English neutral pronouns: Difference between revisions

English neutral pronouns (edit)

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 ''See [[English neutral pronouns#No pronouns|no pronouns]] or [[nounself pronouns]]''.
+===Ne===
+Several sets of pronouns use "ne" in the nominative form. One set of "ne" pronouns is one of the oldest sets of neo-pronouns, but not all its forms were recorded: '''ne, nim, nis, (not recorded), (not recorded)''', which was created around 1850,<ref name="aetherlumina listing 2"></ref> and appeared in print in 1884.<ref name="d baron epicene"></ref> Some of the better-attested sets of "ne" pronouns, in alphabetical order:
+====Ne (nem)====
+'''ne, nem, nir, nirs, nemself'''. In the 2019 Gender Census, 27 participants (0.2%) entered the set of pronouns ''ne/nem/nir/nirs/nemself''.<ref name="Census2018"/> <!-- In ''[http://spectracomic.smackjeeves.com Spectra]'', a science fiction comic by Cori Walters, characters with nonbinary genders are called by these pronouns. Walters uses this pronoun for one of the three gender roles in a species that has only one sex, and all people voluntarily choose their gender roles. The comic started in 2013 and is still in progress.<ref>''Spectra.'' [http://spectracomic.smackjeeves.com http://spectracomic.smackjeeves.com/]</ref> -->
+'''Forms:'''
+* '''Nominative:''' When I tell someone a joke ''ne'' laughs.
+* '''Accusative:''' When I greet a friend I hug ''nem''.
+* '''Pronominal possessive:''' When someone does not get a haircut, ''nir'' hair grows long.
+* '''Predicative possessive:''' If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ''nirs''.
+* '''Reflexive:''' Each child feeds ''nemself''.
+====Ne (ner)====
+'''ne, ner, nis, nis, nemself'''. In a 1974 issue of ''Today's Education,'' "Mildred Fenner attributes this to Fred Wilhelms."<ref name="d baron epicene"></ref><ref name="aetherlumina listing 2"></ref> Veterinarian Al Lippart independently proposed the same set of pronouns in 1999, recommending them for use when it would be inappropriate to specify the gender of a human, animal, or deity.<ref>{{cite web|first=Al|last= Lippart|title=Introducing the New Neutral Third Person Singular Personal Pronoun|date=1999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318000953/http://www.lippart.com/ne.html |archive-date=18 March 2009|url=http://www.lippart.com/ne.html}}</ref> Lawyer Roberta Morris also independently proposed this same set of pronouns in 2009, saying that these pronouns would be more efficient for within the 140 character limit of Twitter than "he or she." Morris also pointed out that the "n" can refer to "neuter."<ref>Roberta Morris, "The need for a neuter pronoun: A solution." September 29, 2009. [http://myunpublishedworks2.blogspot.com/2009/09/need-for-neuter-pronoun-solution.html http://myunpublishedworks2.blogspot.com/2009/09/need-for-neuter-pronoun-solution.html]</ref>
+'''Forms:'''
+* '''Nominative:''' When I tell someone a joke ''ne'' laughs.
+* '''Accusative:''' When I greet a friend I hug ''ner''.
+* '''Pronominal possessive:''' When someone does not get a haircut, ''nis'' hair grows long.
+* '''Predicative possessive:''' If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ''nis''.
+* '''Reflexive:''' Each child feeds ''nemself''.
+===No pronouns===
+Many nonbinary people prefer not to be referred to by pronouns of any kind; see below for statistics. This can be because they have learned that any set of pronouns can potentially feel uncomfortable for them ([[gender dysphoria]]). In fiction and other writing, avoiding the use of any pronouns for a person can be used to avoid giving any sign of that person's gender. Instead of using pronouns, a person can be referred to by their name, a word that describes them, or the sentence can be rephrased.
+While the grammatical labels on the sample sentences below are no longer correct, the sentences can be adjusted to exclude pronouns while still talking about a specific person.
+* '''Nominative:''' ''(Demonstrative + noun replaces pronoun)'' When I tell someone a joke, that person laughs.
+* '''Accusative:''' ''(Eliminated second reference to the person)'' I greet my friend with a hug.
+* '''Pronominal possessive:''' ''(Replaced with an "it" that technically has no antecedent but clearly refers to the possessed thing)'' When someone does not get a haircut, it grows long.
+* '''Predicative possessive:''' ''(Possessive eliminated)'' If my mobile phone runs out of power, my friend lends me another.
+* '''Reflexive:''' ''(Reflexive emphasizing independence replaced with adverb)'' Each child gets food independently.
+Using names or descriptions without changing the sentence structure:
+* '''Nominative:''' When I tell ''Taylor'' a joke ''Taylor'' laughs.
+* '''Accusative:''' When I greet ''Ash'' I hug ''Ash''.
+* '''Pronominal possessive:''' When ''the kid'' does not get a haircut, ''the kid's'' hair grows long.
+* '''Predicative possessive:''' If I need a phone, my friend lets me borrow ''the friend's''.
+* '''Reflexive:''' ''Morgan'' feeds ''Morgan''.
+Other noteworthy techniques for removing third-person pronouns from a sentence include:
+*'''Passive voice:''' "Taylor's mopping the kitchen. When ''he'' finishes, we'll go for a walk" becomes "Taylor's mopping the kitchen. When it's done, we'll go for a walk." Here "it" refers to the kitchen or maybe the task of mopping, and we use the passive voice because there's no need to repeat who's doing it.
+*'''Second person:''' Instead of talking about someone in the third person, why not talk to them instead? Say you're talking to Kevin and Elisa, who prefers no third-person pronouns, is in the room. You could tell Kevin, "I'd love to go with you for coffee, but Elisa's already claimed me for the evening," but if you do that and want to start expanding on what Elisa's up to, you might be tempted to use third-person pronouns. Instead, you could shift to Elisa and say "but ''you've'' got me booked for the evening," and then Elisa could tell about the plans without being spoken for.
+*'''Substitute an article for a possessive pronoun:''' "Morgan couldn't find his coat" becomes "Morgan couldn't find the coat." "Ash broke her toe" becomes "Ash broke a toe."
+*'''Other ways to rephrase.''' "The alien slithered closer, and its eyes glowed" becomes "The alien slithered closer, eyes glowing."
+'''In use for real nonbinary people:'''
+In the 2018 Gender Census, 10.1% of participants were happy for people to avoid using pronouns when referring to them.<ref name="Census2018"/>
 ===One===