
 
Thank you,<br/>
Mx Morgan Doe
</blockquote>


You can also use the above sample letter as a template for writing an e-mail, just by leaving out the signature. Use it as a template for a blog post by leaving out the salutation.
You can also use the above sample letter as a template for writing an e-mail, just by leaving out the signature. Use it as a template for a blog post by leaving out the salutation.
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'''tā/ta1''' is the standard pronoun for people, which when pronounced aloud is gender-neutral. Before the language was influenced by Europeans, "他" was the proper way of rendering "tā" (regardless of gender); with the radical "亻" (a variant of "人") meaning "person" and "也" meaning "other" (i.e. "another person, neither me nor you"). Under European influence, the character "她" was invented, to mean "she" ("女"=female + "也"=other). Therefore, "他" more and more acquired the gender-specific meaning "he", with the consequence that nowadays neither "他" nor "她" are perceived as gender-neutral. Another written form of tā is "它" meaning "it," but this can be derogatory, so only use it for a person with their permission. Similarly, tā 牠 is a pronoun "used for non-human animals", <ref name="rabbitglitter ML pronouns" /> and tā 祂 is usually used for gods.
'''tā/ta1''' is the standard pronoun for people, which when pronounced aloud is gender-neutral. Before the language was influenced by Europeans, "他" was the proper way of rendering "tā" (regardless of gender); with the radical "亻" (a variant of "人") meaning "person" and "也" meaning "other" (i.e. "another person, neither me nor you"). Under European influence, the character "她" was invented, to mean "she" ("女"=female + "也"=other). Therefore, "他" more and more acquired the gender-specific meaning "he", with the consequence that nowadays neither "他" nor "她" are perceived as gender-neutral. Another written form of tā is "它" meaning "it," but this can be derogatory, so only use it for a person with their permission. Similarly, tā 牠 is a pronoun "used for non-human animals", <ref name="rabbitglitter ML pronouns" /> and tā 祂 is usually used for gods.


As the logical gender-neutral character is "他" ("亻" meaning "person"), one solution would be to use a character composed of "男"("male") and "也" to mean "he", which would make it evident that "他" used in the same text can only be meant in a gender-neutral way.  However, as Unicode does not provide "男"+"" as a single character, this is currently only possible in handwriting.
As the logical gender-neutral character is "他" ("亻" meaning "person"), one solution would be to use a character composed of "男"("male") and "也" to mean "he", which would make it evident that "他" used in the same text can only be meant in a gender-neutral way.  However, as Unicode has only provided "⿰男也" as a single character in 2025 (𲰼, at code point U+32C3C), this is currently only possible with the few fonts that have implemented it (such as [https://github.com/lxgw/LxgwWenKai-Lite/releases LxgwWenKai-Lite]) and in handwriting.


Some people simply write "TA" with Latin letters ("TA是我的朋友。").  The same can be done in Bopomofo ("ㄊㄚ是我的朋友。").
Some people simply write "TA" with Latin letters ("TA是我的朋友。").  The same can be done in Bopomofo ("ㄊㄚ是我的朋友。").
Others write "X也" for non-binary people, and Unicode has in 2025 allocated the compound character "𲎿" at code point U+323BF.  Based on the use in Unicode documents, the compound seems to be "⿰㐅也", but other sources give "⿰乂也".  Here again, only a few fonts, such as [https://github.com/lxgw/LxgwWenKai-Lite/releases LxgwWenKai-Lite], have already implemented this.


Gender-neutral pronouns in Cantonese (廣東話) include:
Gender-neutral pronouns in Cantonese (廣東話) include:
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==Danish neutral pronouns==
==Danish neutral pronouns==


Gender-neutral pronouns in Danish language (Dansk) include:
Gender-neutral pronouns in Danish language (dansk) include:


'''de, dem, deres'''<ref name="rabbitglitter ML pronouns" />
'''de, dem, deres'''<ref name="rabbitglitter ML pronouns" />
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'''die, hen, hun''' <ref name=":2" />
'''die, hen, hun''' <ref name=":2" />
'''die, die, diens''' <ref>“[https://web.archive.org/web/20231201021908/https://tekstbureaulindaschlief.nl/hoe-gebruik-je-non-binaire-voornaamwoorden/ Hoe gebruik je de non-binaire voornaamwoorden hen/hun en die/diens]”  Tekst Bureau Linda Schlief. 2023-02-22. Archived from the [https://tekstbureaulindaschlief.nl/hoe-gebruik-je-non-binaire-voornaamwoorden/ original] on 20 June 2024. Retrieved 2024-06-20</ref>


