Personal Pronouns – Questioning the Gender Binary and Apparent Neutrality

Abstract

I, we, you, he, she, it, they, my, mine, our, ours, your, yours, his, hers, its, their,
theirs, me, us, him, her and them – In the variety of personal pronouns
available and taught to us, we are handed down the inherent gender binary
and the supposed neutrality of the pronouns used for someone else. However,
the increasing vocalisation of transgender people has brought this notion into
question and led to the coinage of new pronouns. These new pronouns go
beyond the gender binary and seek to expand the horizon, giving a more
concrete status to the transgender community. This paper focuses on these
new pronouns and the need for their inclusion in the ELT scenario today, which
can be an effective measure to ensure that the transgender community,
equivalent to any human, finds a voice in a field which informs many basic
beliefs in today's society