本文提出了一种新的中性代词'ut'，用于指代性别未知的单数个体，其语法规则与'it'相同，但专用于指人而非动物或事物。文章通过多个例句展示了'ut'在避免'him or her'的冗长和'them'的歧义方面的优势，并强调了'ut'的简洁性和明确性。作者计划在个人博客和lesswrong上实验性使用'ut'，并认为其易于理解和使用，即使不广泛采用也能为读者和作者带来便利。

💡 **'ut'的定义与用法:** 'ut'是一个中性代词，用于指代性别未知的单数个体，它遵循与'it'相同的语法规则，但专门用于指人。

✍️ **'ut'对比其他代词的优势:** 相较于'him or her'的冗长和'them'的歧义，'ut'更为简洁明了，能有效避免指代不明的情况。

🧪 **'ut'的实验性使用:** 作者计划在个人博客和lesswrong上实验性使用'ut'，并认为其易于理解和使用，即使不广泛采用也能为读者和作者带来便利。

📚 **'ut'的使用规则:** 当指代性别已知的个体时，例如女性用'she'，男性用'he'，'ut'不适用。且'ut'的规则与'it'相同，易于理解和使用。

Published on January 22, 2025 5:36 PM GMT

This post is about ‘ut’, a gender-neutral pronoun I am proposing and plan to use experimentally in the future on my blog and here on lesswrong.

(The u of ‘ut’ sounds like the u of uber, not the u of utter.)

The pronoun is used to refer to a single individual (singular) whose gender is unspecified. It follows the same grammar rules as ‘it’, but it’s used to refer to people^[1] instead of animals and things.

Below are some examples of the use of ‘ut’ in contrast with other pronoun alternatives.

1)
-The team will send a worker to deal with the issue, however, I'll need to pay him or her.
-The team will send a worker to deal with the issue, however, I'll need to pay them.
-The team will send a worker to deal with the issue, however, I'll need to pay ut.

The him or her option is long and conveys irrelevant information.

The them option can create ambiguity, because it refers to both plural and singular. In the example, ‘them’ is referring to the worker, but the reader may interpret it as referring to the team.

Ut is a concise option that makes the meaning clear.

2)
-When the user logs in, his or her session begins.
-When the user logs in, their session begins.
-When the user logs in, uts session begins.

3)
-The driver should inspect the vehicle before departure. He or she must ensure that the tires and brakes are in good condition and check everything by him or herself.

-The driver should inspect the vehicle before departure. They must ensure that the tires and brakes are in good condition and check everything by themselves.

-The driver should inspect the vehicle before departure. Ut must ensure that the tires and brakes are in good condition and check everything by utself.

4)
-Each citizen is responsible for carrying uts own identification documents; Maria is no exception. She should receive the same treatment as the others.

Notice that the pronoun ‘ut’ is not used for individuals whose gender is specified. For example, Maria is referred to with the pronoun ‘she’ because she is known to be a woman.

5)
-The researcher is responsible for conducting all parts of the experiment. Ut will set up the equipment, carefully monitor the process, and record the results. Once the data is gathered, the researcher will analyze it and confirm the findings by verifying them utself. If ut finds any discrepancies, ut will address them before submitting the final report.

No widespread adoption needed (probably)

Since the rules of ‘ut’ are the same as those of ‘it’, which are simple and known, I expect both readers and writers to be able to understand and use the system fairly quickly. Therefore I think widespread adoption may not be necessary for writers and readers to benefit from this pronoun. Writers may be able to use it locally, just by notifying their readers and providing a brief explanation of what ‘ut’ is.

In fact, that is what I plan to do.

Conclusion

If you have questions about how to use the pronoun or encounter any problems using it, please let me know in the comments. It is possible that there are some flaws in it that I haven’t yet noticed, although I’ve used it for a period of time in the past and didn’t encounter any issues (it was great actually).

1. ^{^}

   And other entities we treat similarly to how we treat people (using terms like 'him' or 'her' instead of 'it'), such as beloved pets or even some artificial intelligence models.

Discuss