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IJBM: There are no gender-neutral singular pronouns that many people use.

criminalscumcriminalscum
edited 2013-01-26 19:33:42 in General
Besides "it" and "they", of course. I will never get on board "they", it's awkwardly shoehorning a word to cover up a gap in the English lenguage.

(This should probably go on IJBM, but I'm too lazy to make an account there, and it's relevant here due to the amount of LGBT folks)

Comments

  • Salix BabylonikaSalix Babylonika
    https://i.imgur.com/IoGc2jA.jpg

    The singular they is grammatically correct and has been for a long time.

    Made up pronouns like "xe" or whatever are worse.

  • sunn wolfsunn wolf
    inkblot_v2 said:

    it's awkwardly shoehorning a word to cover up a gap in the English lenguage.

    and it joins a long and proud tradition of shoehorning words to cover up gaps in the english language
  • TachyonTachyon
    edited 2013-01-26 20:48:28
    imagei will watch the heck outta this pumpkin patch
    Singular 'they' predates Shakespeare and the modern English language.  It may never have been accepted as standard, but people were using it long before there even was a standard, and it's still the most widely used.

    i'd rather use that than the alternatives, in any case.  'It' is no good because it dehumanizes, and 'he' is misleading.

    As for the neologisms, if one of them catches on i'll happily use that, but at the moment it's easier to just use whatever people prefer for themselves and retain 'they' for when the correct gender/pronoun is unknown.
  • Imipolex GImipolex G
    edited 2013-01-26 21:03:45
    Touch the cow. Do it now.
    ^Pretty much that.

    Personally, I think singular "they" does sound a bit awkward, but at the moment it's the best choice. If a new gender-neutral pronoun catches on, I'll use that, but none of them seem likely to do that right now.
  • Mr. DarcyMr. Darcy
    "It is a matter of grave importance that Fairy tales should be respected.... Whosoever alters them to suit his own opinions, whatever they are, is guilty, to our thinking, of an act of presumption, and appropriates to himself what does not belong to him." -- Charles Dickens
    inkblot_v2 said:

    Besides "it" and "they", of course. I will never get on board "they", it's awkwardly shoehorning a word to cover up a gap in the English lenguage.

    So is calling one person "you" instead of "thou".
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