Pronouns

eh she, he

RESOLVING PRONOUN CONFLICTS

 

We urgently need a gender neutral third person pronoun to facilitate social and professional interactions.

 

1. In English, the pronoun for a “person” is “he.” This gender designation is an antiquated vestige that is no longer appropriate and can be discarded. A human, an individual, a somebody, should not have to be “he.” Worker, student, teacher, scientist, artist, singer, leader, president, is not “he.” In an English speaking society, a cisgender male growing up to be a member of society affirms his male identity as “he” when referring to his role. In contrast, a cisgender female growing up to be an individual is called upon to use the discordant pronoun “he” in referring to most roles with which she identifies. She can only identify as “she” when choosing a limited number of roles, such as  girl, mother, housewife, or the like. The pronoun problem is even greater for non-binary and transgender persons. We need to resolve this problem, and we can readily do it.

A simple solution is for every person to be “eh,” (pronounced “eeh”) rather than “he,” or “she.” A human, an individual, a somebody, worker, student, teacher, scientist, artist, singer, leader, president can be “eh.” The transition is simple because He and She share the “h” “e” “he” and the sound “eeh.” We are already saying the sound “eeh.” So let’s just say “eh” and end this problem.

2. Our society and our democracy are now at a divisive crisis that is rapidly progressing and must be resolved. The pronoun conflict has come to the forefront as a battleground that sets many people against each other on a daily basis. It contributes to dismantling our society. Simple daily interactions, necessary for daily function, often demand that we declare our choice of pronoun, and that we associate our pronouns with gender identity. Unfortunately, this well-intentioned demand evokes unease in many people who are accustomed to using pronouns as impersonal elements of language to which we pay no attention. This unease can give rise to conflicts, and divert us from the focus of social and professional interactions. Many people, on many sides of the discussion, are stressed and concerned.  It is time for each of us to take on the responsibility of resolving this conflict. If we believe that all humans are equal, we should refer to each with the same pronoun.

We can show mutual respect, and refer to each person with the same neutral pronoun such as “eh.” Each person is “eh.” At this point in history, the transition from he and she to eh would require less effort, and cause less discord, than perpetuating the pronoun conflict.

We are fortunate to live in a society that values human rights and is steadily progressing towards optimal tolerance. Let’s set the example of resolving this conflict.  Let’s refocus on the shared values that unite us, not on pronouns that divide us.

What can we do?

Use the pronoun “eh” and spread the word. It could initially seem awkward for each of us to start saying “eh.” However, it should be relatively easy for the millions of us who participate in education and the media  to start using “eh” instead of “she” “he.” No student should have to write “he” when she/he means “eh” or “she.” Let us all have the option of using “eh.”

subject: eh (pronounced “ee”)   object: ehm (pronounced “eehm”)    possessive: ehs (pronounced “eehs”) reflexive: ehmself (pronounced “eehmself)

Language evolves. When he and she are forgotten, objective ehm may become eh (give the book to eh), and reflexive ehmself may become ehself.

History

“e” (“es” “em”) is the oldest recorded, gender neutral (nonbinary, genderless, ungendered) pronoun in English. It was coined by Francis Augustus Brewster in 1841 (reviewed and cited by Dennis Baron, 2020). It was also proposed by James Rogers in 1890 (reviewed and cited by Dennis Baron in 1981).

“eh” was named in ehshehe.com, in 2018.

Discussion
Eh meets the much debated criteria for an adaptable gender neutral pronoun. Eh and the declensions ehm, ehs, ehmself, are simplified basic elements of the existing English language third person pronouns. These are easily recognized as such, and are not confused with other words or meanings. E was the first recorded gender neutral pronoun, and remains the simplest, most concise and most closely related to she and he in spelling and sound. It is gender neutral and applicable to all persons. It is easy to write, say, and remember. As a capitalized letter it could complement the pronoun I. Eh is likely preferrable because it can be more clearly distinguished as a word, it shares two letters with she and he, and can be readily identified as a pronoun. When pronounced with the “ee” sound, it shares the pronunciation of he and she to which English speakers are adapted.
Note: the “e” sound in she and he is /iː/ as in “ee” “sheep.” The “e” sound in the eh letter combination may be pronounced as /ɛ/ as in head. But the eh letter combination is also pronounced as /iː/ as in “ee.” Once eh is heard in a sentence, it would be easy to know that eh, ehm, and ehs are pronounced with the sound “ee.” Hence, the transition from he and she to eh would be simple.

References

There is extensive literature about this subject. Many references are listed in Wikipedia.