Third-person Pronouns Research Articles

Language and Gender: Exploring Structures and Bias in Linguistic Norms

This study investigates the intricate relationship between language and gender norms, exploring how linguistic structures reflect and reinforce societal gender expectations. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the research combines quantitative analysis of linguistic corpora with qualitative insights from interviews and discourse analysis. Key findings reveal a growing acceptance of gender-neutral pronouns in English, particularly among younger generations, while entrenched gender biases persist in languages with grammatical gender systems, such as French and Spanish. The study also highlights how lexical choices often associate leadership and strength with male subjects, reinforcing traditional gender roles. Practical recommendations for promoting gender equality through language include advocating for gender-neutral language policies, increasing public awareness, and encouraging media to challenge gender stereotypes. The research concludes by suggesting further avenues for investigation, including cross-linguistic studies, historical analyses, and exploring the impact of language reforms on societal attitudes.

QURANIC IMAGERY OF SABR (PATIENCE)

This study investigates the Quranic representation of both kinetic and abstract imagery to elucidate the significance and essence of sabr as conveyed in the verses of the Quran. Both abstract and kinetic pictures are analyzed to enhance the imagery elaboration of the abstract idea of sabr as presented in the verses of the Quran. The abstract image underwent a first evaluation to ascertain the value and quality of sabr. The study examines diverse methods of practicing sabr through abstract concepts, including confidence, hope, serenity, piety, and obedience, which are classified as faith and piety. The study identified the representation of dynamic visuals in the portrayal of the tangible concept of sabr. The concrete images of sabr are interpreted through two techniques of kinetic imagery, represented by second and third-person pronouns. The second pronoun is employed to engage the reader in vivid imagery, while the third pronoun aims to facilitate readers visualization of the narratives of sabr. This study assessed the kinetic and abstract representations in interpreting abstract qualities and values. Examining the representations of abstract concepts from the Quran is recommended to attain a more profound comprehension of them.

Not Just They/Them: Exploring Diversity and Meaning in Pronoun Use among Non-Binary Individuals

ABSTRACT Gender-neutral pronouns, such as they/them, have been studied as a site of identity affirmation and, at other times, contestation for non-binary individuals. In this study, we draw from interviews with 123 non-binary individuals to better understand the role of pronouns in these individuals’ lives. We find that pronoun practices are ontoformative—they actively (re)construct the meanings attached to gender and gender identities. Yet, not all non-binary individuals use similar pronoun practices, resulting in diverse ontologies of non-binary identity. Half of our respondents consistently used non-binary pronouns, such as they/them, and felt they were a stable and direct reflection of identity—an approach we refer to as a fixed expression. These individuals define non-binary gender as independent from the woman/man binary. The other half of our sample held flexible pronoun expressions—they used multiple pronouns and anticipated future changes. Some of these individuals rejected the idea that pronouns expressed their identity, offering a definition of non-binary that eschewed categorical distinctions. Others embrace pronouns as identity expressing and forming, but felt that multiplicity best reflected their identity, offering a definition of non-binary as category-spanning. Our findings highlight the central and diverse role of pronouns in the social construction of non-binary ontology.

Linguistic Characteristics In The Research Background And Problem Statement In The Doctoral Thesis Of Arabic EFL Students In Malaysia

This study explores the linguistic features within the move structures of the research background and problem statement sections in Chapter One of PhD theses written by Arab students in Malaysia. The analysis focuses on four key language elements: verb tense, modality, voice (active and passive), and personal pronouns. A corpus of 30 theses was analyzed to determine common linguistic patterns, revealing significant insights into the language choices of these academic writers. The study employs concordance and hand-tagged analysis to examine verb tense and voice, with manual verification for modality and personal pronouns to ensure accuracy. Eight distinct verb tenses were identified, with the present simple tense being the most frequently used, representing 55.30% of the total instances. This indicates a preference for focusing on current knowledge and ongoing research. In contrast, the past simple and future simple tenses were used to describe past methodologies and future implications, respectively. Modal auxiliaries play a crucial role in conveying sentiments and opinions. The study identified seven modal verbs, with 'can' being the most commonly used, suggesting a focus on possibility over obligation. The analysis of voice patterns revealed a higher occurrence of active voice (79.66%), especially in moves that conveyed up-to-date knowledge. In contrast, passive voice was more common in methodological descriptions, indicating a focus on the actions or subjects rather than the actors. The study also examined the usage of personal pronouns, finding a higher frequency of third-person pronouns, suggesting a more objective narrative style. These findings offer valuable insights into the linguistic choices of Arab EFL students in academic writing, providing a deeper understanding of their communicative intentions and alignment with academic discourse conventions. The results can guide future research on linguistic patterns in academic writing and help educators support EFL students in improving their writing skills.

