Expanding the Research on Binary Pronouns

This paper argues that the study of binary personal pronouns needs to move beyond European languages and the focus on third-person pronouns, and it supports this argument by presenting the problem of the Japanese linguistic norm of binarily gendered first-person pronouns. The Japanese case illustrates five ways in which this field of study should expand. First, binary pronoun studies cannot continue to neglect first-person pronouns. Second, in addition to pronoun systems, the norms of usage must be considered. Third, Japanese requires different forms of resolution for the problem of binary pronouns. Fourth, research should explore linguistic self- and other-referring expressions by examining the distinct functions of first- versus third-person pronouns. Finally, the Japanese case demonstrates that the parties directly affected by binarily gendered pronouns include girls and women as well as gender-nonconforming and trans people. Considering the Japanese case thus potentially contributes to expanding the field in five important ways

Neglect · Personal pronoun · Pronoun · Reflexive pronoun · Gender Studies in Language · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Swearing, Euphemism, Multilingualism