Show simple item record

dc.contributor.authorGrund, Peter
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-25T20:17:42Z
dc.date.available2014-03-25T20:17:42Z
dc.date.issued2011-12-01
dc.identifier.citationGrund, Peter. 2011. “The Science of Pronominal Usage: He and It in Co-Reference to Inanimate Objects in Late Middle English Texts on Alchemy.” Journal of English Linguistics 39(4): 335–358. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0075424210384225
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1808/13380
dc.descriptionThis is the author's accepted manuscript. The published version can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0075424210384225
dc.description.abstractThis article explores the variation between he and it in coreference to inanimate entities (such as mercury, sulfur, and salt). Using alchemical texts from the fifteenth century as material, the article demonstrates that there was much more variation in pronominal reference in this period than has previously been shown. Of the possible explanations suggested by previous research, the earlier grammatical gender system and transference from Latin do not seem to play a role, while pronoun clustering and pronominal reanalysis appear to influence the quantitative distribution. The scale of individuation used by Siemund and Stenroos to explain similar usage is shown not to be a straightforward predictor. Other factors such as personification and perceived similarities between animate and inanimate entities may affect the degree of perceived individuation. The choice of he over she seems to be influenced by pronominal reanalysis and straightforward personification in some cases. In other instances, it is speculated that the he usage reflects (stereotypical) gender conceptions in the Middle Ages.
dc.publisherSAGE Publications
dc.subjectPronouns
dc.subjectGrammatical and natural gender
dc.subjectReanalysis
dc.subjectCoreference
dc.subjectScale of individuation
dc.subjectPersonification
dc.subjectPragmatics
dc.subjectLate middle english
dc.subjectAlchemical texts
dc.titleThe Science of Pronominal Usage: He and It in Co-Reference to Inanimate Objects in Late Middle English Texts on Alchemy
dc.typeArticle
kusw.kuauthorGrund, Peter
kusw.kudepartmentEnglish
kusw.oastatusfullparticipation
dc.identifier.doi10.1177/0075424210384225
kusw.oaversionScholarly/refereed, author accepted manuscript
kusw.oapolicyThis item meets KU Open Access policy criteria.
dc.rights.accessrightsopenAccess


Files in this item

Thumbnail

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record