After the introduction of the non-sexual pronoun “iel” in Little Robert, it is Norway’s turn to recognize the use of “chicken”. In question ? Popular enthusiasm for this pronoun.
Norwegian dictionaries welcome a new third person singular this year. In addition to “hun” (feminine first name) and “han” (masculine pronoun), there will now be “hen”, a gender neutral pronoun, the Norwegian Language Council has confirmed, reports the Guardian.
“Over time, we’ve seen the actual use of ‘them’ increase and stabilize”, Daniel Ims, a representative of the council, explained to the Norwegian media. This announcement is good news for the representation of non-binary gender identities to the general public. Especially since the arrival of such a pronoun is not unanimous in this Scandinavian country, especially at the political level of certain conservative parties, reports Evening Standard.
“Chicken” is already used in the Swedish language and was officially entered into the dictionary in 2014, as remembered Reuters.