CC BY
112
УДК 81'367 626
Т. И. Раздина
доц., канд. пед. наук, доц. каф. грамматики и истории английского языка фак-та ГПН МГЛУ; e-mail: [email protected]
РЕФЕРЕНЦИЯ К ГЕНДЕРНО НЕЙТРАЛЬНЫМ СУЩЕСТВИТЕЛЬНЫМ И МЕСТОИМЕНИЯМ В АНГЛОЯЗЫЧНОМ ДИСКУРСЕ
В статье рассматривается вопрос о выборе местоимений как средств референции к существительным и неопределенным местоимениям, не указывающим на принадлежность к мужскому или женскому полу в англоязычном дискурсе. В статье суммируются сведения, имеющиеся в лингвистической литературе, а также представлены результаты анализа аутентичных текстов, иллюстрирующих выбор местоимений как средств гендерно нейтральной референции в англоязычном дискурсе. Показано, что местоимение he (him, his, himself) регулярно употребляется в формальных контекстах без указания на принадлежность к полу, в то время как альтернативные (разделительные) фразы he or she, his or her употребляются в менее формальных и нередко личностных контекстах, если альтернативная фраза употребляется в тексте не более одного раза. Подчеркивается весьма распространенное употребление местоимения they (them, their, themselves) при референции к существительным в ед. числе и неопределенным местоимениям. Допускается, что употребление местоимения they (them, their, themselves) при отнесенности к существительному в ед.числе и неопределенному местоимению может рассматриваться как согласование по смыслу (notional agreement) и поэтому как правильное и адекватное употребление. Вместе с тем употребление местоимения they (them, their) при отнесенности к определенной именной фразе в ед.числе, что нередко имеет место в неформальном общении, вряд ли можно рассматривать как грамматически правильное употребление. Этот вопрос остается дискуссионным.
Ключевые слова: гендерно нейтральное существительное или местоимение; грамматически правильное и социально допустимое; средства референции; альтернативная (разделительная) местоименная фраза; формальный и неформальный контекст; согласование по смыслу.
Razdina T. I.
Ph. D., Ass. Prof., Chair of Grammar and History of English Department of Humanities and Applied Sciences, MSLU; e-mail: [email protected]
REFERENCE TO GENDER-NEUTRAL NOUNS AND PRONOUNS IN ENGLISH DISCOURSE
The article discusses the choice of pronouns with reference to gender-neutral nouns and indefinite pronouns in English discourse. The article sums up
information available in linguistic literature and presents the results of the analysis of authentic texts illustrating the current use of pronouns as means of reference in speech and writing in current English. The article concludes that apart from the regular use of the pronoun he (him, his, himself) in formal contexts without sex specification and the alternative (disjunctive) phrases he or she, his or her in less formal and often personal contexts, it is the pronoun they (them, their) that is being increasingly widely used to refer back to a singular epicene noun or indefinite pronoun in everyday English. This could be regarded as notional agreement. The choice of they (them, their) with reference to a singular definite noun phrase, which can be used in informal communication in everyday current English, could hardly be regarded as grammatically correct and socially acceptable. But this is thought to be an issue still open to debate.
Key words: gender-neutral (epicene) noun or indefinite pronoun; grammatically correct and socially acceptable; means of reference; alternative (disjunctive) pronoun phrase; formal and informal context, notional agreement.
To gender-neutral nouns refer nouns such as actor, author, writer, reader, teacher, student, doctor, patient and many others. To gender-neutral pronouns refer indefinite pronouns everybody, everyone, somebody, someone, anybody, anyone, nobody, no one. Gender-neutral nouns and pronouns are called epicene words, that is words referring both to males and females [15, p. 184].
Reference to a gender-neutral singular noun or indefinite pronoun can be made by the pronoun he (him, his, himself), by the pronoun she (her, herself), by the alternative (disjunctive) phrases he or she, his or her and by the pronoun they (them, their, themselves) [15, p. 538; 5, p. 105].
Which of these are acceptable and even correct in speech and writing has long been discussed since the first publication of the famous Fowler's Modern English Usage (1926) and is still open to debate in linguistic literature [2; 4; 5; 13].
Grammarians mention that some English speakers argue whether it is grammatically correct to refer to a singular noun or an indefinite pronoun using a plural pronoun, that is whether it is possible, for example, to refer to a visitor, a manager, a guest or everybody, nobody, anyone using the plural pronoun they (them, their, themselves).
