The English language does not possess a 3rd person singular epicene pronoun normally used in a sex-indefinite or gender-neutral context, so the masculine 3rd person singular “he” has taken the role for over centuries. However, many researchers have indicated that generic he is not exclusively sex-neutral in that it evokes masculine imagery. For this reason, in English speaking countries, singular they has successfully evolved as an alternative to generic he. Nevertheless, in the Korean EFL setting, where the importance of English education has been emphasized, the actual use and perception of the English epicene pronoun has rarely been considered. In this context, this study investigated Korean EFL learners’ use and perception of the 3rd person epicene pronoun in sex-neutral contexts. The research observed that generic he was the learners’ most preferred choice of pronoun though it indeed evoked masculine images, whereas singular they was neither widely accepted, nor often used. The present study also determined to what extent the use and perception of epicene pronouns were related to and affected by linguistic and biographical variables. It was also demonstrated that simplicity in epicene pronoun use could have assumed priority over nonsexist expression among some Korean EFL learners. The present study has implications in that it contributes to epicene pronoun education in Korean EFL settings, and to build awareness in Korean EFL learners regarding the issue of sex bias in language.

Eunsuk Lee. 2016. The Basis for Use of Singular they: From Historical, Semantic, and Cognitive Perspectives. Studies in Modern Grammar 90, 31-43. This study investigates the basis for use of singular they from a few different perspectives. Firstly, from a historical perspective, the singular they is not something that appeared all of a sudden in modern English since it has been used for a long period of time. Singular they did not appear by mistake as its use can be found in the writings of many respected authors. Secondly, considering the notional concord and the referential ambiguity of plural pronouns from a viewpoint of semantics, there are two different uses of singular they - one is to indicate indefinite pronouns and the other is to specify generic nouns. Lastly, from a cognitive perspective, singular they is a cognitively efficient substitute for he or she, or it seems to be cognitively more efficient than those pronouns. Considering all of the perspectives listed above, it is arguable that the use of singular they should not be proscribed like they has been by normative grammarians, but accepted as a change in the use of English pronouns.

This study investigates the basis for use of singular they from a few different perspectives. Firstly, from a historical perspective, the singular they is not something that appeared all of a sudden in modern English since it has been used for a long period of time. Singular they did not appear by mistake as its use can be found in the writings of many respected authors. Secondly, considering the notional concord and the referential ambiguity of plural pronouns from a viewpoint of semantics, there are two different uses of singular they - one is to indicate indefinite pronouns and the other is to specify generic nouns. Lastly, from a cognitive perspective, singular they is a cognitively efficient substitute for he or she, or it seems to be cognitively more efficient than those pronouns. Considering all of the perspectives listed above, it is arguable that the use of singular they should not be proscribed like they has been by normative grammarians, but accepted as a change in the use of English pronouns.