4 ms·

People probably don't use it because at every English school in non English-speaking countries, they teach you that "they" is for plural only. I had personally

People probably don't use it because at every English school in non English-speaking countries, they teach you that "they" is for plural only. I had personally never heard until recently that "they" could be singular too. It also really sounds weird to a French like me.

ams6110 11y ago
They also taught that "they" is plural in American schools up until the last decade or so. I remember getting points off of papers for misusing "they" in a singular context. So it sounds weird to me too. We were always taught that "he" is a gender-neutral singular as needed.
- dpark 11y ago
  When were you taught to use "he" as a gender neutral pronoun on English? I've never heard anyone in an educational position advocate that. I was taught to use the horribly awkward "he or she" (his or hers, etc) or alternatively to restructure to actually refer to plural. e.g. Instead of "A software engineer should test his code" use "Software engineers should test their code". I'm glad the "neutral they" is catching on.
pyre 11y ago
I grew up in the US, and I still think that singular "they" is weird. I remember thinking that it was weird in grade school, and wishing that there was a better gender-neutral pronoun. Part of the problem with it being used in singular and plural context is that it's possible to use it in an ambiguous way where the ambiguity comes from the lack of enough context to differentiate between plural or singular. Separate words would remove this.
- dang 11y ago
  It's weird in theory but not in practice. Listen closely and you'll find that every every English speaker uses it without thinking.
  - 01019109 11y ago
    English speakers also use "reach out to someone" for "contact someone", which sounds amazingly pompous for non-native speakers.
    - dang 11y ago
      That's just an idiom. Every language has lots. Though admittedly it's a corporate idiom that has passed its best-before date. Kind of like "folks".
wtbob 11y ago
> It also really sounds weird to a French like me. It sounds weird, and incorrect, to a native English-speaker like me, particularly when 'they' and 'their' are used more than once or maybe twice in a sentence. If you don't know whether someone is male or female, use male pronouns until told otherwise. That's the rule in English, and it works.

ams6110 11y ago

They also taught that "they" is plural in American schools up until the last decade or so. I remember getting points off of papers for misusing "they" in a singular context. So it sounds weird to me too. We were always taught that "he" is a gender-neutral singular as needed.

dpark 11y ago
When were you taught to use "he" as a gender neutral pronoun on English? I've never heard anyone in an educational position advocate that. I was taught to use the horribly awkward "he or she" (his or hers, etc) or alternatively to restructure to actually refer to plural. e.g. Instead of "A software engineer should test his code" use "Software engineers should test their code". I'm glad the "neutral they" is catching on.

pyre 11y ago

I grew up in the US, and I still think that singular "they" is weird. I remember thinking that it was weird in grade school, and wishing that there was a better gender-neutral pronoun. Part of the problem with it being used in singular and plural context is that it's possible to use it in an ambiguous way where the ambiguity comes from the lack of enough context to differentiate between plural or singular. Separate words would remove this.

dang 11y ago
It's weird in theory but not in practice. Listen closely and you'll find that every every English speaker uses it without thinking.
- 01019109 11y ago
  English speakers also use "reach out to someone" for "contact someone", which sounds amazingly pompous for non-native speakers.
  - dang 11y ago
    That's just an idiom. Every language has lots. Though admittedly it's a corporate idiom that has passed its best-before date. Kind of like "folks".

wtbob 11y ago

> It also really sounds weird to a French like me. It sounds weird, and incorrect, to a native English-speaker like me, particularly when 'they' and 'their' are used more than once or maybe twice in a sentence. If you don't know whether someone is male or female, use male pronouns until told otherwise. That's the rule in English, and it works.