Some speakers, women mostly, resent the fact that the pronoun he (him, his) is predominantly used to refer both to men and women suggesting the low-profile position of women in society. To make an adequate choice of a pronoun with reference to a gender-neutral singular noun or an indefinite pronoun can be a tough question even for a native speaker of English, let alone a foreign language learner.
In grammar text books published in this country there is practically no information about the choice of he (him, his), he or she, his or her or they (them, their, themselves) with reference to epicene words. The only exception is the new edition (2009) of the well known and widely used 'A Grammar of the English Language' by V. L Kaushanskaya and others. Here the authors point out that there is a tendency in Modern English to use they and their after the pronouns everybody and everyone, nobody, no one, someone, anyone [9, p. 78, 84].
We don't think that it is sufficient to simply say that there is a tendency in Modern English to use they (them, their) after the pronouns everybody and everyone, nobody, no one etc. We suppose that the issue needs to be more thoroughly examined. The aim of the article is to draw the reader's attention to a still debatable and subtle issue of English usage, to sum up information available in linguistic literature on the issue discussed and to present the results of the observations made on the basis of the analysis of authentic texts illustrating the use of pronouns in English discourse as means of reference to epicene nouns and pronouns.
The pronoun he (him, his) is normally used to refer back to an epicene noun without sex specification:
1. The final aim should be to produce a student whose English will give him full control of the type of writing and reading required to master his subject successfully at degree level, and to use his attainments afterwards both in his professional life and in society in general [13, p. 113].
In the text above reference to gender is not important. It is taken for granted that both males and females are meant.
2. I began to meditate upon the writer's life. It is full of tribulations. First he must endure poverty and the world's indifference; then, having achieved a measure of success, he must submit with a good grace to its hazards. He depends upon a fickle public. He is at the mercy ofjournalists who want to interview him, and photographers who want to take his picture, of editors who harry him for copy and tax-gatherers who harry him for income persons of quality who ask him to lunch and secretaries of institutes who ask him to lecture, of women who want to marry him and women who want to divorce him [11, p. 189].
Though reference to gender in the text cited does not matter either, the noun phrases of 'women who want to marry him and women who want to divorce him' definitely suggest that reference is made to a male.
Pam Peters in "The Cambridge Guide To English Usage" points out that in earlier centuries, before the general concern about sexism in language, it was assumed and accepted that he (him, his) could be used for both males and females. She also says that the common gender uses of the pronoun he are to be found in aphorisms and in quotations from the King James Bible:
He who hesitates is lost. He that shall humble himself shall be exalted
[15, p. 243].
Though the use of he (him, his, himself) often sounds natural and convenient, it can still be associated in the minds of speakers as sexist, reinforcing the stereotype of men as dominant and in some contexts, such as job advertisements may be interpreted as excluding women [1, p. 19] or may even suggest that women are ineligible for the job [15, p. 244].
According to Pam Peters some users could argue that his and he are gender-free in the statement ' The applicant must demonstrate his ability to work independently and how he would develop the unit if appointed' [15, p. 244].
In the contexts below he and she are used as gender-neutral pronouns, but could be interpreted as sexually-biased by some speakers:
1. A driver may actually feel more confident after a few drinks. He may not feel, look or act drunk. But his judgement may be so impaired by drink that he is in danger at the wheel [13, p. 113 ].
He, his are used to refer back to a driver. Whether the driver is a male or female does not matter but it is obviously suggested here that reference is made to men.
2. The demands on the teacher must not only avoid unwanted interference; she must also possess the ability, while monitoring the group's performance, to intervene constructively when there is a problem [6, p. 132].
She, not he, is used here to refer back to the teacher and it is clear from the situation that reference is made to women.
To avoid confusion and unnecessary implications the alternative (disjunctive) pronoun phrases he or she, his or her are often used in informal speech and writing:
1. There is nothing more annoying for a junior minister than to stick his or her neck out defending a policy only to see it later dumped by the highups. So spare a thought for Health Minister Anna Soubry [14, p. 27].
His or her to refer back to a junior minister is a satisfactory substitute for his and her. The use of his would make reference to a male, whereas the choice of her - to a female and this is what the author did not obviously mean to say. Besides, the context of the statement is very personal. The use of 'their neck' would make the statement sound absurd and inappropriate.
2. In the United States maids are for the rich and famous. Modern-day slavery in the western world commonly wears the face of a prostitute, a trafficked child, or an illegal migrant exploited by his or her employer [28].
