British Pronoun Use, Prescription, and Processing: Linguistic and Social Influences Affecting 'They' and 'He'

by L. Paterson

Overview

This study considers the use of they and he for generic reference in post-2000 written British English. The analysis is framed by a consideration of language-internal factors, such as syntactic agreement, and language-external factors, which include traditional grammatical prescriptivism and the language reforms resulting from second-wave feminism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781349461868
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication date:	01/01/2014
Edition description:	1st ed. 2014
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Laura Louise Paterson is a Teaching Fellow in English Language at The University of Leeds, UK. Her previous works include a diachronic study of generic he and singular they and an analysis of the English Language element of the UK National Curriculum. Her forthcoming publications focus on children's pronouns and online sociolinguistic networks.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1. Exploring Epicene Pronouns in History 2. Epicenes in the Twenty-First Century 3. Epicenes and Social Movements 4. Prescriptions, Standards, and Epicenes 5. Accounting for Epicene Choice Conclusion Glossary

Editorial Reviews

"Laura Louise Paterson's book entitled British Pronoun Use, Prescription, and Processing gives a very compelling, lucid and in-depth analysis of the term epicene pronoun, which is defined as a pronoun that does not convey gender or sex information, and is coindexed with a singular noun phrase referring to an animate being." - Masculinities Journal

From the Publisher