Sweden’s gender-neutral pronoun is being applauded by Sweden’s growing LGBT community. The European country now has added the pronoun hen to their dictionary and lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders all over the world are asking when will their governments make similar changes.
Sweden’s gender-neutral pronoun, hen, which was recently added to the dictionary is stirring up debate. Last week, like the Webster, the official dictionary of the Swedish language added thousands of new words.
This year, 13,000 new words made it in the dictionary, according to the editors of the Swedish Academy, but a three letter-word is making headlines. In Swedish, he is translated by han, and she is translated by hon, but now there is gender-neutral pronoun called hen.
The gender-neutral pronoun hen can be used when the gender of the person is not known or when the sex of an individual is not important. Sweden’s growing LGBT community is applauding the move because it is perfect for a person who is transitioning from one gender to another a la Bruce Jenner.
Hen can be used to refer to a person who is both male and female. While hen is entering the dictionary this year, it has been commonly used in the country since the early 2000s.
Astrid Öhman, a college student, said that Sweden’s gender-neutral is often used on television and radio. The young woman shared:
“You hear it all the time on TV shows, radio, and magazines, and you don’t even think about it anymore.I was confused by it when I first heard it a few years ago, but now it’s just another word in our dictionary – though with an important purpose, of course.”
Words like “negerboll” (negro ball), which is a candy and “neger” meaning negro, “zigenare” meaning gypsy, will be removed from the dictionary and be replaced with “svart” meaning black, and “rom” meaning Roma.
Swedish Academy’s Svenska Akademiens ordlista goes on sale on April 15. Sweden’s gender-neutral pronoun has made many happy and angered few.
One person stated that Sweden is trying to banish gender, and they wished America would catch up. While another said that the Swedes have no balls and should simply give up the masculine gender altogether.
Sweden adopts gender-neutral pronoun, this is progress for some, and the beginning of the end for others. Where do you stand on this move?
