Pronoun Usage Research Articles

Gender evaluation in American English, 1875–1989

ABSTRACT This study examines the evaluation of males and females in the Corpus of Historical American English within three registers – Fiction, Newspapers, and Non-fiction – spanning the late-nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The aim is to fill a gap there remains in our understanding of how males and females are evaluated in American English across different communicative settings (registers) and historical periods. For this purpose, the study explores gender-specific personality traits, societal importance, physical appearance, appeal, and capacity via linguistic features such as male and female terms, pronoun usage, and adjectives. The results reveal significant differences in the frequency and nature of gender evaluation: while men are consistently evaluated more frequently than women, there are nuanced variations in gender evaluation patterns over time and across communicative settings. The increase in female evaluation towards the late twentieth century seems to correlate with societal changes such as the women’s rights movement and shifting gender norms during this period. The analysis also underscores the significance of linguistic registers in shaping gender evaluation, with, for instance, Fiction displaying less pronounced gender differences compared to Newspapers and Non-fiction. Overall, the findings underscore the complex interplay between language, registers, and sociocultural changes in shaping gender evaluation.

Pronouns in Welcome: Linguistic Construction of Student Identity in Chinese University Banners

This study explores the nuanced role of pronoun usage in welcome banners at Chinese universities and examines its influence on freshmen’s identity construction within the cultural context of China. Employing a systematic collection and analysis of a corpus of welcome banners, the research utilizes corpus analysis and word frequency statistics to investigate how pronoun choices shape and reinforce freshmen’s sense of identity. The findings highlight the significant impact of linguistic subtleties on the orientation activities at Chinese universities, influencing freshmen’s social integration and identity formation. By illuminating the linguistic characteristics of Chinese welcome banners, this research provides empirical evidence of how cultural and linguistic contexts affect student identity through orientation activities. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the intersection between language, culture, and identity in higher education.

Managerial Self-References in Corporate Disclosures: An Analysis of MD&A

This study examines strategic pronoun usage in the Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) section of annual reports. Through automated textual analysis of a large sample of MD&As, we find that managers of firms with higher earnings growth tend to use more self-inclusive pronouns(e.g., “ we, ” “ us, ” and “ our ”) and fewer self-exclusive words (e.g., “the company ”). This self-referential language pattern is associated with a higher likelihood of future financial restatements. Our findings contribute to the literature on corporate narrative disclosures and identify a potential new indicator of financial misstatements. The results have implications for investors, analysts, auditors, and regulators.

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.

Barriers to correct pronoun usage in healthcare settings

BackgroundUsing correct pronouns is an impactful way to establish affirming environments for transgender and nonbinary (TGNB) patients. However, physicians often report struggling with this.ObjectiveThis study set out to conduct an initial root cause analysis of factors contributing to medical students and physicians failing to use TGNB patients’ correct pronouns.MethodsA 10-item Qualtrics survey was sent to medical students, residents, and physicians practicing in Central Ohio. Participants were asked to describe perceived challenges or barriers colleagues have regarding correctly using TGNB patients’ correct pronouns. A directed content analysis of participant responses was performed utilizing a fishbone diagram root cause analysis tool as a basis for conceptualizing and categorizing barriers. All coding was completed by independent reviewers utilizing a consensus reconciliation methodology.ResultsOf 928 survey respondents, 763 met the study inclusion criteria, of which 453 provided analyzable responses. Of these 453, attendings with five or more years of practice (32.5%) and medical students (27.4%) made up the two largest demographic categories. 1.7% of respondents identified as transgender, nonbinary, and/or genderqueer, and 64% identified as heterosexual/straight. Five core barrier categories were identified: documentation, patient care, environment, knowledge, and individuals. Sub-categories were also identified, including lack of documentation, discomfort, medical culture, lack of standardization, prejudice, and assumptions.ConclusionThe study identifies important barriers to medical professionals correctly using TGNB patients’ pronouns. The root cause analysis conducted as part of this study demonstrates the necessity of multi-pronged, system-level interventions to support ensuring TGNB patients are addressed using the correct pronouns.

"Being here, you could actually be yourself": Trans and gender expansive youth's experiences of affirmation within LGBTQ+ community-based organizations.