3. It would take the average British worker 40 hours to clear his or her desk of paperwork [8, p. 28 ].
4. A manager is responsible for his or her staff [7, p. 60].
5. Many children are removed on the basis of flimsy accusations by social workers: that the parent might shout at the child when he or she becomes a teenager (potential emotional abuse); that the mother has taken a sickly child to the doctor too often (fabricated illness syndrome) or -extraordinary - simply because the mother has been in the care system herself or suffered depression as a teenager [17, p. 14].
6. And what of the social workers? They are accused by complainers of distorting evidence against parents to make a stronger case to take children for adoption, thereby winning brownie points with their council bosses. With more openness in the courts, it will be harder for a rogue social worker to put his or her own agenda based on a fiction or fabrication [17, p. 14].
As is seen in the texts above the choice of the alternative (disjunctive) pronoun phrases his or her and he or she seems a reasonable option to express reference to males or females. The choice of he, his instead of he or she; his or her would definitely suggest reference to males only and that is what most speakers might disapprove of.
It wouldn't be stylistically appropriate, however, to use alternative (disjunctive) phrases more than once in a text. The following examples are given in grammars as 'clumsy' uses:
1. A candidate who wishes to enter the school before his or her eighteenth birthday may be asked to write to state his or her reasons [1, p. 19].
2. Everyone agreed he or she would bring his or her lunch with him or her [5, p. 104].
We believe that these awkward statements could be improved by using his in the first example and they, their, them - in the second:
3. A candidate who wishes to enter the school before his eighteenth birthday may be asked to write his reasons.
4. Everyone agreed they would bring their lunch with them.
The third example sounds more formal therefore his could be the appropriate choice. The fourth example is definitely informal and they, their, them would be the right choice. However, the third example can be assessed by grammarians and native speakers as sexually-biased and the fourth one as grammatically incorrect assuming that there is an error in agreement because everyone is singular, and they, their, them is plural.
The epicene noun itself and the context can predetermine the choice of he, him, his rather than he or she; him or her; his or her, or they, them, their. In the following extract from a newspaper article he, him, his seem to be the only appropriate choice:
Tips for new mummies and daddies
1. The best way to hold baby is with his head above and his feet below, with the rest of the body in between.
2. Never pass baby round by the feet or else he might start crying.
3. Feeding may be a problem. Baby can be picky. Don't expect him to enjoy top-quality luxury food like fillet steak or oysters before he's well into week three [12, p. 18].
The choice of alternative (disjunctive) phrases would be stylistically inappropriate because baby is necessarily used more than once in the text. The choice of they, them, their would lead to a slovenly way of writing, which is unacceptable.
The use of he or she is impossible in tag questions like * Everyone's here, isn't he or she? It is ungrammatical and they must be used as the only possibility: Everyone's here, aren't they? [5, p. 104].
The pronoun they is considered to be not only semantically plural, but also semantically singular [5, p. 105].
The choice of they (them, their), which is plural in form but singular in meaning after a singular antecedent, can be explained as a kind of notional agreement [15, p. 538].
Semantically, the singular they is thought to be well established in literature and completely natural in both conversation and writing:
1. Statistics say that the current 10-year survival rate of a lung transplant patient is 30 %, meaning that only one out of every three patients will celebrate their 10th anniversary [25].
2. Earning your own money is very important to become a person who's in charge of themselves [29].
3. Reasons why you shouldn't hire an au pair without an agency.
First and foremost, hiring an au pair in the United States without an agency is illegal. You might be able to bring over a young foreign woman on a tourist visa, but paying for them is illegal [26].
4. A 'do not resuscitate' order on a patient's file means that a doctor is not required to resuscitate a patient if their heart stops [19, p. 13].
5. In a sense it's not a communication impairment - a person can make themselves understood perfectly well [24].
6. Actor is someone who performs in plays and films, especially as their job [22, p. 15].
(It's worth noting in passing that though the word actress is used with
reference to a female, women performers prefer to be called actors rather than
actresses. The same can be said about the words poet, author, manager and
some others.)
7. This is a sign that a hotel guest puts on their door to tell the hotel staff not to wake them or go into the room [16, p. 100].
In the examples above the pronoun they (them, their) is semantically singular. The noun antecedents are used with reference to no human beings in particular. This could be interpreted as instances of notional agreement.
We must note that the noun person, as observations show, is normally followed by they (them, their). We suppose that this is due to the fact that the noun person is more neutral in gender reference compared with many other epicene nouns.
