Gender neutral and nonbinary pronouns in Danish

Ehm Hjorth Miltersen

Presenter Title/Affiliation

Aarhus University

Start Date

21-5-2021 3:45 PM

Event Name

Panel discussion

Panel Number

7

Panel Chair Name

Ben Rowlett

Zoom URL to Join

https://ciis.zoom.us/j/99176522757

Zoom Meeting ID

991 7652 2757

Abstract

Over the recent years, there has been a growing interest in gender neutral or nonbinary 3rd person singular pronouns in several different languages. These pronouns have been discussed both in terms of their use(fulness) as gender neutral pronouns and more recently as designators of nonbinary transgender persons (cf. Sendén, Bäck, and Lindqvist 2015; Hord 2016; Miltersen 2016; Papadopoulos 2018; Conrod 2019; Kosnick 2019; Hernandez 2020; Baron 2020). The topic is not only of academic interest but has been subject to discussion in mainstream media as well. However, few studies exist that focus on the use of such pronouns in interaction. This presentation gives an overview of the use of gender neutral and nonbinary pronouns in Danish. A 2018 questionnaire study found that the pronouns de ‘they’, hen, and den ‘it.C’ were all used as chosen personal pronouns by Danish nonbinary persons, with de being the most popular one. In the presentation I will compare this result with that of a 2021 follow-up survey. Further, a 2020 conversation analytical study found that de is used as a generic and/or gender neutral pronoun serving to downplay gender in conversation, while hen is more likely to be used to orient to gender(-neutrality or -divergence) as a relevant topic. The presentation will discuss various possible relevant factors for Danish pronoun use, including sociolinguistic variables such as age and LGBTQIA+ status, language attitudes, and influences from English and Swedish.

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May 21st, 3:45 PM May 21st, 4:15 PM

Gender neutral and nonbinary pronouns in Danish

Over the recent years, there has been a growing interest in gender neutral or nonbinary 3rd person singular pronouns in several different languages. These pronouns have been discussed both in terms of their use(fulness) as gender neutral pronouns and more recently as designators of nonbinary transgender persons (cf. Sendén, Bäck, and Lindqvist 2015; Hord 2016; Miltersen 2016; Papadopoulos 2018; Conrod 2019; Kosnick 2019; Hernandez 2020; Baron 2020). The topic is not only of academic interest but has been subject to discussion in mainstream media as well. However, few studies exist that focus on the use of such pronouns in interaction. This presentation gives an overview of the use of gender neutral and nonbinary pronouns in Danish. A 2018 questionnaire study found that the pronouns de ‘they’, hen, and den ‘it.C’ were all used as chosen personal pronouns by Danish nonbinary persons, with de being the most popular one. In the presentation I will compare this result with that of a 2021 follow-up survey. Further, a 2020 conversation analytical study found that de is used as a generic and/or gender neutral pronoun serving to downplay gender in conversation, while hen is more likely to be used to orient to gender(-neutrality or -divergence) as a relevant topic. The presentation will discuss various possible relevant factors for Danish pronoun use, including sociolinguistic variables such as age and LGBTQIA+ status, language attitudes, and influences from English and Swedish.

https://digitalcommons.ciis.edu/lavlang/2021/friday/36