Across the United States, polarizing politics have contributed to the increased stigmatization of transgender (trans) and gender expansive (TGE) youth, reinforcing health inequities for this population. Although lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and/or questioning (LGBTQ+) youth centers have often served as places of refuge for young people across the gender spectrum, literature has yet to show how practices and strategies used in these settings promote TGE affirmation. This qualitative study explores youth and staff experiences within these settings; identifies the services, policies, and environments needed to support TGE community members; and ultimately calls for the expansion of the limited research on TGE experience and affirmation across such spaces. Using data collected in a larger study on affirming practices for LGBTQ+ youth, this article presents findings from in-depth, semistructured focus groups and interviews with TGE (n = 12) youth and staff (n = 12) across four LGBTQ+ community-based organizations in two large urban centers. Study findings show these organizations provide TGE affirmation through language, programming, and atmospheres of openness to identity exploration. Essential to these offerings are organizational policy mandates, such as correct pronoun usage and TGE-specific programming. Youth often juxtapose their experiences of affirmation within LGBTQ+ spaces with experiences of invalidation from the cisheteronormative cultures within their school or home environments. Implications for future practice and research include administering ongoing training on TGE-affirming language and developing comprehensive accountability measures (e.g., TGE-inclusive community guidelines). Institutions with these systems in place are well-equipped to contribute to the fight for trans liberation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

A Multistakeholder Qualitative Study to Inform Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Data Collection in the Cancer Care Setting.

Purpose: Sexual and gender minoritized (SGM) populations face health disparities along the cancer care continuum, although attempts to define these disparities are limited by a lack of comprehensive sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data collection. The objective of this study was to interview a diverse group of stakeholders to understand attitudes, barriers, and facilitators to inform data collection approaches in a cancer care setting. Methods: This was a qualitative study conducted from March to July 2023 with paired surveys of stakeholders including patients, caregivers, providers, and cancer registry staff. Twenty participants across these categories, including half who identified as SGM, completed surveys and interviews. Qualitative data were reduced to themes with exemplar quotations using rapid qualitative analysis methods and compared to survey data. Results: Themes revealed general support for SOGI data collection as part of holistic cancer care, and all participants acknowledged that specific SOGI-related information, particularly correct pronoun usage, was essential to inform patient-centered care. Themes revealed tensions around optimal SOGI data collection methods, mixed opinions on the relevance of sexual orientation, experiences of discrimination and discomfort related to SOGI, and limited acknowledgment of population benefits of SOGI data collection. Conclusion: Themes demonstrated overall support for SOGI data collection but also revealed several barriers, such as a lack of recognition of population benefits and experiences of discrimination and discomfort, that will need to be addressed to comprehensively collect these data. Based on diverse preferences and limitations of all methods of collection, a multimodal approach may be needed to optimize completion.

“So, You’re Not Doing This Right”: Faculty and Transgender Students’ University Classroom Experiences

Transgender people in the United States experience mistreatment and discrimination, as well as harassment and violence, at much higher rates than the general population. In university classrooms specifically, less conspicuous forms of prejudice-based behavior are even more common. This study aimed to gain an accurate understanding of cisgender faculty and transgender student perceptions and attitudes regarding the issues transgender students face in the classroom. Semi-structured, one-on-one interviews were conducted with cisgender faculty (n = 7) as well as two transgender students (n = 2) at a mid-sized U.S. university. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify and describe interviewees’ understanding of and concerns about transgender students’ experiences in the classroom. The interviewed cisgender faculty were aware of inappropriate comments among student peers that they viewed as requiring intervention. At the same time, they also described awareness of their own improper name or pronoun usage. The two transgender students described feelings of being separated from other students by virtue of their transgender identity, experiences of being tokenized, and being positioned by their professors in classrooms to represent all transgender students. Implications for positively and proactively addressing transgender students’ experiences of prejudice in higher education classrooms are presented.

German Demonstrative Pronouns in Contrast

German has two demonstrative pronouns: the der, die, das paradigm and the dieser, diese, dies(es) paradigm. Previous studies mainly compared the anaphoric use of der with the personal pronoun er and observed that der refers to less prominent antecedents. However, there are only very few studies that have investigated the differences between these two demonstrative pronouns. We hypothesize that they differ in signaling topic persistence and in accessing contrastive antecedents. We tested these hypotheses in short texts that manipulated the contrast of the antecedent by inducing the expression ‘in contrast to’ vs. ‘together with’ (e.g., the cellist in contrast to the flautist vs. the cellist together with the flautist). Results from our eye-tracking reading Experiment (Experiment 1), in which participants’ eye- movements were monitored while reading sentences, show that (i) readers preferred dieser when referring to the topic of a sentence, and (ii) dieser caused less processing difficulties than der in both contrast and no-contrast contexts. Our sentence completion Experiment (Experiment 2) also confirmed that der and dieser are both used for anaphoric reference to a topical antecedent. Collectively, our experiments provide evidence that dieser functions as inducing topic persistence. These results suggest that there is a need for further experimental investigation into the semantic factors and informational structures influencing the usage of demonstrative pronouns in German.

