3 ms·

But that’s a very common process that happens in virtually* every language.

• mhb 3y ago
  So is inventing new words. Urban Dictionary much? Which do you prefer - a language that evolves to become more expressive or one that morphs into a miasma that requires disambiguation?
  • rpastuszak 3y ago
    I think you're describing a false dichotomy. A language can become more expressive through any of these processes (e.g. neologisms or shifting meanings described before), often working in tandem.
    • mhb 3y ago
      And how does that relate to this specific example of it being ridiculous to use the ambiguous "them" as a singular pronoun instead of picking a new word? Are you saying that the use of "them" is more expressive or do you just want to abstract the issue into irrelevance?
      • emodendroket 3y ago
        Being more or less expressive doesn't necessarily have much to do with it. When we lost a number of verb conjugations or collapsed singular and plural second-person pronouns that didn't make the language more expressive. Arguably the opposite was true. Notwithstanding, thou dost not insist on using these archaic language features, I imagine.