4 ms·

I never knew this was a thing. I'm not on board with promoting the use of "we" as a replacement for first person singular as being an acceptable societal norm,

I never knew this was a thing. I'm not on board with promoting the use of "we" as a replacement for first person singular as being an acceptable societal norm, unless you're the Queen. Sorry, but it is too close to contributing to mental health, or personality, disorders for me.

user_7832 5y ago
> I never knew this was a thing. I'm not on board with promoting the use of "we" as a replacement for first person singular as being an acceptable societal norm, unless you're the Queen. Sorry, but it is too close to contributing to mental health, or personality, disorders for me. Wait until you find about about languages like Hindi where the plural form can be used for respect even when referring to an individual :) I hadn't realized that calling an individual in plural was even a point of contention until comments on this thread pointed it out (likely because I'm used to it from Hindi). Don't forget, the author may be bi/multilingual.
- pjerem 5y ago
  > Wait until you find about about languages like Hindi where the plural form can be used for respect even when referring to an individual :) In fact it’s pretty common amongst a lot of languages. Most Latin-derived languages use the plural to show respect. But of course, never to talk about yourself. You’ll use the pluralized form when talking to strangers or to people who are over you hierarchically (but this usage tends to disappear in a lot companies). As a French, reading someone speaking about itself as "we" is shocking not because it looks like there is multiple people involved (but it also does) but because it looks like the person tries to be "above" you hierarchically. Of course i know it isn’t what’s intended but language interpretation is an automatic mechanism.
  - user_7832 5y ago
    > As a French, reading someone speaking about itself as "we" is shocking not because it looks like there is multiple people involved (but it also does) but because it looks like the person tries to be "above" you hierarchically. Of course i know it isn’t what’s intended but language interpretation is an automatic mechanism. That's interesting, culturally. In India, it's very common for example for people from North India to be much more "pride-based" where individual identity is important and people often use the plural for themselves, while in more southern states there's lesser emphasis and singular is much more common. A lot is dependent on culture.
- okeuro49 5y ago
  > Wait until you find about about languages like Hindi where the plural form can be used for respect even when referring to an individual :) I speak German, which uses uses the plural sie/polite Sie. It's completely different to "we" being used by an individual to refer to themselves in English. The fact that a language construct might exist in other languages is irrelevant. Calling a girl "it" in English would similarly be bizarre, although that is the grammar in German.
hiptobecubic 5y ago
Who cares? This is such a trivial thing to pay attention to.
- bakugo 5y ago
xena 5y ago
Something cannot be a disorder unless it causes harm. Things that are not disorders and are out of the ordinary can be considered adaptations and can be advantageous.
- throwawayboise 5y ago
  Harm to whom? Many things can cause harm to oneself (socially, at least) without harming anyone else. Being odd about your pronouns is one of those things.
  - numpad0 5y ago
    If you ain’t changing and if you ain’t adapting you might as well not be alive :p
    - bener 5y ago
      I may as well not be alive if I'm not adapting to people using "we" as a personal pronoun?
      - gcr 5y ago
        What is there to "adapt"? Whether or not I use "we" to refer to myself doesn't affect you, and also doesn't ask you to change your behavior.
        bakugo 5y ago
        > Whether or not I use "we" to refer to myself doesn't affect you It affects anyone who reads the article, as it's incorrect english and makes it harder to interpret.
        xena 5y ago
        Pedantically, there is no such thing as "correct" or "incorrect" English as there is no standards body that dictates such rules. You can verb any word you want and people will understand what you mean. You don't have to read the article if it doesn't meet your muster. Why bother caring?
dragonwriter 5y ago
> I never knew this was a thing. I'm not on board with promoting the use of "we" as a replacement for first person singular Thou art fighting a losing battle; the grammatical first person singular will soon be as passé as the second.

user_7832 5y ago

> I never knew this was a thing. I'm not on board with promoting the use of "we" as a replacement for first person singular as being an acceptable societal norm, unless you're the Queen. Sorry, but it is too close to contributing to mental health, or personality, disorders for me. Wait until you find about about languages like Hindi where the plural form can be used for respect even when referring to an individual :) I hadn't realized that calling an individual in plural was even a point of contention until comments on this thread pointed it out (likely because I'm used to it from Hindi). Don't forget, the author may be bi/multilingual.

pjerem 5y ago
> Wait until you find about about languages like Hindi where the plural form can be used for respect even when referring to an individual :) In fact it’s pretty common amongst a lot of languages. Most Latin-derived languages use the plural to show respect. But of course, never to talk about yourself. You’ll use the pluralized form when talking to strangers or to people who are over you hierarchically (but this usage tends to disappear in a lot companies). As a French, reading someone speaking about itself as "we" is shocking not because it looks like there is multiple people involved (but it also does) but because it looks like the person tries to be "above" you hierarchically. Of course i know it isn’t what’s intended but language interpretation is an automatic mechanism.
- user_7832 5y ago
  > As a French, reading someone speaking about itself as "we" is shocking not because it looks like there is multiple people involved (but it also does) but because it looks like the person tries to be "above" you hierarchically. Of course i know it isn’t what’s intended but language interpretation is an automatic mechanism. That's interesting, culturally. In India, it's very common for example for people from North India to be much more "pride-based" where individual identity is important and people often use the plural for themselves, while in more southern states there's lesser emphasis and singular is much more common. A lot is dependent on culture.
okeuro49 5y ago
> Wait until you find about about languages like Hindi where the plural form can be used for respect even when referring to an individual :) I speak German, which uses uses the plural sie/polite Sie. It's completely different to "we" being used by an individual to refer to themselves in English. The fact that a language construct might exist in other languages is irrelevant. Calling a girl "it" in English would similarly be bizarre, although that is the grammar in German.

hiptobecubic 5y ago

Who cares? This is such a trivial thing to pay attention to.

bakugo 5y ago

xena 5y ago

Something cannot be a disorder unless it causes harm. Things that are not disorders and are out of the ordinary can be considered adaptations and can be advantageous.

throwawayboise 5y ago
Harm to whom? Many things can cause harm to oneself (socially, at least) without harming anyone else. Being odd about your pronouns is one of those things.
- numpad0 5y ago
  If you ain’t changing and if you ain’t adapting you might as well not be alive :p
  - bener 5y ago
    I may as well not be alive if I'm not adapting to people using "we" as a personal pronoun?
    - gcr 5y ago
      What is there to "adapt"? Whether or not I use "we" to refer to myself doesn't affect you, and also doesn't ask you to change your behavior.
      - bakugo 5y ago
        > Whether or not I use "we" to refer to myself doesn't affect you It affects anyone who reads the article, as it's incorrect english and makes it harder to interpret.
        xena 5y ago
        Pedantically, there is no such thing as "correct" or "incorrect" English as there is no standards body that dictates such rules. You can verb any word you want and people will understand what you mean. You don't have to read the article if it doesn't meet your muster. Why bother caring?

dragonwriter 5y ago

> I never knew this was a thing. I'm not on board with promoting the use of "we" as a replacement for first person singular Thou art fighting a losing battle; the grammatical first person singular will soon be as passé as the second.