Examining the use of singular they pronouns : a literature review and discourse analysis

Show simple item record

dc.contributor.advisor Asp, Elissa D.
dc.creator Jackson, Lily E.
dc.date.accessioned 2022-08-29T13:11:07Z
dc.date.available 2022-08-29T13:11:07Z
dc.date.issued 2022
dc.identifier.uri http://library2.smu.ca/xmlui/handle/01/31029
dc.description 1 online resource (100 pages) : colour illustrations, colour charts
dc.description Includes abstract and appendices.
dc.description Includes bibliographical references (pages 86-91).
dc.description.abstract This paper explores age and other factors that affect the use of the third person pronoun <i>they</i> for singular and non-binary antecedents in English. Two methods were used for data collection: an online survey and individual interviews. Models laid out by Bjorkman (2017) and Konnelly and Cowper (2020) were used to categorize participants into 3 stages of the use of singular <i>they</i>. However, these models may not account for all uses of singular <i>they</i> that arose in the data. This led to the exploration of the possible effects of discourse features such as hypotheticality on the use of singular <i>they</i>. These may help explain instances where speakers use singular they when they would otherwise be unexpected to.<br> The age effects found in this study support previous research findings that younger speakers are more accepting of singular <i>they</i> than older speakers (Conrod, 2019; Moulton et al, 2020). Moreover, other factors such as being in the LGBTQIA2S+ community also affect the use of singular <i>they</i> (Bradley, 2020; Conrod, 2019; Hekanaho, 2020). The results also showed that some people are unaware of their own use of singular <i>they</i>. Furthermore, this thesis explores how some speakers resist singular <i>they</i> because they believe <i>they</i> is strictly a plural pronoun and supports previous findings that attitudes to language change can affect acceptance of singular <i>they</i> (Bradley, 2020).<br> This study is complemented by an overview of generic <i>he</i> and its effect on written English, which helps situate the current use of singular <i>they</i>. This informs the transition in English from gender exclusive language (the use of generic <i>he</i>), to gender-inclusive language (the use of <i>he</i> and <i>she</i> as generic pronouns), and finally to a gender-neutral language that is inclusive of not only masculine and feminine gender but other gender identities as well. en_CA
dc.description.provenance Submitted by Greg Hilliard (greg.hilliard@smu.ca) on 2022-08-29T13:11:06Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Jackson_Lily_Honours_2022.pdf: 1300308 bytes, checksum: f434edadada0c97c6e412c568b8ae516 (MD5) en
dc.description.provenance Made available in DSpace on 2022-08-29T13:11:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Jackson_Lily_Honours_2022.pdf: 1300308 bytes, checksum: f434edadada0c97c6e412c568b8ae516 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2022-08-17 en
dc.language.iso en en_CA
dc.publisher Halifax, N.S. : Saint Mary's University
dc.title Examining the use of singular they pronouns : a literature review and discourse analysis en_CA
dc.title.alternative Singular they
dc.type Text en_CA
thesis.degree.name Bachelor of Arts (Honours Linguistics)
thesis.degree.level Undergraduate
thesis.degree.discipline English
thesis.degree.grantor Saint Mary's University (Halifax, N.S.)
 Find Full text

Files in this item

 
 

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record