3 ms·

Plural they is pretty new in wide-spread usage? I usually just stick with generic "he" until I know otherwise; i.e. if a scientist found something, I don't rea

by mises 7y ago

Plural they is pretty new in wide-spread usage? I usually just stick with generic "he" until I know otherwise; i.e. if a scientist found something, I don't really care whether he has... I'm not sure I get the idea of referring to a known person as "they", and this is at best a controversial issue bound very tightly to one side of the political aisle. A side with which I do not align. I guess I probably wouldn't ever do this, but I can at least see a possible use. Information appreciated. Quick follow-up: I saw your reply to another comment; I do not really acknowledge that it is a "thing" with respect to grammatical validity.

jraph 7y ago
I'm not in an English-speaking place, so I can't say how often it is spoken and for how long it has been, but I see it everywhere on HN and in other parts of the web. It seems that it is more accepted in GB than in the US [1] : “Garner's Modern American Usage (2nd ed., 2003) recommends cautious use of singular they, and avoidance where possible because its use is stigmatized. [...] Garner suggests that use of singular they is more acceptable in British English [...] and apparently regrets the resistance by the American language community: "That it sets many literate Americans' teeth on edge is an unfortunate obstacle to what promises to be the ultimate solution to the problem.” Singular they seems prescribed in the US too, by The Chicago Manual of Style at least since 1993 for instance [1], and proscribed by others. There are many possible reasons people would use singular they, I'm not sure we can put them in an homogeneous political group. It seems generic he is losing acceptance, to the point I wouldn't comfortably use it [2]. It probably depends on the place though. I would kindly invite you to reconsider using singular they instead of generic he, but this sure is controversial and I'm no one to tell anybody how to speak, and I would not want to neither. And when something about the language feels weird… well, it just feels weird. Languages are very personal and intimate. I personally tend to rephrase sentences to avoid they, but use it when doing so is too inconvenient. Thanks for the interesting discussion :-) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they#Acceptability_and_prescriptive_guidance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they#Acceptability_an... (already cited in another comment of mine) [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they#Prescription_of_generic_he https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they#Prescription_of_... (I know, always the same link ;-))

by mises 7y ago

jraph 7y ago

I'm not in an English-speaking place, so I can't say how often it is spoken and for how long it has been, but I see it everywhere on HN and in other parts of the web. It seems that it is more accepted in GB than in the US [1] : “Garner's Modern American Usage (2nd ed., 2003) recommends cautious use of singular they, and avoidance where possible because its use is stigmatized. [...] Garner suggests that use of singular they is more acceptable in British English [...] and apparently regrets the resistance by the American language community: "That it sets many literate Americans' teeth on edge is an unfortunate obstacle to what promises to be the ultimate solution to the problem.” Singular they seems prescribed in the US too, by The Chicago Manual of Style at least since 1993 for instance [1], and proscribed by others. There are many possible reasons people would use singular they, I'm not sure we can put them in an homogeneous political group. It seems generic he is losing acceptance, to the point I wouldn't comfortably use it [2]. It probably depends on the place though. I would kindly invite you to reconsider using singular they instead of generic he, but this sure is controversial and I'm no one to tell anybody how to speak, and I would not want to neither. And when something about the language feels weird… well, it just feels weird. Languages are very personal and intimate. I personally tend to rephrase sentences to avoid they, but use it when doing so is too inconvenient. Thanks for the interesting discussion :-) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they#Acceptability_and_prescriptive_guidance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they#Acceptability_an... (already cited in another comment of mine) [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they#Prescription_of_generic_he https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they#Prescription_of_... (I know, always the same link ;-))