Pronominal Gender in English

Book excerpt: This book investigates the use of English third person pronouns (he, she, it) across different varieties of English, where we frequently find he and she used for inanimate objects (the tree – he, the house – he, the bucket – he, but the water – it). It is the first book-length study of this subject. Varieties of English are discussed in the context of Germanic and Romance languages and dialects as well as a small sample of additional languages. The analysis is conducted within the framework set out by functional typology. The book's straightforward and illuminating generalization in terms of the well known hierarchy of individuation provides a systematic link between pronominal usage in Standard English and its varieties.