The role of language in shaping identity

China’s new gender-neutral pronoun is part of a global linguistic shift

- VAISHALI DAR

IN LATE 2025, discussions resurfaced across social media, academia and digital standards bodies about introducing a gender-neutral pronoun into Chinese language. The new gender-neutral pronoun (ta) approved by Unicode Standards, the universal character encoding standard designed to represent text and symbols around the world, is a major step for non-binary and gender-diverse Chinese speakers to gain digital recognition and easier typing. Though widespread tech implementation will take time, the inclusion of this pronoun isn't just about words, it's a revolution in how millions express themselves.

While supporters frame this as a step toward linguistic inclusion and modernisation, critics see it as unnecessarily changing a language equipped with neutral forms. But there is a global conversation on how languages evolve, or resist, in response to changing understandings of gender identity.