The document summarizes changes in pronoun usage between 1990 and 2009. In 1990, 38% of pronouns used were "he" while in 2009 only 11% were "he" and 76% were "they". The document also discusses how the NIV Bible translation aims to use gender-neutral terms like "they" instead of just "he" when passages refer to both men and women to accurately convey the original Greek or Hebrew meaning to modern audiences. It promotes the NIV as being gender accurate in its translations.

1. BETWEEN 1990 AND 2009, USE OF
PRONOUNS SHIFTED DRAMATICALLY
TRUE TO THE
ORIGINAL
1990 2009
HE
38%
THEY
40%
OTHER
HE
11%
THEY
76%OTHER
MEN
anthropoi
PEOPLE
MEN
MEN & WOMEN
pater FATHERGOD
The Greek word “anthropoi” can mean either “men” or “men and women,” depending
on the context. The NIV delivers a truer meaning than some translations, clarifying
the text to match today’s language.
GENDER
ACCURACY
In just two decades, the English language has changed dramatically in relation to
gender-specific terminology. The NIV translators studied a database of over four
billion words to determine common English usage and found that 1 in 10 English
speakers would use “he” to refer back to a word denoting either a man or a
woman, and 76% use the word “they”. To clearly communicate the true meaning of
the original texts to the broader English speaking audience, the NIV uses the word
“they” or some variation when the text is clearly referring to both men and women.
REFERRING TOGREEK NIV
The NIV is
gender accurate.
HERE ARE SOME GOOD REASONS WHY:
LEARN MORE AT WWW.THENIVBIBLE.COM/FAQS
• ACCURATE
•
REA
DABLE • CLEAR