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I do this as well, simply because using 'they' in reference to a single person irks me.
by RegEx 14y ago
I do this as well, simply because using 'they' in reference to a single person irks me.
- orangecat 14y agoIf it helps, singular "they" is a long-standing practice: www.crossmyt.com/hc/linghebr/austheir.html
- RegEx 14y agoOh, I have no opinion at all on its correctness, I myself just hate using the singular 'they' when writing a comment. Thanks for the link!
- danso 14y agoSo why use "he" when in contemporary usage, "he" almost always refers to male?
- RegEx 14y agoHonestly, because I'm lazy. Maybe I'll use 'they'. Maybe I'll use 'he'. Maybe I'll use both. If I'm not given the gender of the author, I'm just going to write what sounds right rather than take the time to make it gender-less. It's not like I would blatantly disregard the author's gender if it was provided, though.
- MBlume 14y agoHonestly, this is something you should get over.
- RegEx 14y agoI probably won't. In formal writing with an anonymous subject, sure. For casual conversation, I don't care enough.