THE GENDER-NEUTRAL THIRD-PERSON PERSONAL PRONOUN HEN IN CONTINENTAL SCANDINAVIAN LANGUAGES

Abstract

The article examines the peculiarities of the use of the new pronoun hen in the three continental Scandinavian languages. Discussions about gender-neutral pronouns originated in the 1960s, when the debates about gender equality and women’s rights were under way in Scandinavia. Different variants of the new gender-neutral pronoun were proposed. Owing to its phonetic resemblance to the original Scandinavian pronouns, the form hen was in favour over other options, but in those years it did not gain wide currency. In the 21st century, owing to the development of gender concepts and a different view on gender identity, the attitude to hen has changed. In 2015, the pronoun hen was incorporated in the 14th edition of the Swedish Academy Dictionary (SAOL), in 2021 it was recorded in the explanatory dictionary of the Swedish language released by the Swedish Academy (Svensk Ordbok), but though already codified, it is far from being accepted by everybody in the Swedish society. In Norway, the pronoun hen was entered into the Norwegian language dictionaries in June 2022, but ever since theologians have been engaged in a heated debate about its eventual use in the Bible. In Denmark, the pronoun hen, still uncodified, is mainly used in relation to non-binary persons, yielding in frequency to the pronoun de in the same function.