Collective pronouns, collective health actions: Predicting pandemic precautionary measures through online first-person plural pronoun usage across U.S. states

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the role of group identification in shaping collective health behaviors. Using the novel Pronoun-Influenced Collective Health Model — an integrated framework combining elements from health and social psychology theories — we investigated the relationship between online first-person plural pronoun usage and adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures across the United States. Analyzing weekly Google Trends data on English (Study 1) and Spanish (Study 2) first-person pronoun searches, alongside data on adherence to pandemic precautionary measures from early 2020 to late 2022, we found significant positive associations between relative first-person plural pronoun search volumes and adherence to social distancing, stay-at-home orders, vaccination rates, and proactive disease prevention information seeking. These associations remained robust after adjusting for potential confounding factors. A mini meta-analysis (Study 3) confirmed the consistency of our findings, revealing no significant moderation effects by language context or ecological-socio-cultural factors, suggesting broad generalizability. The implications of this research highlight the potential for tracking online collective language as a valuable indicator of and proxy for societal-level health engagement during crises. This novel digital linguistics approach, synergistically combining applied health and social psychology with big data from digital platforms such as Google, offers powerful tools for monitoring collective health actions across linguistic and cultural boundaries during large-scale health crises.

Neural correlates of depression-related smartphone language use in adolescents

Magnetic resonance imaging has provided pathophysiological insights into adolescent depression but is a relatively inaccessible technology. Generating scalable indicators of depression that are informed by neuroscience is therefore critical for providing solutions that allow us to detect and treat this devastating disorder. In this preregistered study, we investigated whether passively acquired smartphone-based language usage represents such an indicator of depression and explored whether the neural correlates of depression mediate or moderate this association. Forty adolescents (ages 14–18 years) with (n = 26) and without (n = 14) depression completed clinical assessments and a resting-state fMRI scan, prior to downloading a passive mobile sensing app to their smartphones. Linguistic features derived from over 1.2 million words (319,364 messages) across all smartphone apps were used to examine word usage patterns. Independent components analysis followed by dual regression was used to derive intrinsic networks commonly associated with depression: central executive network (CEN), default mode network (DMN), and salience network (SN). Depression was associated with more negative emotion word usage and fewer future-focus word usage on a daily basis (all ps < 0.05). Higher depressive symptoms and brain networks DMN and CEN were associated with greater first-person pronoun usage (all ps < 0.04). Accounting for CEN connectivity amplified the positive association between depressive symptoms and first-person pronoun usage. Lower SN–CEN connectivity moderated the association between depression and negative emotion word usage. Depression in adolescents is associated with naturalistic language usage during smartphone activities and may represent neurocognitive biases that are candidate treatment targets for interventions.

Decoding loneliness: Can explainable AI help in understanding language differences in lonely older adults?

Study objectivesLoneliness impacts the health of many older adults, yet effective and targeted interventions are lacking. Compared to surveys, speech data can capture the personalized experience of loneliness. In this proof-of-concept study, we used Natural Language Processing to extract novel linguistic features and AI approaches to identify linguistic features that distinguish lonely adults from non-lonely adults. MethodsParticipants completed UCLA loneliness scales and semi-structured interviews (sections: social relationships, loneliness, successful aging, meaning/purpose in life, wisdom, technology and successful aging). We used the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC-22) program to analyze linguistic features and built a classifier to predict loneliness. Each interview section was analyzed using an explainable AI (XAI) model to classify loneliness. ResultsThe sample included 97 older adults (age 66–101 years, 65 % women). The model had high accuracy (Accuracy: 0.889, AUC: 0.8), precision (F1: 0.8), and recall (1.0). The sections on social relationships and loneliness were most important for classifying loneliness. Social themes, conversational fillers, and pronoun usage were important features for classifying loneliness. ConclusionsXAI approaches can be used to detect loneliness through the analyses of unstructured speech and to better understand the experience of loneliness.

