The present study investigated children’s pronoun usage in reference to animals of unknown sex. It was found that different factors that lie in the nature and behavior of the antecedents influence the choice between masculine he, feminine she and neuter it. Moreover, it could be shown that children’s use of the masculine pronoun he is disproportionally more frequent than their use of feminine she and neuter it. These results support the animal=male hypothesis framed by Lambdin et al. (Lambdin et al, 2003).
Table of Contents
0. Introduction
1. English Pronouns
1.1 The Pronominal System of Modern Standard English
1.2 Pronouns in Reference to Animals in Modern Standard English
2. Possible Influences on the Choice of Pronouns
2.1 Generic Reference vs. Specific Reference
2.2 Animal-like Behavior vs. Personification
2.3 Passive Object vs. Active Agent
2.4 Gender-neutral Behavior vs. Maternal Behavior
2.5 The Hierarchy of Individuation
3. Methodology
3.1 Material
3.1.1 Picture Story: Generic Reference vs. Specific Reference
3.1.2 Picture Story: Animal-like Behavior vs. Personification
3.1.3 Picture Story: Passive Object vs. Active Agent
3.1.4 Picture Story: Gender-neutral Behavior vs. Maternal Behavior
3.2 Procedure
4. Results
5. Discussion
5.1 Pronoun Switches Induced by the Set Triggers
5.2 The Choice of Gender-specific Pronouns over Neuter it
5.3 The Choice of Masculine he over Feminine she and Neuter it
6. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Key Topics
The primary objective of this study is to investigate which factors influence children's pronoun usage when referring to animals of unknown sex. The research examines whether specific characteristics and behaviors of antecedents, such as personification or maternal qualities, lead to pronoun switches in child speech, thereby testing the validity of the "animal=male hypothesis."
- The influence of semantic rules and the "Hierarchy of Individuation" on pronoun choice.
- Evaluation of four specific trigger factors: generic vs. specific reference, animal-like behavior vs. personification, passive vs. active agent, and gender-neutral vs. maternal behavior.
- Empirical analysis of children's pronominal choices through experimental picture stories.
- Analysis of the "animal=male" bias in child language development.
Excerpt from the Book
2.5 The Hierarchy of Individuation
The Hierarchy of Individuation depicts the way in which pronouns are distributed and the processes that lead to a change in reference.
Proper names are on the very left of the scale since they refer to highly individuated entities. By contrast, mass nouns are on the very right of the hierarchy since they are mostly not individuated at all. Descriptions of animals as well as inanimate tangible objects are located mid-way on the scale. Abstract nouns are located between inanimate nouns and mass nouns because they can both be countable and uncountable.
The entities referred to by the nouns on the left side of the hierarchy are picked out with the animate pronouns he and she, while the nouns on the right side are referred to by the inanimate pronouns it. As Siemund argued in his book Pronominal Gender in English, the “animate pronouns like he and she encroach upon the Hierarchy of Individuation from the left extending their domain of usage to the right while neuter it proceeds in the opposite direction i.e. from right to left.” (Siemund, 2008: p.4) That is, animate pronouns come to be used in reference to inanimate objects and vice versa. This mechanism is called upgrading; Referring to an inanimate entity with animate pronouns means assimilating it to a human being and thus upgrading it (cf. Siemund: p. 139-144).
Summary of Chapters
0. Introduction: This chapter introduces the pronominal system of Modern Standard English and outlines the experimental design using four picture stories to investigate factors influencing pronoun choice.
1. English Pronouns: The chapter describes the pronominal system, specifically focusing on third-person singular pronouns and the distributional rules for animals in English.
2. Possible Influences on the Choice of Pronouns: It presents theoretical factors like generic vs. specific reference, personification, and the Hierarchy of Individuation that may influence pronoun choice.
3. Methodology: This section details the experimental design, including the selection of materials (picture stories) and the procedure used for interviewing children.
4. Results: It presents the empirical data collected from the children, illustrating the distribution of masculine, feminine, and neuter pronouns across different age groups and animals.
5. Discussion: The results are analyzed, focusing on pronoun switches, the preference for masculine pronouns, and the impact of the "animal=male hypothesis."
6. Conclusion: This final chapter summarizes the findings, confirming that certain triggers affect pronoun choice and that children consistently demonstrate a bias toward masculine pronouns.
Keywords
Pronominal system, English pronouns, child speech, gender-neutral, generic he, animal=male hypothesis, personification, Hierarchy of Individuation, pronoun switch, sex-neutrality, referential gender, language acquisition, animacy, pronoun usage, maternal behavior.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
This research focuses on the factors that influence children's pronoun usage when they refer to animals of unknown sex, specifically exploring how children decide between masculine, feminine, and neuter pronouns.
What are the primary themes addressed in this paper?
The paper addresses pronominal gender, semantic influences on language, the development of pronoun acquisition in children, and the prevalence of gender-based biases in linguistic references to animals.
What is the main research question of this study?
The study investigates which specific qualities and behaviors of animal antecedents—such as being an active agent or displaying maternal traits—actually trigger a change in the pronoun used by children.
Which methodology was employed to conduct the research?
The author designed an experiment using four picture stories featuring different animals. Children were interviewed, and their descriptions of these stories were recorded to elicit natural pronoun usage in response to specific behavioral triggers.
What topics are covered in the main body of the work?
The main body covers the theoretical framework of pronominal gender, detailed experimental methodologies, statistical results regarding pronoun distribution, and a comprehensive discussion on the influence of personification and the "animal=male hypothesis."
How would you characterize this work using keywords?
Key concepts include pronominal system, child speech, animal=male hypothesis, personification, Hierarchy of Individuation, pronoun switch, and gender-neutral behavior.
Does the "generic he" play a role in the children's pronoun choices?
The study concludes that children do not typically use "generic he" as a gender-neutral form. Instead, their frequent use of masculine pronouns suggests they are actively assigning male gender to the animals.
Why did the kangaroo story yield different pronoun results compared to other animals?
The kangaroo story acted as a maternal trigger; when children identified the kangaroo as a mother, there was a significantly higher percentage of switches to feminine pronouns compared to the other non-maternal animals.
What is the significance of the "Hierarchy of Individuation" in this context?
It acts as an explanatory model for why children use certain pronouns. Upgrading an animal to the human branch of the hierarchy leads to the use of animate pronouns (he/she), while downgrading it toward inanimate objects encourages the use of "it."
- Quote paper
- Marie Alicja Adler (Author), 2012, Variable Pronoun Usage in Child Speech, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/207163
