"One" The Gender-Neutral Pronoun
Dr. Anush (Ani) Ghukasyan-Bleakney
PACER (Professor Ani's Cornerstone of English Remediation) PhD in Pedagogy, Language Teaching Methodologist
Any discussion of “Gender-Neutral Pronouns” must first consider that modern languages are inclusive in nature and this goal is furthered by a universal grammar. One puts aside political, sociological, psychological, biological and religious aspects of gender-neutral phenomenon,. The only agenda presented here is the preservation of the English Language, and the imperative to achieve clarity and inclusivity.
Inclusive language avoids the use of certain words and expressions that are harmful to a particular person or group of people. If no offence is given, none should be taken. In English grammar we have the inclusive “we”, which is the use of personal pronoun, first-person, plural to evoke a sense of community (one hears “common and unity” in that term), between the speaker, or writer and the audience.
In that spirit, and with regard to the semantic and syntactic requisites of the English language, there are only two possibilities to resolve the issue of “Gender-Neutral Pronouns” and the first is simpler:
The first is to use the indefinite pronoun “one”, which is also a gender-neutral pronoun, has the grammatical forms of expression for pronouns; number, case, and is as inclusive as possible. (It’s also wonderfully eloquent).
The only other possibility is to keep “he” and “she”, and everything else (in the singular form) must be referred to as “one”. Either choice will be acceptable and truly correct.
The following examples are the demonstration of linguistic accuracy in the use of the indefinite pronoun “one” in various grammatical forms.
· The one standing at the counter is my friend. (singular)
· I knew that one for a long time. That one’s reputation is solid. (possessive case)
· One needs to provide living for oneself and one’s family. (formal)
· These ones are from our college team. (plural)
It is essential for clarity, and to avoid ambiguity, to embrace the more functional and simpler gender-neutral pronoun “one” as opposed to the myriad polymorphs identified by following partial list, presented by some misguided, grammatically challenged “social warriors”. We can now dispense with the term “gender-neutral”, as the solution makes that term redundant.
In contrast, the following example is only one of the overly-complex and linguistically impossible proposals that even the most intrepid and politically-correct English speaker would have to learn:
HE/SHE - zie, sie, ey, ve, tey, e
HIM/HER - zim, sie, em, ver, ter, em
HIS/HER - zir, hir, eir, vis, tem, eir
HIS/HERS - zis, hirs, eirs, vers, ters, eirs
HIMSELF/HERSELF - zieself, hirself, eirself, verself, terself, emself
It would appear that the intent of these so-called “gender-neutral” pronouns is not about equality, but rather, it is a forceful, clumsy and grammatically untenable attempt to create exclusivity by a minority, which awards them special status. (Even the term itself is linguistically inaccurate; these are "gender-independent" pronouns).
Clarity in the expression, in order to avoid offense, demands the simpler, grammatically accurate pronoun “one”. Any other proposal obscures and even “ruins” the syntactic and semantic effectiveness of a structured and comprehensible language; and is thus offensive.
Dr. Anoush (Ani) Ghukasyan-Bleakney, PhD, is a distinguished professor of linguistics and English Language Teaching Methodology from Armenia, now living in Canada. Her seminal work applying Professor Noam Chomsky’s Theory of Generative Transformational Grammar in Foreign Language Teaching Methodology is a revolution in the field of Pedagogy.
Dr. Seda Q. Gasparyan, Professor, Head of Chair | Chair of English Philology, YSU
Mixed Methods Research Specialist: (Developmental) Psychologist, Psychometrician, (Clinical) Linguist, & (Special) Education Consultant.
6 年Interesting; a bit over-looking of gender role though!
Geoffrey Rothwell consulting with Clean Air Task Force International Working Group Fusion Cost Model Analysis
6 年One is not the only alternative, which I have been using since I lived in France the first time. I believe it is now acceptable to use the plural pronouns in singular situations. So both she and he become they, hers and his become their, etc. This is the advice I gave my honors students at Stanford from 2003 to 2013. See Oxford Living Dictionary,
Professor of Communications (Sessional and Partial Load)/Special Lecturer
6 年Thank you for your article, it was a very interesting read and a refreshing, grammatical take on the issue of political correctness. I don’t think political correctness should trump grammatical correctness and so many are simply too ill educated in the intricacies of the English language to understand a proper grammatical solution. This is also a much simpler way for non native speakers to use English effectively and inoffensively. Thank you so much, this is a very useful article!!
I Am Here To Serve You In Ministry, Vocation, Business, And Leadership. In matters of Christian principle, one needs to stand like a rock, love like Christ, live like a saint, and rest in Grace.
6 年Sensitive article with immediate practicality. Refreshing to read in light of clumsy alternatives proffered by activist ideologues. The English language is imperfect, certainly not among the most romantic or intellectually appealing; but it deserves this insightful attention.
Retired lecturer and musician
6 年I agree with most of your article. However, I would tend to avoid recommending your 3rd use of "one" to non-native speakers, as it a highly elitist way of addressing someone. Nevertheless, I would still teach the usage while simultaneously pointing out the negative connotations associted with this particular usage..