Pluri-Grammars for Pluri-Genders: Competing Gender Systems in the Nominal Morphology of Non-Binary French

Abstract

Although much has been written in recent years on the emergence of non-binary English linguistic innovations, comparatively little has been written on non-binary French forms, especially neo-morphemes marking non-binary gender on nouns. As French is a grammatical-gender language with a traditionally binary (masculine and feminine) system, many non-binary Francophones have circumvented the social connection between grammatical gender and human gender in innovating new, non-binary markers for animate nouns and their modifiers. This study uses a mixed methods approach, combining analysis of non-binary French grammars alongside interview data in order to highlight the divergent morphological approaches underlying non-binary marking systems. Three approaches to the formation of non-binary nouns are identified: A Compounding Approach, which combines masculine and feminine markers; a Systematic Approach, which phonologically conditions the use of non-binary allomorphs, with the markers themselves ranging from phonologically novel within French syllabic structure, to homophonous with masculine and/or feminine variants; and an Invariable Approach, which applies a single non-binary marker across all nouns. Ultimately, this study disentangles both morphological patterns in the formation of non-binary words and some of the motivations behind them in an emerging French subtype well-known to be heterogeneous.