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In normed Finnish language hän (he/she) refers to people, while se (it) refers to non-people. However, in spoken language, at least in many dialects, se is used also for people. (Both hän and se ar...
#3: Post edited
by
Lundin
·
2022-05-30T11:38:55Z (almost 2 years ago)
Italics for emphasis on words
English dialects and he/she versus it
In normed Finnish language hän (he/she) refers to people, while se (it) refers to non-people. However, in spoken language, at least in many dialects, se is used also for people. (Both hän and se are still used, but it is not really relevant here how.)With English I have been taught that it refers to non-people, while she/he refers to people. (I am ignoring the issue of gender-neutral pronouns here to focus on the central question.) However, what I have taught is various prestige dialects of English.I guess there are a bunch of English dialects and spoken varieties with different uses of it and he/she(/etc.), but are there some major or representative examples I could look at to get a sense of the variety in this? Or maybe some general trends that hold for many dialects?
- In normed Finnish language _hän_ (_he/she_) refers to people, while _se_ (_it_) refers to non-people. However, in spoken language, at least in many dialects, _se_ is used also for people. (Both _hän_ and _se_ are still used, but it is not really relevant here how.)
- With English I have been taught that _it_ refers to non-people, while _she/he_ refers to people. (I am ignoring the issue of gender-neutral pronouns here to focus on the central question.) However, what I have taught is various prestige dialects of English.
- I guess there are a bunch of English dialects and spoken varieties with different uses of _it_ and _he/she_(/etc.), but are there some major or representative examples I could look at to get a sense of the variety in this? Or maybe some general trends that hold for many dialects?
#2: Nominated for promotion
by
Moshi
·
2022-05-29T20:06:11Z (almost 2 years ago)
#1: Initial revision
by
tommi
·
2022-05-29T07:10:06Z (almost 2 years ago)
English dialects and he/she versus it
In normed Finnish language hän (he/she) refers to people, while se (it) refers to non-people. However, in spoken language, at least in many dialects, se is used also for people. (Both hän and se are still used, but it is not really relevant here how.) With English I have been taught that it refers to non-people, while she/he refers to people. (I am ignoring the issue of gender-neutral pronouns here to focus on the central question.) However, what I have taught is various prestige dialects of English. I guess there are a bunch of English dialects and spoken varieties with different uses of it and he/she(/etc.), but are there some major or representative examples I could look at to get a sense of the variety in this? Or maybe some general trends that hold for many dialects?