How has the use of pronouns evolved in English over time

The use of pronouns in English has evolved significantly over time, reflecting changes in grammar, social norms, and identity expressions.

Historical Evolution of English Pronouns

• In Old English, pronouns had a richer case system with distinct forms for nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive cases. The second-person pronoun “you” existed in different forms depending on case and number, but by Modern English, it has simplified to a single form “you” for all cases and numbers. ¹
• Object pronouns’ positions shifted from Old English to Middle English, with more fixed syntactic patterns emerging over time. ²
• Gender distinctions were more rigid historically, with pronouns like “he,” “she,” and “it” clearly marking gender. Over time, the language saw a simplification and loss of some case distinctions, while social dynamics began influencing pronoun usage. ^{3, 1}

Contemporary Changes and Social Influence

• The singular “they,” long attested in English, has gained renewed prominence as an important gender-neutral or nonbinary pronoun. This reflects social changes including recognition of transgender and nonbinary identities. ^{4, 5, 6}
• New “neopronouns” (e.g., ze, xe, fae) have been introduced to accommodate gender identities beyond the binary, though their use and acceptance are still evolving in English-speaking communities. ^{7, 8, 9}
• Pronouns are no longer only grammatical markers but also social and identity markers, reflecting broader changes in society concerning gender inclusivity and identity expression. ^{10, 11}

Summary

English pronouns have evolved from a complex system with distinct case and gender forms to a simpler system influenced by sociocultural shifts. The rise of singular they and neopronouns marks ongoing adaptation in English to meet contemporary needs for inclusive and identity-reflective language. ^{5, 11, 1, 4}

This evolution encompasses both grammatical simplification and an expanding range of pronoun usage to reflect changing social understandings of gender.

Verweise

• The Chequered History of the Prodigal ‘you’ Pronoun

• On the syntax of object pronouns in Old English and Early Middle English

• A Diachronic-Synchronic Review of Gender in English1

• Does nonbinary they inherit the binary pronoun production system?

• Gender diversity and morphosyntax: An account of singular they

• How do the social changes influence the English language grammar?

• MISGENDERED: Limits of Large Language Models in Understanding Pronouns

• Variation in acceptability of neologistic English pronouns

• Singular ‘they’ and novel pronouns: gender-neutral, nonbinary, or both?

• Welcome to the Modern World of Pronouns: Identity-Inclusive Natural Language Processing beyond Gender

• “What do they mean?” a systematic review on the interpretation, usage and acceptability of “they”

• The characteristics and the communicative function of pronouns (Western and Eastern European languages)

• Personal Pronouns in CHET and CECheT: Authorial Presence and Other Nuances Revealed

• Pronoun production and comprehension in American Sign Language: the interaction of space, grammar, and semantics

• Pronouns in the System of Parts of Speech

• Singular they and the syntactic representation of gender in English