With all due respect to the Minister of National Education, the pronoun “iel”, used by people who do not wish to be assigned a gender, male or female, has therefore entered the Petit Robert. Its inscription in the dictionary bristles the hair of Jean-Michel Blanquer, for whom “this is not the future of the French language”. And faced with the debate which opens on the question, franceinfo wanted to hear and understand those and those who use this non-gendered pronoun, young people uninhibited by the pronoun.
Short brown curls, round glasses and an androgynous face, Sam, 20, introduces himself: “I’m female and my gender is non-binary so I don’t have a gender.” Sam, therefore, does not feel quite young woman, nor young man either. “When I am asked for my pronouns, because it happens a lot here, well … He, she, he, whatever.”
Ask this question of the correct pronoun to use, “it’s a question of respect”, confirms Rin, a friend of Sam’s, also a plastic arts student: “It has clearly become normal. Me, when I meet someone, it sparks a conversation: what are your pronouns? What should I call you? How do you feel best? And then the conversation goes on its own “.“This is something that is still very much criticized, that people do not understand”, notes Sam.
“I think that integrating it into the dictionary is a way of reaching a lot more people, old and young alike. Falling into it in the dictionary, reading the definition, it’s more concrete.”
Sam, 20to franceinfo
Concrete but disturbing for some who panic at the idea of having to match the rest of the sentence with this “iel”. “A whole new generation will have to learn to use these pronouns properly”, pointe Terrance, student in art license. He and his fellow students lose their French: “For the tone, your, that, my, my, etc. It’s going to be ultra complicated”. In fact, these possessives don’t change, regardless of gender. “Orally, I find it good, but in terms of writing, I’m sure I’ll get lost”, insists Terrance. And one of his friends adds: “You don’t have to do things just anyhow. So it’s also good that it is not accepted too easily, I would say, and the debate is necessary.”
It must also be said that some students had never heard of it before, like this student: “I’m totally finding out. I even misheard the name, how was it, iel? It’s a little weird, but I think the idea is seriously good, if it’s to make a neutral stuff “.
By offering the pronoun “iel” a definition, Le Petit Robert therefore gives it above all visibility and follows a certain evolution of the language and of society, according to Laura, 25, and soon to be a teacher: “You have to evolve with the times. A while ago, it was when parents were divorcing that we thought it was aberrant. Now, it is the norm.”
Nathanaël, who studies cinema, shaved blond hair, concludes: “the word boloss is in the dictionary, I don’t see how adding the word ‘iel’ would change.” The controversy is frankly superficial according to her: “There are a little more serious in the world, a little more important things that should be taken care of.”