A Linguistic Study of Hijab in Selected Quranic Texts

The notion of Hijab is rooted in Quran, the Holy book in the Islamic teaching, where it emphasizes the importance of modesty. One of the key verses often cited is in Holly Quran, which instructs Muslim women to draw their veils over their heads. Therefore, this study aims to explore the textual features of Hijab in religious discourses by examining the ideologies found in religious verses. By employing critical discourse analysis, the research investigates the representation of the Hijab across two selected verses from the Holy Quran. By utilizing Fairclough's three-dimensional framework (2001) and qualitative methods, the analysis reveals nuanced expressions of the Hijab within religious verses. The study discerns that religious verses employ carefully chosen words to underscore the significance of wearing the Hijab. The usage of second and third possessive pronouns in the text indicates that wearing Hijab is an obligation for all women. It also concludes that the religious verses describe the Hijab positively by using positive expression. As for the ideological analysis, it reveals different aspects of life, including religious, juristic, moral and social matters that is used to regulate life.

한국어능력시험(TOPIK) 읽기 영역 텍스트의 난이도 분석

The Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) stands as a reputable examination capable of assessing Korean language proficiency for various purposes. In order for TOPIK, with its pivotal significance, to be effectively utilized for multifaceted objectives, the validity and reliability of its evaluations must be substantiated. Thus, this study aims to scrutinize the disparities between TOPIK I and TOPIK II, focusing on reading texts, across various factors. Initially, a corpus was constructed comprising reading texts from the 35th session (post-2014 revision) to the most recent 83rd session available as of March 2014, obtained from the TOPIK website's archive. Subsequently, utilizing the Data Evaluation Unified System (DEUS), linguistic indicators including surface features (vocabulary and sentence length), lexical factors (vocabulary frequency, diversity, pronoun usage, emotional vocabulary usage), syntactic factors (proportion of function words, sentence constituent ratio), and discursive factors (referential coherence, patterns of adverbial conjunction usage) were employed to compare the text difficulty. Additionally, recommendations for future test construction were proposed based on the outcomes derived from each factor analysis.

Disparities Across the CREOG Districts: Annual Variations of Wellness and Inclusivity Efforts in Obstetrics &amp; Gynecology Residency Websites

Over the past few years, CREOG has emphasized improving resident well-being, decreasing physician burnout, and supporting efforts toward inclusivity. This focus has also been shared by various medical specialties and their training programs. The recent emphasis on wellness and inclusivity partly stems from the concern for burnout and higher attrition rates among Underrepresented In Medicine (URIM) learners. However, limited assessment exists of how residency programs have addressed this focus nationally. As virtual interviews have become the ‘current’ standard, timely updates have become critical as websites are an essential resource for residency applicants. As the perceived value of some updates differs by program, an assessment of the inclusivity and wellness variations over the years has been limited, especially across Obstetrics and Gynecology (ObGyn) residency program websites. This study aimed to identify the annual variations in website depictions of wellness and inclusivity across CREOG districts in the past two years, while suggesting optimized platforms to convey the commitment to such efforts. Methods: This study is a cross-sectional analysis of the websites of ACGME-accredited ObGyn residency programs across the United States in April 2022 and again in April 2023. The assessment was based on a compilation of 22 attributes devised by a nine-person focus group and piloted and tested on a 40-person focus group. Six medical students and two residents at Louisiana State University in Shreveport and the University of Toledo conducted the website benchmarking comparison. All cohorts were racially, ethnically, and gender diverse to ensure representative benchmarking. Racial diversity in this study was defined by visual representation as identified by the medical student researcher’s self-perceived report of at least one African-American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander faculty member and resident among their colleagues based on publicly-accessible website photographic representation. Gender diversity was defined similarly by visual representation as identified by the medical student researcher’s photo-based self-perceived report of at least one member of a differing gender compared to the majority (a minimum of female and/or one male) within the faculty members and resident class. Percentages were used to compare the data due to the program count discrepancy across both years, as a result of an increase in accredited programs and website accessibility. Results: A total of 560 websites were analyzed. Minimal change in inclusivity sections of websites was noted across the two years, but a reduction in leadership referencing inclusivity (by 30%) and wellness (by 22%) occurred in 2023. Wellness efforts remained unchanged in both years from the standpoint of website investment, dedicated support personnel, and group activities. Wellness support was persistently the highest in District 5, with overall wellness efforts appearing unchanged between the two years across all districts. Similarly, District 5 had the highest DEI referencing with dedicated staff and webpage support across both years. References to holistic reviews were less identified in 2023 (by 7%), while curricula referenced DEI less frequently in their mission statement (by 15%). Similarly, a 14% reduction in DEI-focused research was noted on the websites, with an 8% reduction in resident testimonies to such efforts. District I showed the highest incorporation (32%) and increase (7%) in inclusive pronoun usage between the two years, whereas District 5 had the highest increase in supplementary LGBTQI verbiage (8%) on their website. A 17% increase in the use of inclusive pronouns was noted, whereas a reduction in gender diversity was identified in 9% of faculty and 5% of residents. Similarly, a 6-7% reduction in URIM faculty and residents was noted. Regarding racial representation, District 4 had the highest loss of resident body diversity (21%), whereas District 3 had the highest loss of faculty diversity (22%). Regarding gender diversity, District 1 was impacted by a 30% decline in gender diversity, while District 3 by 23%. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the variations in support across the country and the past two years. With some components of inclusivity being adopted more readily, the hope is that websites ultimately provide an accurate reflection of the investment in resident wellness and equity efforts across all districts.

