Personal pronouns
In linguistics and grammar, a personal pronoun is a word that may substitute for a person’s name.
There are three categories of personal pronoun:
- First person pronouns are how an individual refers to themself. In English, this includes words lke I, me, and mine.
- Second person pronouns are how one individual refers to another individual when speaking directly to them, such as you and yours.
- Third person pronouns are how an individual refers refers to another individual when speaking to a different individual. These are often based on the gender identity of the individual being discussed, if known, such as she/her, he/him, or they/them. The pronoun it/its may also be used when referring to inanimate objects or non-human animals.
In the 21st century, the use of neopronouns has become more commonplace, where they typically substitute for third person pronouns.
Alternatives to third person pronouns
It is common for robotkin individuals to shun the use of gendered pronouns, preferring to be referred to using it/its in reference to their nonhumanity. They may also prefer the use of neopronouns or nounself pronouns, such as bot/botself.
An individual may make use of several third person pronouns.
Examples
You might want to check up on it, it’s going through some downtime.
Marvin is feeling sorry for botself.
Alternatives to first and second person pronouns
Some robotkin will reinforce their lack of human identity by not using first or second person pronouns at all, exclusively referring to themselves in the third person (often abbreviated to ‘3pp’).
No pronouns
Some individuals may not use pronouns at all, and instead want to consistently be referred to by their name or descriptive noun.
It is common for drones and dolls to the phase “this one” when self referring, in order to emphasise a lack of individuality or personhood.
Examples
HAL is enjoying the media you sent to HAL. Thank you.
This one enjoys talking to you all.