Trek lit references to the J'naii?
- Thread starter chrinFinity
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English has plenty of loan words, and it seems plausible that a future, interstellar version of English could adopt a bisex or neuter pronoun from some alien language; it's been done in various novels and such. But it's still the sort of thing that could feel awkward to the reader if it isn't handled well.
There was an interview on CBC Radio's show Q a while back covering the ground in at least one of the Scandinavian languages in this area. I think the language was Swedish, and the pronoun was "hen"...?
In any case, it's going somewhat awkwardly for them in terms of putting it into general conversational usage, as you'd expect.
In any case, it's going somewhat awkwardly for them in terms of putting it into general conversational usage, as you'd expect.
That sounds like chickening out. Or perhaps, poultry in motion?
Fowl.
^ I can live with that eggsplanation.
Gender-neutral or trans-appropriate nouns/pronouns are interesting, but are always changing, and just when becomes the norm, it shifts again!
I still use they as a singular for the gender neutral in my own writing and when I give lectures dealing with gender neutral topics. (I do this as well with broad categories. "A Hunter-Gather would do this. They would go on to do that.") I find it very easy to slip into and it works more or less, even if it's not the grammatical norm in English anymore.
As well, I did notice an off hand reference to a J'naii doctor in The Assassination Game. It's written in a way that the author doesn't need a pronoun to refer to them. Basically just a name on a page, but I just happened to see this thread as well.
I still use they as a singular for the gender neutral in my own writing and when I give lectures dealing with gender neutral topics. (I do this as well with broad categories. "A Hunter-Gather would do this. They would go on to do that.") I find it very easy to slip into and it works more or less, even if it's not the grammatical norm in English anymore.
As well, I did notice an off hand reference to a J'naii doctor in The Assassination Game. It's written in a way that the author doesn't need a pronoun to refer to them. Basically just a name on a page, but I just happened to see this thread as well.
I would submit that it is the grammatical norm where actual common usage is concerned. It's mainly just Strunk & White and other style manuals that claim otherwise (and White himself used singular they in Charlotte's Web).
Real-life applications have already been alluded to by BritishSeaPower, but this is exactly the sort of conversation/controversy going on (largely in the GLBT community) over how to refer to actual people falling outside the gender binary.
Genderqueer people I know use a variety of terms. Like Christopher, I don't like neologisms (they just sound made up, which they are, and none have truly caught on), and there are centuries of weight backing up my own preference for using the singular "they" in these situations.
Having said that, a little bit of extra effort can avoid the issue entirely. See how I didn't use any gendered pronouns in this post?
Genderqueer people I know use a variety of terms. Like Christopher, I don't like neologisms (they just sound made up, which they are, and none have truly caught on), and there are centuries of weight backing up my own preference for using the singular "they" in these situations.
Having said that, a little bit of extra effort can avoid the issue entirely. See how I didn't use any gendered pronouns in this post?
I am very active in the LGBT community in Toronto (particularly in the trans and gender queer community). In my experience, "ze" and alternately "they," are rapidly becoming standard.
It can reasonably be said that for the vast majority, "it" as a personal pronoun is considered rude, tantamount to a slur. "It" is often used as a personal pronoun by transphobic people speaking perjoratively about trans identified persons.
Given those connotations, I would rather not see "it" used in contemporary Star Trek literary works as a personal pronoun for agender species such as the J'Naii, in the same way that we would expect not to see words such as "sissy" or "gay" used as perjorative adjectives.
It can reasonably be said that for the vast majority, "it" as a personal pronoun is considered rude, tantamount to a slur. "It" is often used as a personal pronoun by transphobic people speaking perjoratively about trans identified persons.
Given those connotations, I would rather not see "it" used in contemporary Star Trek literary works as a personal pronoun for agender species such as the J'Naii, in the same way that we would expect not to see words such as "sissy" or "gay" used as perjorative adjectives.
But, it takes a while for those things to permeate. When the story in question was written, "it" might not have carried the same stigma to as many people a decade ago as it might today, even though it's also a story set in the 24th century.
I recall at the time it seemed that the author using a Hermat and a J'naii in the same story was making a point about the two species' differences, as well as similarities. PAD had settled on "s/he" for his Hermats. Had the short story used "ze", I'd have assumed Jeschonek had made up yet another pronoun, whereas "it" and "they" show that he's using an alternative to "s/he" readers were already familiar with.
I was reading some articles about Australia's first long-running homosexual TV character (Don in "Number 96, 1972-77) recently. Described in the episodes invariably as "homosexual", "fairy" or "the poofta", depending on the situation the guy found himself in, it was surprising that, in numerous magazine and newspaper articles from the same period, other (straight) characters and actors were described as being of "gay" demeanor - even by the actor playing the homosexual law student. It seemed that "gay" still didn't have that homosexual connotation; our memories would probably insist differently.
Language changes can catch on really fast. Today, those old articles seem quite bizarre, because that character is now described as a "gay icon" Down Under.
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But remember, "The Outcast" itself, which obviously was written before the story we're talking about, contained a line specifically pointing out that referring to a person as "it" was rude.
And really, when has there been a time that referring to a person as "it" wouldn't have been rude or dehumanizing? There's no way that's a recent development. "It" doesn't just imply gender neutrality, it implies an animal or an object, something without humanity or a soul.
Agreed with Christopher.
And, if "ze" would have been deemed too weird or unfamiliar to be used, and for whatever reason a more well established word was needed, then the author should have used singular "they" rather than "it."
I want to do a followup novel on the J'naii some day and I won't be using "it."
And, if "ze" would have been deemed too weird or unfamiliar to be used, and for whatever reason a more well established word was needed, then the author should have used singular "they" rather than "it."
I want to do a followup novel on the J'naii some day and I won't be using "it."
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