'''ze, hun, ze''' "note: literal translation of they, but ze is often used as 'she'"<ref name="rabbitglitter ML pronouns" />
'''ze, hun, ze''' "note: literal translation of they, but ze is often used as 'she'"<ref name="rabbitglitter ML pronouns" />
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'''x'''.<ref name="rabbitglitter ML pronouns" /> Has been criticised for being racist when used by white people.<ref>"Warum das x-Pronomen mir Bauchschmerzen bereitet" ''Tea-Riffic'' (blog). [http://teariffic.de/2015/02/18/warum-das-x-pronomen-mir-bauchschmerzen-bereitet/] [https://web.archive.org/web/20230331104851/http://teariffic.de/2015/02/18/warum-das-x-pronomen-mir-bauchschmerzen-bereitet/ Archived] on 17 July 2023</ref>
'''x'''.<ref name="rabbitglitter ML pronouns" /> Has been criticised for being racist when used by white people.<ref>"Warum das x-Pronomen mir Bauchschmerzen bereitet" ''Tea-Riffic'' (blog). [http://teariffic.de/2015/02/18/warum-das-x-pronomen-mir-bauchschmerzen-bereitet/] [https://web.archive.org/web/20230331104851/http://teariffic.de/2015/02/18/warum-das-x-pronomen-mir-bauchschmerzen-bereitet/ Archived] on 17 July 2023</ref>


'''xier/xieser/xiem/xien'''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.annaheger.de/pronomen33/|title=Version 3.3 : xier Pronomen ohne Geschlecht|author=Illi Anna Heger|language=de-DE|access-date=2021-08-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230602091309/https://www.annaheger.de/pronomen33/|archive-date=17 July 2023}}</ref> Personal pronoun set based on ''xier'' (pronounced [ksi:ɐ̯]), an alternative to ''er'' and ''sie'' developed by [https://www.annaheger.de/pronouns/ Illi Anna Heger]. And '''xies''' can be used as the base to matching possessive pronouns, that are declensed with endings you would use for ''sein'' and ''ihr'',  '''xies/xiese/xieses/xiesem/xiesen/xieser'''
'''xier/xieser/xiem/xien'''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.annaheger.de/pronomen33/|title=Version 3.3 : xier Pronomen ohne Geschlecht|author=Illi Anna Heger|language=de-DE|access-date=2021-08-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230602091309/https://www.annaheger.de/pronomen33/|archive-date=17 July 2023}}</ref> Pronoun set based on ''xier'' (pronounced [ksi:ɐ̯]), an alternative to ''er'' and ''sie'' developed by Illi Anna Heger. And '''xies''' can be used as the base to matching possessive pronouns, that are declensed with endings you would use for ''sein'' and ''ihr'',  '''xiese/xieses/xiesem/xiesen/xieser.''' <ref>https://www.annaheger.de/pronouns/</ref>


'''z, zet.'''<ref>@pandanouk. September 5, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160906155158/https://twitter.com/pandanouk/status/772895165551874049</ref> replacement for er/sie
'''z, zet.'''<ref>@pandanouk. September 5, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160906155158/https://twitter.com/pandanouk/status/772895165551874049</ref> replacement for er/sie
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'''ello'''. A neutral pronoun that can be easily said out loud. It's uncommonly used<ref name="rabbitglitter ML pronouns" /> and it's considered rude, since it's the pronoun used for things (similar to English 'it').
'''ello'''. A neutral pronoun that can be easily said out loud. It's uncommonly used<ref name="rabbitglitter ML pronouns" /> and it's considered rude, since it's the pronoun used for things (similar to English 'it').


'''ellx'''. A neutral pronoun that can't be said out loud. This non-standard, but one of the more common of these. Note that, unlike English coinages such as "princex," which is only for people of color, a neutral x in Spanish is not only for people of color. "Ellx" can be used by white people as well.<ref name="rabbitglitter ML pronouns" />
'''ellx'''. A neutral pronoun that can't be said out loud. This non-standard, but one of the more common of these. <ref name="rabbitglitter ML pronouns" />


'''ol'''. A neutral pronoun. Non-standard and uncommon. The plural would be '''olles'''. This would go with the non-standard definite article that is also ''ol''.<ref name="tawnyflower spanish"></ref>
'''ol'''. A neutral pronoun. Non-standard and uncommon. The plural would be '''olles'''. This would go with the non-standard definite article that is also ''ol''.<ref name="tawnyflower spanish"></ref>
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<references />46. Manifesto Ile para uma comunicação radicalemnte inclusiva
<references />46. Manifesto Ile para uma comunicação radicalemnte inclusiva


https://diversitybbox.com/pt/manifesto-ile-para-uma-comunicacao-radicalmente-inclusiva/   
https://web.archive.org/web/20210920071746/https://diversitybbox.com/pt/manifesto-ile-para-uma-comunicacao-radicalmente-inclusiva/   


47. Guia Linguagem Inclusiva HBO e [DIVERSITY BBOX]  
47. Guia Linguagem Inclusiva HBO e [DIVERSITY BBOX]  
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