Using natural language processing approaches to characterize professional experiences of child welfare workers

High turnover rates among child welfare workers, including caseworkers and supervisors, are associated with negative attitudes and perceptions about work (NAPW). Our study aimed to (a) explore how child welfare workers’ demographic characteristics, professional attributes, and their work narratives are related to NAPW and (b) extract themes from these narratives to understand their professional needs and concerns. In 2022, a statewide online survey was administered to active child welfare caseworkers and supervisors in a large Midwestern state. This survey, combining standardized scales and an open-ended question about work experiences, yielded numeric (N = 551 survey respondents) and text data (N = 2,193 words). We analyzed the numeric data using general linear modeling and the text data using natural language processing (NLP) techniques. Results showed that workers associated with higher NAPW were female, younger, from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds, less tenured, and more likely to be employed in public agencies and to work longer hours. They are predominantly caseworkers rather than supervisors. Worker role and agency affiliation had the largest effect sizes. NLP analysis showed that workers with more NAPW frequently used third-person pronouns and emotionally negative language, suggesting a disconnection from colleagues and job dissatisfaction. Caseworkers often used first-person singular pronouns, indicating feelings of isolation. Two key themes emerged: a) the need for better agency support during home visits and b) concerns over traumatic experiences and ineffective trauma-informed practices. The findings suggest that future interventions should prioritize the well-being of caseworkers in public agencies and consider language patterns in workers’ narratives to understand their vulnerability to NAPW.

What I Can Do with the Right Version of You: The Impact of Narrative Perspective on Reader Immersion, and How (in)Formal Address Pronouns Influence Immersion Reports

Previous research has shown that readers experience stronger immersion while reading first-person narratives than third-person narratives, but whether this difference in processing is time-sensitive remains unclear. We report on a self-paced reading experiment in which French participants read short stories in first and in third person. Additionally, participants were directly addressed with either formal or informal second-person pronouns in the final sentence of the narrative, as well as in a subsequent (off-line) questionnaire soliciting post-story immersion reports. The suitability of a particular pronoun of address depends on the social context, and misplaced use can impact the way in which people perceive and assess a particular situation. We did not find significant differences between reading times with first- or third-person pronouns, but participants reported higher immersion and emotional engagement after reading first-person stories than third-person stories. Moreover, the effect of story perspective on reported immersion only occurred when participants were addressed with formal second-person pronouns. We take these findings as evidence for an effect of first- versus third-person pronouns on immersion via perspective shifts. Moreover, we argue that the effect of being addressed with an unexpected (in this case, informal) pronoun can overrule such an effect, while being addressed with an expected (in this case, formal) pronoun can be conducive of it. This finding highlights the importance of research into the impact of pronouns of address.

In help-seekers' shoes: First-person pronouns entitled charitable fundraising campaigns and individual donating behavior in China

Both first-person and third-person pronouns are widely used in charitable fundraising campaigns, but which type of pronouns is more effective in soliciting donations is still to be explored. In this study, we conduct a field study and five experiment studies to examine the effect of personal pronouns (first-person vs. third-person) entitled charitable fundraising campaigns on viewers' donations and its underlying mechanisms. We find robust results to show that, compared to third-person pronouns, adopting first-person pronouns (both singular and plural) in the title of charitable fundraising campaigns significantly increases viewers' donating willingness and behavior. Viewers' perceived self-other overlap acts as an important mediating mechanism: using first-person pronouns in the title of charitable fundraising campaigns first increases viewers' sense of self-other overlap, which in turn promotes their donating behavior. In addition, viewers' thinking style seems to bend the relationships between the use of first-person pronouns and both perceived self-other overlap and donating behavior in such way that individuals with emotional-thinking style (vs. rational-thinking style) experience stronger self-other overlap and demonstrate higher level of donating willingness when a charitable campaign is named in first-person pronouns other than in third-person pronouns. These findings contribute to the literature on charity marketing, personal pronouns and metaphor representation, and have substantial practical implications.

