Pre-Listening Vocabulary

• gender-neutral: does not identify a person as being male or female
• personal pronoun: a word that is used to identify a specific person or thing
• awkward: uncomfortable
• propose: to make a recommendation
• fad: something that is popular for a short time

 

“Hen” Is A Swedish Gender-Neutral Pronoun

A gender-neutral personal pronoun has been officially adopted in Sweden. The word “hen”, which is a cross between “han” (he) and “hon” (she), can be used to avoid the awkward construction of “he/she”. The pronoun “hen” can also be used to refer to people who do not identify themselves as male or female. The word “hen” was proposed in Sweden in the 60s, but has gained a lot of ground in the past few years. Since it is no longer considered a fad, the word “hen” is now being added to Swedish dictionaries and encyclopaedias. Though Sweden recently earned the title “most gender-neutral country in the world” (2010, World Economic Forum), many people in Sweden still consider “hen” a controversial word and refuse to accept it as part of their language.