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Human language rules don't work like programming languages. They are informal and developed in a decentralized fashion. The meaning of words is determined by ho
by dwaltrip 8y ago
Human language rules don't work like programming languages. They are informal and developed in a decentralized fashion. The meaning of words is determined by how they are used, not by a dictionary author.
Edit: Why is your preference for the traditional meaning of the word "they" more important than accommodating people who feel it is the common pronoun that best describes them?
- jki275 8y agoI agree, but there are rules. Dictionaries are just ways of keeping track of rules that already exist.
- dwaltrip 8y agoPlease see my edit.
- jki275 8y agoIn another comment I wrote I made the comment that I don't much care how other people choose to speak or act. I care when they tell me how I must speak and act, specifically when they tell me that cultural norms and rules of grammar must now be different because of their feelings.
- dwaltrip 8y agoWhat expertise do you have to credibly cast doubt on the self-descriptions of gender-neutral people? Have you seriously researched this? Or are you allowing your feelings to have an undue impact? Edit: To be fair, I think most people agree this can be taken too far. For example, I don't think we need dozens of new pronouns -- I don't believe there is scientific or psychological evidence for doing so (although I am willing to be corrected about this). But slightly stretching the usage of a single existing pronoun ("they"), in a way that is not entirely new, seems like a pretty small ask.
- jki275 8y agoCast doubt? I haven't. I've simply stated the attempt to force me to use incorrect language constructs based on their beliefs is not useful and has not been successful. Quite frankly, I don't care how other people choose to speak. I care when people try to tell me how I must speak.
- dwaltrip 8y ago> Quite frankly, I don't care how other people choose to speak. Are you not a human who interacts with other humans? You don't care if your colleagues or friends refer to you in a derogatory manner? Or any number of countless other examples where the language of someone else may affect you... Let's be honest and forthright, please.
- jki275 8y agoYou're assuming facts not in evidence. Let's not make up straw men here.
- mcguire 8y agoThe great thing about rules is that there are so many to choose from. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they#Acceptability_and_prescriptive_guidance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they#Acceptability_an...
- boomboomsubban 8y ago>Why is your preference for the traditional meaning of the word "they" more important than accommodating people who feel it is the common pronoun that best describes them? He is also people, and feels this is the best third-person gender neutral pronoun to describe a group he is in. Why do you care what word he prefers?
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- dwaltrip 8y agoI don't care personally. However, I am under the impression that gender-neutral/non-binary people care about this, and it seems a small price a pay to respect their wishes and use the word "they", as there doesn't seem to be a better alternative. Did jki275 say they are part of that group..? I didn't see that.
- boomboomsubban 8y agoThe largest group that pushed for this change were women, sick of the automatic assumption they were a man These word are used to describe everyone, and they should be used when you are unaware of a persons wishes After someone tells you what they prefer, you should definitely respect their wishes.