Help With Non-Binary Pronouns in French? (beehaw.org)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by communication@beehaw.org to c/lgbtq_plus@beehaw.org

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I know, I know. It's complicated, and maybe impossible. A lot needs to change to make this easy, and I'm certainly in no position to revolutionize the French language.

I need to add French pronouns to my email signature. I don't necessarily need to use them, but ideally I could explain to someone how to use them in a sentence.

"Iel" isn't perfect, but it's the most popular right now. That's good enough for me.

I'm confused about the rest. Can anyone give me guidance on the most popular Iel equivalent of [il/le/lui] and [elle/la/elle]?

Is there a good website where I can see the pronouns in use, that isn't a style guide about pronouns?

Thanks for stopping by :)

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[-] gaael@beehaw.org 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I have no source for you, just personal experience. In my small circles (irl and online) which are not statistically significant, we usually use :

"iel" for third person singular, used the same way as "they" in the singular form
"ellui" also used for the third person by someone who wanted the feminin "elle" to come first
"ol" is also used for the third person, mostly by people who want to get rid of the binary "il" and "elle" sounds of "iel"
"elleux" for the third person plural, used the same way as "they" in its usual sense

Maybe this wikipedia page could be useful ?

Just FYI: from my experience as a native French speaker and a French resident, these neopronouns have a hard time existing outside militant and lgbtqi+ circles. Our most popular media (which are right-wing/conservative) regularly paint them as a problem, an attack on the "mothertongue" etc. and I've faced violent reactions from people I gave my pronouns to.

Kudos to you for including them in your signature !

Edit: typos.

[-] communication@beehaw.org 3 points 1 year ago

Thanks a ton for this, it's really helpful! I've been conflicted because intellectually I like things like "ol" or "ul" more than "iel" for the reason you described, but I'm not strong enough in French to be a good advocate for them. "Iel" feels easiest, right now.

Would "elleux" replace all uses of third-person plural, or only those including non-binary people?

Regarding your FYI: Sorry you've dealt with that, it's so frustrating!! It's so hard to know what approach will help people understand, and I can see why a lot of people don't bother. Thanks for working to make things better :)