A large French dictionary made history by including non-binary third-person pronouns iel (singular) and iels (plural) last month.

Le Petit Robert, a French dictionary for the general public, included a list of iel and iels like: “Subject personal pronoun in the third person – singular and plural – used to denote a person of any sex.” He mentions alternative spellings she and they.

The editorial director of the dictionary, Marie-Hélène Drivaud, confided in the French magazine LGBTQ STUBBORN on inclusion. “We looked at statistics showing that many people were searching for the word ‘iel’, so we thought it made sense to give them an answer,” Drivaud said.

The director of Petit Robert inquired about other inclusive forms iel (like the object pronoun she), however, Drivaud revealed that their use had not “stabilized”.

“The intention is there, especially for other words like ‘celleux’ [for demonstrative pronouns], but it’s still in progress and iel seemed much more common than the others, ”she said.

However, not everyone is happy with the inclusion of inclusive terms in the dictionary. French politician La République en Marche, François Jolivet, tweeted condemning the move.

“Le Petit Robert, a dictionary that was thought to be a reference, has just integrated the words“ iel, ielle, iels, ielles ”on its site. Its authors are therefore activists for a cause that is not at all French: #wokism. I wrote to the Académie française ”, Jolivet job.

While LGBTQ + pronouns have yet to be adopted in other French dictionaries, the inclusion of Le Robert is a reminder of how representative language is becoming recognized among the general public.