She/ He / They/ Zie / What Is Happening With Pronouns?
Thinking Beyond the Binarism
1. English Language and Gender
Like any other language in our world, the English language was constructed of influences, either from different cultures or from the social changes that time produces.
Since its start, words from other languages, including French, Latin, and even Greek, have been appropriated into English. With the growth of the British Empire and the spread of its official language, new realities needed new words to describe them.
And this is happening as I write these words. Pandemic is the best example, where words such as “covid” “ PCR testing” would not have been understood three years ago.
It is a given fact that language plays a central role in human cognition, so I want to believe. Language leads to a particular perception of the world, whether spoken or sign. It is, undoubtedly, the primary method in which humans convey the meanings of what surrounds them, serving as the basis for one’s value system, influencing behavior, and creating patterns of social life.
By creating these patterns, language categorizes subjects by assigning them specific characteristics that reflect everyday social life, potentially including or excluding…
