Ri, -iĉ- and the reform that waits

The criticism, both ways

The argument is a century old because both sides have a point:

Traditionally li covers a person of unknown sex. PMEG notes that this can be seen as discrimination and offers ŝi aŭ li, tiu or tiu persono instead:

• Se iu volas veni, tiu povas veni. - If anyone wants to come, they can come.

Ri, -iĉ- and the other proposals

Riismo usually means using ri; the word also covers wider reform programmes. None of these forms is official, and some speakers use them every day:

People use ri in three ways: for a person whose sex is unknown, only for non-binary people, or for everyone instead of li and ŝi. PMEG says riismo is sufiĉe disvastiĝinta, precipe inter junuloj, fairly widespread, especially among young people, and that some strongly oppose it as an unacceptable reform.

• Mia amiko diris, ke ri venos. - My friend said that they would come.

-Iĉ- is modelled on -ĉj-, the male pet-name suffix, just as -in- pairs with -nj-. Its main use is on neutral roots, where it does the job of vir-: kuracistiĉo, a male doctor; boviĉo, a bull. PMEG calls it by far the most popular proposal of its kind, though most speakers still use vira or vir-. Some go further and put it on the male roots too, so that patro would mean parent and patriĉo father. PMEG calls that a real reform of common, deep-rooted words, and so hard to achieve.

What the Akademio said

In March 2021 the Akademio de Esperanto published this declaration:

La Akademio de Esperanto deklaras, ke ĝi nun ne alprenas starpunkton pri la uzindeco de ne-oficialaj seks-neŭtralaj pronomoj (kiel ekzemple ri aŭ ŝli), kaj decidis ne okupiĝi pri tiu temo dum almenaŭ dek jaroj.

The Akademio de Esperanto declares that it does not at present take a position on the usability of unofficial sex-neutral pronouns (such as ri or ŝli), and has decided not to take up the subject for at least ten years.

That is neither approval nor a ban. It is how the language usually changes: usage first, ratification afterwards, if at all. The Fundamento and Akademio article explains why.

What to write today

1. Use -in- where tradition puts it: patrino, fratino, reĝino.
2. Use ge- for a mixed group: gepatroj, gefratoj, gesinjoroj.
3. Leave profession nouns bare unless sex is your point: Ŝi estas kuracisto.
4. Reach for homo and persono when sex is beside the point.
5. Recognise ri and -iĉ-, and use the pronoun a person asks you to use.