[Ads-l] What's your pronoun? Now on the Web of Language

Baron, Dennis E debaron at ILLINOIS.EDU
Fri Sep 4 17:51:03 UTC 2015


There’s a new post on the Web of Language: What’s your pronoun?

For most students, back-to-school means new clothes, a new phone, a new laptop, but this year some colleges are offering students a new pronoun as well. Harvard is suggesting the gender-neutral ze, hir, and hirs, though it will accept traditional he and she if students prefer them, and the University of Tennessee adds xe, xem, and xyr. This Fall, students at American University's orientation are asked to break into small groups and introduce themselves with name, major, and preferred pronoun. This year’s Vanderbilt student handbook adopts singular they as an inclusive and welcoming pronoun. And the University of Vermont has been letting students name their own gender and pick their own pronoun for a few years.

Read the rest of this post on the Web of Language: http://bit.ly/1O2pw19

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org


More information about the Ads-l mailing list