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.

STUDY OF CDA DURING SELENA GOMEZ'S DISCOURSE ON YOUTUBE

Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) pertains to the examination of language or linguistic usage. The objectives of this investigation were twofold: firstly, to identify the types of CDA evident in Selena Gomez's speeches, and secondly, to delineate the social cognition apparent within her speeches. The researcher employed Teun A. Van Dijk's (1998) Critical Discourse Analysis theory as the theoretical framework. Employing qualitative and descriptive methodologies, this study aimed to depict and scrutinize the data. The analysis primarily focused on dissecting the critical discourse present in Selena Gomez's speech texts. Through this analysis, three categories of CDA elements were identified in Selena Gomez's speeches: firstly, thematic elements, comprising a single category; secondly, syntactic style elements, subdivided into five categories, namely Persuasion, Impression Management, Attribution, Cohesion, and Pronoun usage; thirdly, semantic style elements, which were further categorized into Background and Detail, as well as Presupposition; and fourthly, schemata, classified into three segments: the opening section, the content, and the closing section. Additionally, several elements contributing to social cognition were discerned, including person schemas, self-schemes, and role schemes

The beguiling behaviour of narcissistic CEOs: Evidence from repurchase announcements

AbstractWe study whether Chief Executive Officer (CEO) narcissism affects a firm's share repurchase announcements and their implementations. Using signature characteristics as a measure of narcissism, we find that US firms with narcissist CEOs are more likely to make repurchase announcements and announce higher repurchase dollar amounts. However, these firms are less likely to follow through. Actual repurchases by these firms are less frequent, and they use a smaller amount of cash for share buyback because they have a higher cashflow sensitivity of cash. Narcissist CEOs’ repurchase announcements are less driven by market timing and have a lower announcement effect compared to those by other CEOs. The higher rate and amount of repurchase announcements are more pronounced in poorly governed firms with narcissistic CEOs. These results are robust to various specifications including a difference‐in‐difference set‐up using CEOs’ exogenous turnover, controlling for other CEO traits and using an alternative measure of narcissism based on pronoun usage in CEO communications. Collectively, the results presented in this study demonstrate that narcissist CEOs play a critical role in the intensity of share repurchase announcements and their executions, particularly for firms with weaker governance structures.

An Analysis of Students’ Obstacles in Learning English for Grade VIII Students at SMP Negeri 1 Selesai

This research explores the obstacles faced by students at SMP Negeri 1 SELESAI in learning English, particularly in reading. The study was conducted through preliminary analysis and a questionnaire, revealing a strong preference among students for topics related to the internet and entertainment, which might distract them from focusing on reading English materials. The research also revealed that students prefer to learn in groups rather than individually, suggesting a strong influence of peer interactions. Despite the high interest in English, students still face numerous obstacles in their learning process, including a lack of understanding about word distribution and pronoun usage in English, and difficulty in understanding and interpreting complex terms and phrases. The study suggests potential solutions to overcome these challenges, such as the use of more varied and interesting teaching methods, increasing students' understanding of English sentence structure, and enhancing students' interest and motivation in learning English, especially in reading. Keywords: Obstacle;, English learning; motivation

কাব্যভাষায় সর্বনাম ব্যবহারে স্বাতন্ত্র্য: প্রসঙ্গ রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুরের কবিতা

The language of poetry is distinctly marked by its choice of words that are usually not used in cases of prose or spoken form. The words or diction used in this genre are poetic words. In Bengali, it is also applied in pronouns within the class of words. The article delineates the usage of poetic pronouns in Rabindranath Tagore’s poetry. This article, written in accordance with the text analysis method, provides an idea about the diversity and distinctiveness of the special forms of pronouns in poetic language.