2004
Volume 77, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 0039-8691
  • E-ISSN: 2215-1214

Abstract

Abstract

Research on English and Swedish indicates that gender-neutral pronouns for specific (nonbinary) reference are less accepted than for generic reference. This raises the question whether this greater acceptance of the generic usage of gender-neutral pronouns also applies to Dutch, a language in which the generic use of the masculine pronoun is still common, and in which the metadiscourse on gender-neutral pronouns mainly focuses on its nonbinary usage. We therefore conducted a study on the perception of Dutch gender-neutral for both generic and specific reference in comparison to binary pronouns. We found that binary pronouns were preferred over gender-neutral and that for generic reference was more appreciated than for specific reference. All in all, the results suggest that for generic reference, the gender-neutral pronoun shows potential as a more gender-inclusive alternative to pair forms consisting of binary pronouns and to masculine generics.

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2025-03-01
2025-04-09
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