从“伊”到“她”：第三人称代词的性别标记

From “Yi” to “She”: Gender Markers of Third-Person Pronouns

摘要: 先秦时期的指示代词“伊”经过了漫长的演变过程直到魏晋南北朝才逐渐发展成为第三人称代词，起初“伊”仅作为单纯的第三人称代词，保持着性别中性的特征，无论是男性、女性还是无生命的事物，皆可用其来指代。宋代“伊”字开始突破传统，转而指代第一人称和第二人称，甚至用来指代女性第三人称。直到近代人们逐渐意识到需要更精确地表达不同性别的人物，创造了“她”专指女性第三人称。这一变化为汉语的表达增添了更多的灵活性与丰富性。

Abstract: The demonstrative pronoun “Yi” in the pre-Qin period underwent a long process of evolution until the Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties gradually developed into a third-person pronoun. Initially was merely a simple third-person pronoun, maintaining a gender-neutral feature, and could be used to refer to both males, females, and inanimate objects. In Song Dynasty, the word “Yi” began to break through the tradition, referring to the first and second persons, and even to refer to female third-persons. Until modern times, people gradually realized the need to express the characters of different genders more accurately, and created “she” to refer to female third-persons. This change adds more flexibility and richness to the expression of the Chinese language.