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Pronouns

In 2007 Språk Magazine published an article about "hen" that raised the profile of the word. In 2012, the children's book, "Kivi & Monsterhund" was published sparking a nationwide debate about "hen"

The three-letter word that rocked a nation

Culture

In 2012, Sweden erupted in a national debate over the pronoun “hen.” Traditionally, Swedish has gendered pronouns when referring to people. There is no gender-neutral pronoun for people. “Hen” was a new word meant to fill a gap in the language. This week on The World in Words podcast we explore how a little-known and little-used word went mainstream in Sweden.

Ji-Ho Park on the Duke University campus

In the war over pronouns, gender-neutral pronouns are here to stay

Culture