Pronouns

Pronouns

There are two main sets of pronouns, and one minor set.

Casual Pronouns:

Casual pronouns are based on apparent gender. These are used with strangers, customers, family, and by the lower classes in most settings. You don't use them in formal settings.

Male alphas, Male betas, Male omegas, (many) Epicene alphas:

he/him/his/his/himself - IPA Pronunciation: [hiː/hɪm/hɪz/hɪz/hɪmsɛlf]

Female alphas, Female betas, Female omegas, (many) Epicene omegas:

She/her/her/hers/herself - IPA Pronunciation: [ʃiː/hɚ/hɚz/hɚz/hɚsɛlf]

Kids, (some) Epicene alphas and omegas:

Hey/hem/heir/heirs/hemself - IPA Pronunciation: [heɪ/hɛm/heɪɹ/heɪɹz/hɛmsɛlf]

Formal Pronouns:

Formal pronouns are based on reproductive role - whether you can¹ sire or carry kids. These are used in legal settings, some schools, other formal situations, and by the upper classes in most settings.

Male alphas, Male betas, Epicene alphas, Female alphas (Proginators/Sires):

ile/loy/sor/sors/(themself) - IPA Pronunciation: [ʌɪl/lɔɪ/sɔɹ/sɔɹz/ðɛmsɛlf]

Female betas, Female omegas, Epicene omegas, Male omegas (Proginatrixes/Dams):

ele/ly/sor/sors/(themself) - IPA Pronunciation: [iːl/liː/sɔɹ/sɔɹz/ðɛmsɛlf]

Kids:

Hey/hem/heir/heirs/hemself - IPA Pronunciation: [heɪ/hɛm/heɪɹ/heɪɹz/hɛmsɛlf]

Minor Pronouns:

Especially when talking about their role in packs, betas can be respectfully referred to in the plural.

Male betas, female betas:

They/them/their/theirs/themself - IPA Pronunciation: [ðeɪ/ðɛm/ðeɪɹ/ðeɪɹz/ðɛmsɛlf]

While these are often used disrespectfully, some Female alphas and Male omegas prefer gender-dynamic-specifc pronouns. These gender-dynamics have faced notable discrimination in the West - being seen as inferior members of their dynamic. Some have embraced their separateness from their wider gender and dynamic, while others consider separation another tool to discriminate against them. It's generally considered safest to not use these pronouns unless a person has requested you do.

Female alphas:

Hoon/henny/henner/henners/henself - IPA Pronunciation: [huːn/hɛniː/hɛnɚ/hɛnɚz/hɛnsɛlf]

Male omegas:

Han/hone/hans/hans/honeself - IPA Pronunciation: [hæn/hoʊn/hænz/hænz/hoʊnsɛlf]

Pronoun History

The Britain dealt with successive waves of invasion between 0-1100 AD. The Brythonic inhabitants were influenced by Roman, Saxon, Norse, and Norman invasions. See history for more details, but the affects on the pronoun system are shown here.

Note: In premodern times, the epicene gender was not recognized in the areas we are studying. Epicene alphas were grouped with Male alphas, and Epicene omegas with Female omegas.

Brythonic Pronouns:

The Britons/Angles had a gender-based pronoun system. Dynamics started appearing around the time of the Roman invasions starting 55 BC. The Britons adopted the Roman pronoun 'mīles' into a general beta pronoun, extending it from it's use for only Male betas. The pronoun was derived from the term for Male beta infantrymen, bands of whom were highly valued by the Roman military. These pronouns have no modern descendants in English.

Male alphas, Male omegas, (possibly some) Male betas:

Eβ̃

Female alphas, Female omegas, (possibly some) Female betas:

Hi

Male betas, Male omegas:

Miles

Anglo-Saxon (Old English) Pronouns:

The Saxons brought the Germanic dynamic-based pronoun system. Here it is in its original form:

Male alphas, Female alphas

Hē/hine/him/his

Male betas, Female betas

Hit/hit/him/his

Male omegas, Female omegas

Hēo/hīe/hire/hire

Plural

Hīe/hīe/him/heora

This system is the origin of modern casual pronouns, but not until it had experienced significant alterations.

Old Norse Pronouns

Vikings had settlements in Scotland and Northern Britain starting in the 700s, and they were a Norse kingdom from 1015 until the Norman Invasion. Old Norse influenced Old English in many ways, including through its gender-based pronoun system.

Male alphas, Male betas, Male omegas:

Hann/hann/hǫ́num/hans

Female alphas, Female betas, Female omegas:

Hǫ́n/hána/henni/hennar

Plural

Þeir/þá/þeim/þeirra

Norman Pronouns

After the Norman Invasion in 1066, the Old French reproductive-based pronoun system was introduced. These remained mostly confined to the upper classes. This is due to many factors, but a major one was a disinclination of the Norman upper classes to bother learning the dynamics of their Anglo-Saxon servants. Appearance(/gender)-based systems became seen as demeaning, appropriate for lower classes who didn't deserve the effort of memorized dynamics.

Male alphas, Male betas, Female alphas:

il/le/li/lui/(son/sa/ses)

Female alphas, Female omegas, Female betas:

ele/la/li/(son/sa/ses)

Mixed Systems

English pronoun systems showed a lot of variation over the late Old English and Early Middle English periods. Gender-based systems coexisted with dynamic-based and mixed systems. Anglo-Saxon terms coexisted with Old Norse terms. Here are three of the most common systems we see in the literature:

System 1 (Especially in the North):

Male alphas, Male omegas:

Hē/hine/him/his | Hann/hann/hǫ́num/hans

Female alphas, Female omegas:

Hēo/hīe/hire/hire | Hǫ́n/hána/henni/hennar

Male betas, Female betas

Hīe/hīe/him/heora | Þeir/þá/þeim/þeirra

System 2:

Male alphas, Female alphas

Hē/hine/him/his

Male betas, Female betas

Hīe/hīe/him/heora | Þeir/þá/þeim/þeirra

Male omegas, Female omegas

Hēo/hīe/hire/hire

System 3: (Mostly late, after influence from Old French)

Male alphas, Male betas:

Hē/hine/him/his

Female betas, Female omegas:

Hēo/hīe/hire/hire

Female alphas

Hǫ́n/hána/henni/hennar

Male omegas

Hann/hann/hǫ́num/hans

Evolution into Modern English

Modern Male (from Old English):

Hē → He

hine/him → him

his → his

Modern Female (from Old English):

Hēo → She

hīe/hire → her

hire → her/hers

Modern Child and Epicene (from Old English, with influence from Old Norse):

Hīe → Hey

hīe/him → hem

heora → heir/heirs

Modern Beta and Plural (from Old Norse, with influence from Old English):

Þeir → They

þá/þeim→ them

þeirra → their/theirs

Modern Female Alpha (from Old Norse):

Hǫ́n → Hoon

hána/henni → henny

hennar → henner/henners

Modern Male Omega (from Old Norse):

Hann → Han

hann/hǫ́num → hone

hans → hans/hans

Proginator/Sire:

il → ile

le/li/lui → loy

son/sa/ses → sor/sors

Proginatrix/Dam:

ele → ele

la/li → ly

son/sa/ses → sor/sors (with influence from Middle English 'her')

¹ Like many Earth systems, infertility is not considered. Infertile and trans people are grouped with the rest of their gender-dynamic group.