For the past 30 years, the 131-year old American Dialect Society(ADS) has voted for the Word of the Year (WOTY) in several categories, on the
occasion of the Society’s Annual Meeting,
held a the beginning of each year. This year is no exception, although
the ADS also voted for the Word of the Decade.
On both counts, the ADS voted for the emerging gender-inclusiveness
of the English language, recognizing speech that expresses the multiplicity of
identifies beyond binary “he” or “she”. Indeed, the ADS selected (My) pronouns as the Word of the Year
2019, and they/them (singular use) as
Word of the Decade (2010-2019). Two
terms that beckon explanations in their bid for urgent inclusion in
everyone’s idiolect.
The term (My) pronouns is
most extensively described on the website www.mypronouns.org . In a nutshell, the term (My) pronouns
refers to the additional specification of pronominal preferences, when
introducing one’s self. The specification of pronominal preferences when
introducing one’s self or calling for introductions (e.g.; My name is Françoise, my pronoun is “she”, or
“Please share your name and personal pronouns”) first arose in the LGBT (Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community as a way of resolving the
arbitrariness of masculine/feminine third-person pronouns, remaining in the
English language, and the assumptions held when mapping such arbitrariness, into
contexts of gender fluidity, and onto other nonbinary, non-conforming
categories of gender.
Specification of (My) pronouns
is satisfactory to both speakers and interlocutors. Speakers are assured of
being correctly addressed, including according to their preferences, while
interlocutors are able to avoid missteps and errors. For example, beyond the
LGBT community, (My) pronouns, is
also most helpful to people with foreign names, the gender of which might
appear a total mystery. Likewise, adding pronoun specification to an email
sign-off (e.g.; Mackenzie, pronoun “he”), will also prevent much hesitation,
alternatively confusion about gender
address, for all the people with fashionable gender-neutral names of the
decade, such as: Tracy, Cameron, Charlie , Sidney , Robin, Murphy, Tatum, Noah,
Perry, Alex, Addison, Sterling, Bailey, Bobbie, Chris, Jesse, Sam, Taylor, etc…
Singular use of they/them and themself, the ADS-elected Word of the Decade, refers to one of the
pronominal preferences crafted in the LGBT, non-binary, gender nonconforming
community, used to express identity. A use that arises, precisely in an effort to
promote gender-inclusive language use.
Incidentally, (My)pronouns,
and the singular use of they/them is
much more complicated in languages that are grammatically inflected for gender
beyond pronouns. (Vincent, 2019 - Le Monde) French, for example, is
inflected for the masculine and feminine in third person pronouns (singular and plural), adjectives, verbs and
nouns! The noun “nurse”, for example, translates as infirmier (masculine) and infirmière
(feminine), which means that new gender
inclusive inflections also need to be crafted for certain nouns. In turn,
according to the same principle, it also follows that new gender-inclusive inflections
have to be crafted for adjectives and
verbs.
Below, the shortlists for just the ADS Word of the Year and Word of the
Decade categories.
WORD OF THE YEAR (2019)
- * (my) pronouns: introduction for sharing one’s set of personal pronouns
- ok boomer: retort to someone older expressing out-of-touch or condescending views
- cancel: withdraw support from someone considered problematic or unacceptable
- Karen: stereotype of a complaining, self-important white woman, typically a member of Generation X (also “Generation Karen”)
WORD OF THE DECADE
(2010-2019)
- * they: gender-neutral singular pronoun for a known person, particularly as a nonbinary identifier
- #BlackLivesMatter: expression of protest over police violence against African
Americans
- climate: used in phrases related to the impact of climate change, including “climate crisis,”climate emergency,” and “climate strike”
- emoji: small icon in electronic communication, used to convey information or emotional attitude, or as a playful substitution for words
- meme: a shared cultural item in the form of a phrase, image, or video circulated online, often with humorous, creative alterations
- #MeToo: expression of solidarity for women surviving sexual assault or harassment (coined by Tarana Burke)
- opioid crisis: epidemic of opioid-related drug overdoses across the U.S.
- selfie: a photograph that one takes of oneself, typically with a digital camera and shared on social media
- woke: socially aware, especially about issues of racial and social justice (also used negatively to mock ostensibly enlightened attitudes)
*WOTTIES – Plural of WOTY (Word of the
Year). Rhymes with “potty”.
Reference
2019 Word of the Year is “(My) Pronouns, ” Word of the
Decade is Singular “They” as voted by American Dialect Society. American Dialsect Society Press Release,
Jan 2, 2020
https://www.americandialect.org/wp-content/uploads/2019-Word-of-the-Year-PRESS-RELEASE.pdf
Amercican Dialect Society
https://www.americandialect.org/
https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2019/07/19/le-genre-gagne-en-fluidite_5491031_3232.html
Amercican Dialect Society
https://www.americandialect.org/
Pronouns matter
Vincent, C. ( July 19, 2019) Le genre gagne en fluidité. Le Monde https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2019/07/19/le-genre-gagne-en-fluidite_5491031_3232.html
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