Some Peculiarities of Translation of Medical Texts (on the Example of Cardiological Material)

Medicine is one of the most dynamically developing fields, requiring from translators not only specialised skills, but also basic knowledge of medicine. The present study is devoted to the study of specific features of medical texts and ways of their translation from English into Russian. The aim of the study is to identify the most overlooked problems that may be encountered when translating medical texts and to provide solutions to them. The subject of the study was the peculiarities encountered during the translation from English into Russian of the original practical manual on electrocardiography. The methodological basis of this study was formed by the solid sampling method, descriptive method and method of linguocultural analysis of linguistic material. As a result of the study, a number of features is identified that require increased attention when working with medical texts: borrowing words from Latin and Greek, the use of complex abbreviations and acronyms, the transition to gender-neutral pronouns, the translation of mnemonics, differences in classifications and health care systems. The ways of their translation are also analysed, and appropriate equivalents are selected. The methods of their translation are also analyzed and the appropriate equivalents are selected. General recommendations for overcoming the highlighted translation difficulties are given. Knowledge of morphemes of Greek and Latin origin, the ability to adapt the translation to the realities of another country, continuous professional development will help to overcome difficulties in translation. The skills of working with dictionaries and handbooks play an important role in the translation of a professionally-oriented vocabulary layer and the choice of expressions suitable for the meaning. In conclusion, the competencies that a translator in the medical field should possess in order to perform a high-quality adequate translation of medical texts are given.

A typological approach to intersubjective uses of the Finnish clitic markers =hAn and =se from the perspectives of engagement and their interrelations with subject person

Abstract The present study adopts a typological approach to investigate intersubjective uses of the Finnish clitic markers =hAn and =se, which are derived from third-person pronouns, within the emerging framework of engagement. The methods encompass two data gathering approaches: 1) a qualitative survey involving actual Finnish language users through a questionnaire to identify functions, and 2) a quantitative survey examining co-occurrences between the clitic markers and subject persons using the Suomi24 Sentences Corpus 2001–2020 for usage-based frequencies. The data analysis focuses on the interrelations with a subject person, drawing parallels with other languages which exhibit similar phenomena of pragmatic extension from referential uses towards engagement marking. The results reveal that the two Finnish clitics semantically inherit their referential meanings from their lexical forms and further extend them towards marking interlocutors’ intersubjectivity, enriching the engagement system of Finnish. A distinct difference related to the subject person becomes evident. On the one hand, =hAn as a recognitional marker more frequently co-occurs with first person, signalling the speaker’s involvement in epistemic management as a speech act participant responsible for managing inclusive attention and shared information with the hearer. On the other hand, =se as a contrastive marker co-occurs more frequently with third person in general and with second-person statements which involve the speaker’s observed information and its exclusivity.

Perception and usage of English epicene pronouns among L2 teachers in China‐focusing on he, he or she and they

AbstractThis paper aims to explore the perception and usage of epicene pronouns in English among Chinese EFL teachers, as gender fair language becomes increasingly important for promoting inclusion, respect for identity and expression. This study employed a survey of 284 EFL teachers along with a follow‐up written task to assess their views and actual use of epicene pronouns. The results indicate that while English teachers in China are familiar with the increase of they as an epicene pronoun, the use of he or she is their preferred choice in the survey, with generic he being more common in the written task. The study further reveals that the selection of the epicene pronoun is influenced by factors such as the antecedent type, social gender and the teachers' socio‐cultural background. Promoting gender‐fair language in L2 English teaching in China is crucial. Efforts are needed to increase awareness and usage of gender‐neutral language among Chinese English teachers, emphasizing the importance of incorporating actual language use and adapting to grammatical changes.