Notional agreement occurs not only with nouns denoting human beings, but with inanimate objects as well: I won't know if I can afford a Porsche until I've found out how much they cost [3, p. 230].
The indefinite pronouns everybody, everyone, somebody, someone, anybody, anyone, nobody, no one, which are singular, are currently replaced by the pronoun they (them; their) in informal speech and writing. It is
assumed that there is an increasing tendency, even in formal contexts, to follow these singular pronouns with a plural pronoun. Linguists point out that the use of they, them, their with reference to singular pronouns is not new in the language and that it has been used for several hundred years by writers of impeccable standing - Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Austen, Wilde, and a large number of other authors [5, p. 105]. Thackeray wrote 'Nobody prevents you, do they?' Bernard Shaw remarked 'Nobody would ever marry if they thought it over' [4, p. 397].
The authors of A Student's Introduction to English Grammar maintain that 'the more conservative manuals insist that the conflict between the primary plural form and the singular meaning makes this use of they incorrect. There are manuals still in print in which they directly recommend the use of he' [5, p. 105].
We must note that in dictionaries the information in the entries is sometimes confusing about the use of he, his and they, their with reference to the same indefinite pronouns. Thus, for example, in "Longman Advanced American Dictionary" it is said that he is used to talk about anyone, everyone, or an unknown person who may be either a male or female: Everybody should do what he considers best [20, p. 667].
The entry about their says that their is to be used to avoid saying 'his' or 'her' after words like 'anyone', 'no one', 'everyone' etc: Everyone has their own room [20, p. 1505].
Most linguists point out that in the past indefinite pronouns were referred back to by the pronoun he (him, his), including both men and women:
1. Everyone thinks he has the answer [10, p. 263].
2. Nobody has taken his seat yet [4, p. 397].
The pronoun he is said to be still used traditionally in current English in formal contexts:
A judgement by an Australian court which curtailed the powers of Senate
committees prodded the Senate into reform. Now anyone who believes he has
been injured by a senator's words can ask to have a response written into the
Senate's records [2, p. 378].
However, it is the pronoun they (them; their) that is being used regularly in everyday current English to refer back to indefinite pronouns:
1. Everyone thinks they know who Amy Winehouse is, and they've seen the pictures but actually she is somebody's little sister [23].
2. It is difficult to talk to someone in Japan unless you call them early in the morning [7, p. 48].
3. We thank everyone for their heartfelt condolences [27].
4. You can't send someone an e-mail unless you know their email address [7, p. 48].
5. About a schoolboy who is trying 'to examine' himself. He examined his own attachments ( nobody else he knew, he was sure, was ever this honest with themselves. They drifted, half asleep through life) [18, p. 75].
The use of the pronoun they (them, their) with reference to indefinite pronouns is registered in dictionaries:
1. Seizure - is a sudden condition in which someone cannot control the movements of their body, which continues for a short time [21, p. 1387].
2. Someone who is fickle is always changing their mind about people or things that they like, so that you cannot depend on them [21, p. 554].
The choice observed in linguistic literature and in authentic texts analysed from different sources makes it possible to conclude that there is a trend for an increasingly wide use of the pronoun they (them, their) with reference to epicene nouns and pronouns. Moreover, linguists notice that 'among younger speakers today, semantically singular they is extending its scope: people use it even with definite NP antecedents, sidestepping any presumptions about the sex of the person referred to, as in You should ask your partner what they think, or The person I was with said they hated the film' [5, p. 104].
Whether the use of they in such sentences is grammatically correct and socially acceptable remains a matter open to debate.
In conclusion, it is possible to state that in current English discourse the following choices can be made with reference to epicene nouns and indefinite pronouns:
1. The pronoun he (him, his, himself) is used with reference to both males or females in formal contexts.
2. The alternative (disjunctive) phrases his or her, he or she are used in less formal and personal contexts in which it is necessary to include both males and females. The choice of these phrases cannot be made more than once in the text and in tag questions.
3. The pronoun they (them, their, themselves) is being increasingly widely used both in everyday speech and in informal writing to refer back to singular epicene nouns and indefinite pronouns.
4. The use of the pronoun they (them, their, themselves) with reference to singular epicene nouns and indefinite pronouns can be regarded as notional agreement.
5. The choice of they (them, their, themselves) with reference to a singular definite noun phrase (the partner - they / them / their) can be considered as incorrect and socially inappropriate by both grammarians and native speakers of English. However, this is a matter which is still open to debate.
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