Chapter 7. The communicative functions of third-person singular pronouns

Abstract

This chapter examines the communicative functions of third-person singular pronouns (3PSPs) in the context of self- and other-references. The focus is on transgender contexts, in which 3PSPs have acquired many new functions and associations, such as sharing one’s pronouns upon introduction as a novel way of utilizing 3PSPs in self-reference. Other-references have also gained new context-dependent meanings, e.g. using the wrong pronouns can function as misgendering. Drawing from a thematic analysis of qualitative survey data, the chapter demonstrates how differently cisgender and transgender individuals conceptualize pronouns in relation to one’s identity. Connecting the findings to the broader identity framework by Bucholtz and Hall (2010), the chapter discusses the communicative functions of 3PSPs and the ways in which identities are constructed with pronouns.