Mapping the pre-reflective experience of “self” to the brain - An ERP study

The neural underpinnings of selfhood encompass pre-reflective and reflective self-experience. The former refers to a basic, immediate experience of being a self, while the latter involves cognition and introspection. Although neural correlates of reflective self-experience have been studied, the pre-reflective remains underinvestigated.This research aims to bridge this gap by comparatively investigating ERP correlates of reading first- vs. third-person pronouns – approximating pre-reflective self-experience – and self- vs. other-related adjectives – approximating reflective self-experience – in 30 healthy participants.We found differential neural engagement between pre-reflective and reflective self-experience at 254–310 ms post-stimulus onset. Source estimation suggested that our sensor-level results could be plausibly explained by the involvement of cortical midline structures and default mode network in the general sense of self but selective recruitment of anterior cingulate and top-down dorsal attention network in the pre-reflective self. These findings offer a deeper understanding of the experiential self, especially pre-reflective, providing a foundation for investigating self-disorders.

The accelerating effect of multilingualism on learning a new language grammar: the case of grammatical gender agreement

Mounting evidence suggests that prior knowledge of multiple languages can enhance learning additional languages. Nevertheless, the effects of multilingualism on grammar learning among adults are yet to be unveiled. The present study investigates the effect of prior foreign language knowledge on the acquisition of pronominal gender agreement in a new language. Forty-three native speakers of Polish learning Swedish with and without prior knowledge of German completed a speeded acceptability judgment task that involved items with grammatical and ungrammatical pronominal gender agreement in Swedish. According to the results, learners who had learnt German achieved higher accuracy scores than learners who had not. The difference between them decreased with increasing Swedish proficiency. In addition, only learners who had learnt German judged ungrammatical items faster than grammatical items. Thus, the present study demonstrates that prior foreign language knowledge accelerates learning grammatical gender agreement and facilitates access to grammatical gender knowledge in a new language, thereby providing evidence for a multilingual advantage in learning grammar. Implications for language teaching in multilingual contexts are discussed.

Chinese Translations of Third-Person Pronouns for Talking and Non-talking Animals in Charlotte’s Web

Chinese Translations of Third-Person Pronouns for Talking and Non-talking Animals in Charlotte’s Web

Comprehension of definite expressions by Mandarin-speaking children with suspected developmental language disorder (DLD) and children with autism spectrum disorder and language impairment (ALI)

An increasing number of studies have shown that there is a subgroup inside children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who demonstrates impaired language profiles similar to children with developmental language disorder (DLD). As a discriminative marker, the determiner element is known to be particularly vulnerable in children with DLD, while less is known about the situation in children with ASD who show accompanying language impairment (ALI). The current study therefore investigates whether and how Mandarin-speaking children with DLD and children with ALI differ in their comprehension of definite expressions.To this end, 28 children with suspected DLD (Mean=5;2, SD=0;7), 32 children with ALI (Mean=5;3, SD=0;8), and 28 typically-developing children (Mean=5;3, SD=0;5) participated in the present study. Each child was experimentally tested on a series of picture judgment tasks, in which demonstrative-classifier NPs, third-person pronouns, and bare NPs were examined in the anaphoric environment.The findings showed that neither of the suspected DLD or ALI groups performed at target-like levels on the three definite expressions. This is most likely caused by the two groups’ immature knowledge of the syntax-semantics interface within the DP construction. Nonetheless, there remains a significant difference in the interpretation of third-person pronouns between the suspected DLD and ALI groups, with the worse performance in the latter group presumably resulting from co-morbid processing differences typical of individuals with ASD.

A corpus-based study of epicene pronouns used by Macedonian learners of English

A corpus-based study of epicene pronouns used by Macedonian learners of English

The Processing of Phi-features in Sentences with Third-person Pronoun: An ERP Study in Turkish

