“Mother-in-law, my, we know her!”: The role of personal pronouns in constructions of a female identity

Abstract | Abstract

Language constructs and reproduces different types of generalizations, for example concerning gender categories. By way of certain linguistic choices speakers construct or reproduce identities for men and women and other categories. Specific lexical and functional items are used for this purpose, consciously and unconsciously. One linguistic item that is used for this purpose is the personal pronoun. This article provides an analysis of data extracts taken from a Danish magazine with the aim of illustrating how personal pronouns contribute to the construction of identities related to particular categories, mainly a female identity, and serve a particular purpose in interaction with other elements in context.