What can Pronouns Tell Us? A Case Study of English Epicenes

The article reports an oral corpus-based study of epicene pronominal constructions (i.e., pronouns coreferent with singular antecedents and referring to referents of indeterminate sex) in English. They is used in 60% of the tokens, he in 25%, and other forms were used minimally. That variation corresponds to three semantic factors: perceived sex stereotypes associated with the referent, notional number, and, surprisingly, degree of individuation. These findings support accounts of the importance of agreement as a discourse-level phenomenon (e.g. Barlow's Discourse-Linking Theory), and of pronouns as elements whose informational content goes beyond mere denotation.