2 ms·
Since there's no other such comments, I'm just going to chime in & say I'm extremely sympathetic. This is a classic case of confusion, of two things being mixe
by rektide 5y ago
Since there's no other such comments, I'm just going to chime in & say I'm extremely sympathetic.
This is a classic case of confusion, of two things being mixed together & fused, in terminology, when they are distinct areas. Our languages are, as many commenters point out, flexible & changing. But when that flexibility leads to the distinct & clear becoming mixed & hazy, that is usually a loss.
- throwawayboise 5y agoSingular "they" is my losing battle there. It creates a speedbump in reading every time it's used. I'll never agree that it's acceptable to use it.
- vangelis 5y agoIf thou wants to be consistent, drop the singular "you" as well.
- BoxOfRain 5y agoI have to disagree, while it can sound a bit "off" I think it's probably the most natural word to use where gender is unknown or irrevelant. All the other constructs I'm aware of that have been used for this purpose are more of a speedbump than "they", for example replacing "he" with "he/she" or "s/he" rather than "they" is a much more tortured way of achieving the same meaning in my opinion.
- DennisP 5y agoAccording to the Oxford English Dictionary, singular "they" has a long history going back to 1375. https://public.oed.com/blog/a-brief-history-of-singular-they/ https://public.oed.com/blog/a-brief-history-of-singular-they... With a little googling you can verify that Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and Chaucer all used it.
- akvadrako 5y agoThat's only for nonspecific persons, where it does indeed seem natural.