The Dutch gender-neutral pronoun die : more accepted for generic than for specific reference
- Author
- Sofie Decock (UGent) , Sarah Van Hoof (UGent) , Lou-Lou Vanrobaeys, Hanne Verhaegen (UGent) and Chloé Vincent (UGent)
- Organization
- Project
- Abstract
- Research on English singular they and Swedish hen indicates that gender-neutral pronouns for specific (nonbinary) reference are less accepted than for generic reference. This raises the question whether this greater acceptance of the generic usage of gender-neutral pronouns also applies to Dutch, a language in which the generic use of the masculine pronoun hij is still common, and in which the metadiscourse on gender-neutral pronouns mainly focuses on its nonbinary usage. We therefore conducted a study on the perception of Dutch gender-neutral die for both generic and specific reference in comparison to binary pronouns. We found that binary pronouns were preferred over gender-neutral die and that die for generic reference was more appreciated than for specific reference. All in all, the results suggest that for generic reference, the gender-neutral pronoun die shows potential as a more gender-inclusive alternative to pair forms consisting of binary pronouns and to masculine generics.
- Keywords
- gender-neutral pronouns, nonbinary pronouns, gender-inclusive language, comprehensibility, appreciation, masculine generics, Dutch
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Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-01JR0PCAGRHH1YBX3RSQRZ0CJ3
- MLA
- Decock, Sofie, et al. “The Dutch Gender-Neutral Pronoun Die : More Accepted for Generic than for Specific Reference.” TAAL EN TONGVAL, vol. 77, no. 1, 2025, pp. 76–107, doi:10.5117/tet2025.1.004.deco.
- APA
- Decock, S., Van Hoof, S., Vanrobaeys, L.-L., Verhaegen, H., & Vincent, C. (2025). The Dutch gender-neutral pronoun die : more accepted for generic than for specific reference. TAAL EN TONGVAL, 77(1), 76–107. https://doi.org/10.5117/tet2025.1.004.deco
- Chicago author-date
- Decock, Sofie, Sarah Van Hoof, Lou-Lou Vanrobaeys, Hanne Verhaegen, and Chloé Vincent. 2025. “The Dutch Gender-Neutral Pronoun Die : More Accepted for Generic than for Specific Reference.” TAAL EN TONGVAL 77 (1): 76–107. https://doi.org/10.5117/tet2025.1.004.deco.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Decock, Sofie, Sarah Van Hoof, Lou-Lou Vanrobaeys, Hanne Verhaegen, and Chloé Vincent. 2025. “The Dutch Gender-Neutral Pronoun Die : More Accepted for Generic than for Specific Reference.” TAAL EN TONGVAL 77 (1): 76–107. doi:10.5117/tet2025.1.004.deco.
- Vancouver
- 1.Decock S, Van Hoof S, Vanrobaeys L-L, Verhaegen H, Vincent C. The Dutch gender-neutral pronoun die : more accepted for generic than for specific reference. TAAL EN TONGVAL. 2025;77(1):76–107.
- IEEE
- [1]S. Decock, S. Van Hoof, L.-L. Vanrobaeys, H. Verhaegen, and C. Vincent, “The Dutch gender-neutral pronoun die : more accepted for generic than for specific reference,” TAAL EN TONGVAL, vol. 77, no. 1, pp. 76–107, 2025.
@article{01JR0PCAGRHH1YBX3RSQRZ0CJ3,
abstract = {{Research on English singular they and Swedish hen indicates that gender-neutral pronouns for specific (nonbinary) reference are less accepted than for generic reference. This raises the question whether this greater acceptance of the generic usage of gender-neutral pronouns also applies to Dutch, a language in which the generic use of the masculine pronoun hij is still common, and in which the metadiscourse on gender-neutral pronouns mainly focuses on its nonbinary usage. We therefore conducted a study on the perception of Dutch gender-neutral die for both generic and specific reference in comparison to binary pronouns. We found that binary pronouns were preferred over gender-neutral die and that die for generic reference was more appreciated than for specific reference. All in all, the results suggest that for generic reference, the gender-neutral pronoun die shows potential as a more gender-inclusive alternative to pair forms consisting of binary pronouns and to masculine generics.}},
author = {{Decock, Sofie and Van Hoof, Sarah and Vanrobaeys, Lou-Lou and Verhaegen, Hanne and Vincent, Chloé}},
issn = {{0039-8691}},
journal = {{TAAL EN TONGVAL}},
keywords = {{gender-neutral pronouns,nonbinary pronouns,gender-inclusive language,comprehensibility,appreciation,masculine generics,Dutch}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1}},
pages = {{76--107}},
title = {{The Dutch gender-neutral pronoun die : more accepted for generic than for specific reference}},
url = {{http://doi.org/10.5117/tet2025.1.004.deco}},
volume = {{77}},
year = {{2025}},
}
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