The relationship between Person and Number features is often addressed in both theoretical and experimental studies. It is noteworthy that the discussion on how these features are processed has evolved over time towards how Person and Number features are structured in constructions with different persons (first person, second person, third person). While some studies state that Person and Number features can only be tested with third-person sentences (Manchini et al., 2011; Mancini et al., 2014), other studies state that these features can be tested with all person pronouns except R-expressions (regular noun phrases) (Ackema & Neeleman, 2019). In the literature, it is noteworthy that the relationship between the processing of Person and Number features has been tested with first- and second-person pronouns and R-expressions, but there is no study testing the issue with third-person pronouns. The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is a difference in the processing of Person and Number features in sentences with third-person pronouns in Turkish using Event-related Brain Potentials (ERPs). In this study, three conditions, namely Grammatical, Person Mismatch and Number Mismatch, were presented visually in words to 33 participants. In the study, a widespread N400 component was observed in both the processing of the Person feature and the processing of the Number feature. It was found that there was no difference between the two features in the corresponding time window. However, in the next time window, a late N400 component was observed in the processing of the Number feature, while a positivity (P600) was observed in the processing of the Person feature. In this time window, there is a difference in the processing of the Person and Number features. In conclusion, this study found that there is a difference in the processing of the Person and Number features in sentences with third-person pronouns in Turkish. It is suggested that the P600 finding in the processing of the Person feature reflects the difficulty in processing this feature. It is suggested that the late N400 finding in the processing of the Number feature may be due to the load it imposes on the processing process due to the fact that the morphological appearance of the Number feature in verb conjugation is parallel to nominal pluralisation, and the greater demand on working memory as the resolution of the Number mismatch involves more alternatives than the Person mismatch.

Identifying features of risk periods for suicide attempts using document frequency and language use in electronic health records.

Individualising mental healthcare at times when a patient is most at risk of suicide involves shifting research emphasis from static risk factors to those that may be modifiable with interventions. Currently, risk assessment is based on a range of extensively reported stable risk factors, but critical to dynamic suicide risk assessment is an understanding of each individual patient's health trajectory over time. The use of electronic health records (EHRs) and analysis using machine learning has the potential to accelerate progress in developing early warning indicators. EHR data from the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) which provides secondary mental healthcare for 1.8 million people living in four South London boroughs. To determine whether the time window proximal to a hospitalised suicide attempt can be discriminated from a distal period of lower risk by analysing the documentation and mental health clinical free text data from EHRs and (i) investigate whether the rate at which EHR documents are recorded per patient is associated with a suicide attempt; (ii) compare document-level word usage between documents proximal and distal to a suicide attempt; and (iii) compare n-gram frequency related to third-person pronoun use proximal and distal to a suicide attempt using machine learning. The Clinical Record Interactive Search (CRIS) system allowed access to de-identified information from the EHRs. CRIS has been linked with Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data for Admitted Patient Care. We analysed document and event data for patients who had at some point between 1 April 2006 and 31 March 2013 been hospitalised with a HES ICD-10 code related to attempted suicide (X60-X84; Y10-Y34; Y87.0/Y87.2). n = 8,247 patients were identified to have made a hospitalised suicide attempt. Of these, n = 3,167 (39.8%) of patients had at least one document available in their EHR prior to their first suicide attempt. N = 1,424 (45.0%) of these patients had been "monitored" by mental healthcare services in the past 30 days. From 60 days prior to a first suicide attempt, there was a rapid increase in the monitoring level (document recording of the past 30 days) increasing from 35.1 to 45.0%. Documents containing words related to prescribed medications/drugs/overdose/poisoning/addiction had the highest odds of being a risk indicator used proximal to a suicide attempt (OR 1.88; precision 0.91 and recall 0.93), and documents with words citing a care plan were associated with the lowest risk for a suicide attempt (OR 0.22; precision 1.00 and recall 1.00). Function words, word sequence, and pronouns were most common in all three representations (uni-, bi-, and tri-gram). EHR documentation frequency and language use can be used to distinguish periods distal from and proximal to a suicide attempt. However, in our study 55.0% of patients with documentation, prior to their first suicide attempt, did not have a record in the preceding 30 days, meaning that there are a high number who are not seen by services at their most vulnerable point.

