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Singular they rule (pawb.social)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

177 comments fedilink hide all child comments

ALT TEXT:

Panel 1: A person with the text "Singular 'they'" written on them smiling with open arms.
Panel 2: "Singular 'They'" beaten up by others who said, "Singular they is ungrammatical. It's too confusing," "How can anyone use plural pronouns for singular," and "Every pronoun should only have one purpose."
Panel 3: "You" hiding from the mob who was beating "Singular 'They'"
Panel 4: "German 'Sie'" hiding with even more fear next to "You"

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

See my other comments in this thread as well, but using singular they to refer to a specific, known individual was never something that Shakespeare did, and that is the usage that people are up in arms about. Your example uses singular they to refer to an unknown person, which is a usage that's been around for centuries, yes.

[–] dudinax 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

We've always used singular "they" to refer to someone of an unknown gender.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Sure, I think we agree?