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Seems to me that conservatives cannot stand it if they aren’t enraged about something.
Seriously? The foundation of liberalism is righteous indignation and faux outrage. No slight is too small not to be worthy of a Congressional investigation.
No, that doesn't work. Doesn't sound right at all. 'They' can not replace he or she in English. If it was your neighbors, you could use they.
It may be a regional thing. I live in the Northeast and have been hearing people (from all walks of life and social strata) use "they" in the genderless-single context I described, for 7+ decades.
But aside from that, numerous well-known writers have used "they" in this way: Jane Austen, Shakespeare, Ruskin, and Chaucer ... to name a few.
The American Dialect Society's "word of the year" for 2015 was the singular-pronoun use of "they." In addition:
Bill Walsh, a copyeditor at the Washington Post, announced [in 2015] that the newspaper’s official style guide now allows the use of gender-neutral singular they. He called the use of they “the only sensible solution to English’s lack of a gender-neutral third-person singular personal pronoun.”
In 2016, the journal American Speech published a study by Darren K. LaScotte investigating the pronouns used by native English speakers in informal written responses to questions concerning a subject of unspecified gender, finding that 68% of study participants chose singular they to refer to such an antecedent.
They in this context was named Word of the Year for 2019 by Merriam-Webster.
On January 4 2020, the American Dialect Society announced they had crowned they, again in this context, Word of the Decade for the 2010s.
From the 2010 edition of the Chicago Manual of Style:
The singular they. A singular antecedent requires a singular referent pronoun. Because he is no longer accepted as a generic pronoun referring to a person of either sex, it has become common in speech and in informal writing to substitute the third-person plural pronouns they, them, their, and themselves, and the nonstandard singular themself. While this usage is accepted in casual context, it is still considered ungrammatical in formal writing.
I'll grant you that not all stylebooks/guides agree on the desirability of using they as singular, but to say that it "cannot replace he or she in English" isn't defensible either. Obviously it can, because it does. :-)
Joe: "You won't believe what my neighbor did yesterday!"
Jane: "What did they do?"
Joe: "You won't believe what my neighbor did yesterday!"
Jane: "What?"
See? It's unnecessary to use a plural pronoun with a singular antecedent. Anyone who says otherwise is merely unaware of the solutions. I am posting this to assist those who are unaware, because the confusion caused by disagreement of number can lead to a dangerous situation--all because ^some^ folks want to be gender neutral.
But get this: Has anybody noticed that this other but related business of specifying a person's pronouns is the very ^opposite^ of wanting to be gender neutral? It goes to show you that folks are allowing emotions to cause irrational behavior. This situation is extremely bad for the well-being of our country. We should be striving to maintain intelligent, responsible culture, instead of allowing emotions to destroy it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BBCjunkie
Bill Walsh, a copyeditor at the Washington Post, announced [in 2015] that the newspaper’s official style guide now allows the use of gender-neutral singular they. He called the use of they "the only sensible solution to English's lack of a gender-neutral third-person singular personal pronoun."
" . . . the only sensible solution . . . "?!
He is either unaware of the solutions, of which there is an adequate number, or at the very least unwilling to embrace the solutions. It's hilarious that a "professional" newspaper person could be unaware of the solutions.
It is often unnecessary to use pronouns. We can reorder words, combine words, repeat words, imply words (i.e., be elliptical), use different descriptions, find ways to force the use of plural subjects, and so on. Just ^think,^ and in time you will find yourself being able to be gender neutral in ways that do not offend those who recognize the importance of, and who therefore defend, consistency of number.
If you would like a second solution, then here it is:
Joe: "You won't believe what my neighbor did yesterday!"
Jane: "What happened?"
See? We don't need to use pronouns; we just need to use our brains.
Joe: "You won't believe what my neighbor did yesterday!"
Jane: "What?"
Okay, I'll play.
As a written exchange, "What?" as an answer is ambiguous, because it could just as easily mean "Please repeat what you just said" if Jane wasn't paying attention or didn't hear Joe properly. (As a person who suddenly lost 85% of the hearing in her left ear a few years ago, I say "What?" far more often than I used to, LOL)
Obviously, in a face-to-face conversation Joe would know from Jane's facial expression (i.e., showing either interest or puzzlement) what she meant; in a phone conversation, her inflection would convey the meaning.
I agree that in many cases it's preferable to avoid pronouns when writing. However, in casual speech, most people tend to go with the response that feels more natural. A listener who is by nature more voluble and/or more engaged with the conversation may well respond with "What did they do?" instead of an abrupt "What?"
The soundest advice I can give is to ignore and avoid anyone who says anything about her/his preferred pronouns. You are ipso facto dealing with a narcissistic, manipulative person.
If you are in a situation, like work, where you receive such demands, simply refer to her/him by a first or last name. That's what I have done in school.
Have you all noticed that everybody, especially academics, are now specifying what their "pronouns" are - even normal heterosexual non-transgender people.
e.g "So and so is a Phd in ethnic studies, and his pronouns are he/him/his"
WTF?!
This is not something that people ever did before. This LGBT madness is out of control and has got to stop.
Mmm yes. I've certainly noticed this. So long as nobody tell me I have to do it I reckon I cant care. Call me anything but late for supper I'm athinkin'.
And since I dont travel in the same circles as "higher educated" folks I'm not likely to have anyone force this silliness on me.
Should occasion arise whereas someone ever does..well..I'll burn that bridge when I get there.
Have you all noticed that everybody, especially academics, are now specifying what their "pronouns" are - even normal heterosexual non-transgender people.
e.g "So and so is a Phd in ethnic studies, and his pronouns are he/him/his"
WTF?!
This is not something that people ever did before. This LGBT madness is out of control and has got to stop.
No one cares about the pronouns you use. So you shouldn't care about the pronouns others use. And just leave the LGBT's alone. Let them leave in peace without judging. We are all Americans.
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