Pets as family members: Conflicting practices in the use of third-person pronouns to refer to companion animals in written biographical stories in Finnish

In many languages, the category of ‘humans’ is linguistically separate from other animals. In Standard Finnish, for example, separate pronouns are used. Companion animals in modern societies, in a way, falls between humans and animals, since people often consider them as distinct persons and family members. The article examines how Finnish writers waver between these two pronouns in references to pets in biographical stories. Although the writers aim at following Standard Finnish norms in most other aspects, one out of three writers uses personal pronouns to refer to animals. Many writers humanize pets in other ways but do not deviate from the pronoun norm. For them, the idea of standard language seems to override the possibility of expressing attitudes towards animals with pronoun choice. Others adopt pronoun variation as a stylistic effect, or the colloquial system with perspective taking as the reason for pronoun variation conveyed to the texts. Kokkuvõte. Katri Priiki: Lemmikloomad nagu pereliikmed: lemmikloomadele viitavate pronoomenite vastuoluline kasutamine soomekeelsetes elulugudes. Paljudes keeltes eristatakse inimesi ja loomi grammatiliselt. Soome standardkeeles kasutatakse inimeste ja loomade kohta erinevaid pronoomeneid. Artiklis uuritakse, kuidas mitteprofessionaalsed soome keeles kirjutajad vahetavad biograafilistes tekstides lemmikloomadele viitavaid pronoomeneid. Kaasaegses ühiskonnas jäävad lemmikloomad mõnes mõttes inimese ja teiste loomade vahele, sest inimesed peavad neid sageli omaette isikuks ja oma pere liikmeks. Kuigi kirjutajad järgivad üldiselt soome keele standardnorme, kasutab üks kolmest kirjutajast lemmikloomadele viitamiseks isikulist asesõna. Ülejäänud humaniseerivad lemmikloomi muul viisil ega kaldu pronoomenite kasutusnormidest kõrvale. Isikuliste asesõnade hän ’tema’ ja he ’nad’ kasutamine tekstides on mõjutatud mitmetest teguritest: soome kõnekeelest, võõrkeeltest, eriti inglise keelest, ja lemmikloomade muutuvast staatusest.

Antecedents of a novel gender-neutral pronoun: a corpus-based approach to pronoun reference in Swedish

This paper provides a corpus-based perspective on the issues of pronominal systems and pronoun reference. Specifically, the paper examines the antecedents of Swedish third-person singular animate pronouns, with a particular focus on the recently introduced gender-neutral pronoun hen. Using Swedish Twitter corpora from 2015 to 2017 ( c. 1.6 billion words), the study provides a comparison of the general antecedent types as well as the specific antecedent lemmas used with each pronoun. The results show that, whilst there are considerable similarities between the use of hen and the more established gender-equal expression han eller hon (‘he or she’), hen is used substantially more often with nouns that refer to close personal relationships. In this regard, hen also bears closer resemblance to the feminine pronoun than to the masculine pronoun. Generally, the analysis demonstrates that language users are assigning a distinct set of functional properties to hen, making it a complement to the ‘old’ gender-specific and gender-equal pronouns, not a replacement.

Who do you think they are? An exploratory analysis of face-based impressions formed by cisgender, transgender and gender nonbinary individuals.

Background: Individuals make first impressions of others based on how they look. Facial cues trigger gender social categorisation and elicit gender stereotyping. However, it remains unclear to what extent such impressions are influenced by the perceivers’ gender identity and gender beliefs. Methods: We recruited cisgender and transgender and nonbinary (TGNB) participants (N = 195). Participants were shown three morphed faces (prototypical male versus. prototypical female versus. androgynous) and, for each target, were asked to create a sentence describing their first impression. (within-participants design). To do so, they had to choose from a list of pronouns, professions, and personality traits. Participants also reported how confident they were in their first impression and rated the gender of the targets. Results: Results showed that overall participants perceived the prototypical male target as masculine while both the prototypical female and androgynous targets were seen as feminine. Participants also felt more confident when forming an impression about the prototypical male target. Further, impressions were influenced by perceivers’ gender identity. Cisgender participants formed stronger stereotypical impressions of the prototypical male and female target than TGNB participants. In particular, cisgender participants were more likely to use masculine pronouns for the prototypical male target and more feminine pronouns for the prototypical female target, but less neutral pronouns for the androgynous target, than TGNB participants. The difference is pronoun use was mediated by cisgender participants stronger endorsement of gender binary beliefs. Conclusions: These findings provide new insights into face-based stereotyping and show the importance of considering different stereotype components and individual differences such as gender identity and beliefs.