Investigating the Use of Singular 'They' across Two Social Contexts: A Comparative Study of Iranian and Polish EFL Students

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  • Additional Information
    • Availability:
      European Knowledge Development (EUROKD). e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: https://www.eurokd.com/journal/jd/1
    • Peer Reviewed:
      Y
    • Source:
      21
    • Education Level:
      Higher Education
      Postsecondary Education
    • Subject Terms:
      Cross Cultural Studies; Form Classes (Languages); Cultural Differences; English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; Second Language Instruction; Foreign Countries; Contrastive Linguistics; Language Usage; Native Language; Grammar; Polish; Indo European Languages; Gender Differences; Language Proficiency; Comparative Analysis; Nouns; College Students
    • Subject Terms:
      Poland; Iran
    • ISSN:
      2667-6753
    • Abstract:
      With the increasing attempts to use gender-fair language, different studies have investigated this issue from different viewpoints. To find an epicene pronoun used as a third-person singular, some research has been conducted investigating them in various contexts, yet few studies have focused on cultural differences. Since how to use language differs among cultures, this study aims to investigate and compare the use of epicene pronouns ("he," "she," "he/she," and singular "they") among Iranian and Polish Non-Native Speakers (NNSs) of English with different cultures, social backgrounds, and L1s (in terms of gender markedness; Iran with a genderless-grammar language, and Poland with a grammatical-gender language). A survey containing sentences and questions was given to 64 university learners in 4 contexts (indefinite noun, feminine, masculine, and neutral connotations) to choose the most suitable pronouns while exploring the reasons for choices followed by the source of learning. The results revealed that singular "they" was the highest deployed pronoun in all four contexts, with no significant difference between Iranian and Polish learners. Furthermore, gender neutrality was mentioned most as the main reason for their selection of choices. Finally, roughly half the Polish students and about a third of Iranian participants had already heard about singular "they," with private institutions and schools were respectively mentioned as their main sources of this knowledge.
    • Abstract:
      As Provided
    • Publication Date:
      2022
    • Accession Number:
      EJ1325986