Current Events > Why do people pretend they don't understand singular they?

(+) Yeah! (+)

IfGodCouldDie posted...

1375

The fact that you have to explain that shows the average person did even less research than that. And around that time most people couldn't even read, much less understand the singular they.

And just think, if not for the destruction of a certain research center a lot of people would have a lot less of an excuse.

nocturnal_traveler posted...

When referring to the plural, or if the person they are referring to is an unknown. It's only recently that the individual they started to surface.

Nope.

Bass posted...

Yeah, I had a professor like that. It was a weird hangup of his. He taught IT classes and not English, obviously.

Edit, this was years ago now, and didn't have to do with transpeople. Just said singular they wasn't something you should use in your papers for some reason.

If one were to say such a thing, they must be hung up on the outdated method of saying he or she.

hockeybabe89 posted...

Nope.

Doesn't matter. The average person is less informed/intelligent than you think.

imagine adhering to elementary school level linguistics in adulthood
language is descriptive not prescriptive, and the vast majority of linguistic scholars wholeheartedly agree
like regardless of how you feel about self expression or gender identity
youre flat out fuckin stupid and wrong if you cant adapt to changes in your native language
type in fuckin 5th century english if you wanna be a stickler about rules

nocturnal_traveler posted...

Doesn't matter. The average person is less informed/intelligent than you think.

That's why a lot are bigots. They'd rather pretend they haven't used singular they their entire lives than use it when a non-binary person asks them.

It's all these newfangled woke-ass authors shoehorning it into their work for woke points.

Like Emily Dickinson.

Or Shakespeare.

Jupiter posted...

I will say that I distinctly remember being taught in 2nd grade in Mississippi that "they" is always plural and that it was incorrect to use "they" when in a singular fashion. This was a huge point because kids would always say "they" and the teacher would correct them to say "he or she."

Your teacher was an idiot, my dude.

pinky0926 posted...

Yeah, like you ever had a problem when a straight couple get married and the lady changes her surname -_-

Don't forget calling your teachers "Ms" or "Mrs."

Why is their marital status being shoved down our throats?

Just teach and keep your personal lives out of it obvi

Fwiw, I would understand if a non-native English speaker or someone who learned English as a second or third language was confused by the singular they. Those are almost never the ones taking issue with the singular they.

I'd allow some wiggle room with this. If someone's preference has been established then yes, choosing not to use it is incredibly disrespectful. However, referring to "they" with no context or previous knowledge of those preferences can be confusing at first.

PsychicHippo posted...

However, referring to "they" with no context or previous knowledge of those preferences can be confusing at first.

No, it is not.

DrizztLink posted...

No, it is not.

Actually it is, because most people are likely inclined to think of it as a plural.

PsychicHippo posted...

Actually it is, because most people are likely inclined to think of it as a plural.

No, it is not.

You and everyone you know use the singular they on a daily basis.

You're just getting conveniently confused when queerness is added to the equation.

I think some people are denying the singular "they" due to nefarious reasons, but I also think that some are being overly pedantic about grammar.

yes, there are instances in writing where singular "they" is 100% fine and usable. there are other instances when it can become confusing about whether you are referring to "they" as in singular or "they" as in a group.

like writing about three people, one goes by "he/him" the other "they/them" and the other "she/her"

"Patrick is a man, Jen is nonbinary. They are taller than Jill who is a woman, but he is shorter than they are."
who is taller than Jill? Patrick and Jen, or just Jen?
Is Patrick shorter than both Jen and Jill? or just Jen?

obviously this is a fringe hypothetical, but I can see where the pedantic crowd is coming from. They are most likely grammar nerds through and through. However, I do not think that they would make a big fuss over this, and instead would ask for more context than demand "don't use singular they"

the nefarious group, on the other hand? doesn't matter the context to them. they're gonna deny things that don't fit their worldview regardless of whether it is proper grammar.

DrizztLink posted...

No, it is not.

You and everyone you know use the singular they on a daily basis.

You're just getting conveniently confused when queerness is added to the equation.

I don't use it on a daily basis. At least not that I'm aware of. But that's cause I'm stupid. One time I said "it" when I was supposed to say "they", got in trouble for that but I legit forgot they was a word in my confusion at that time. The whole thing started cause I didn't know the person's gender, like as in their biological gender. It was a girl, I felt pretty bad after but that's just life as a stupid.

DrizztLink posted...

No, it is not.

You and everyone you know use the singular they on a daily basis.

You're just getting conveniently confused when queerness is added to the equation.

Well first, I am gay myself, and though I am secure in my own "he"-ness I am also very much on your side here. But you also have to understand it's a learning process and stop being so defensive or telling other people what's "convenient, " as you put it. As I stated in my first comment, it is disrespectful and minimizing to blatantly ignore someone's pronoun...when you know it. But are you seriously telling me that there's no way you can see how, if someone plows ahead with references to an unknown "they," it might take them two seconds to realize who is actually referred to? Come on now. That's as equally and willfully thick headed as those you're calling out.

BucketCat posted...

I think some people are denying the singular "they" due to nefarious reasons, but I also think that some are being overly pedantic about grammar.

yes, there are instances in writing where singular "they" is 100% fine and usable. there are other instances when it can become confusing about whether you are referring to "they" as in singular or "they" as in a group.

like writing about three people, one goes by "he/him" the other "they/them" and the other "she/her"

"Patrick is a man, Jen is nonbinary. They are taller than Jill who is a woman, but he is shorter than they are."
who is taller than Jill? Patrick and Jen, or just Jen?
Is Patrick shorter than both Jen and Jill? or just Jen?

obviously this is a fringe hypothetical, but I can see where the pedantic crowd is coming from. They are most likely grammar nerds through and through. However, I do not think that they would make a big fuss over this, and instead would ask for more context than demand "don't use singular they"

the nefarious group, on the other hand? doesn't matter the context to them. they're gonna deny things that don't fit their worldview regardless of whether it is proper grammar.

You can construct similar sentences without singular they that similarly need clarification.

Singular they is and always has been perfectly cromulent. Because it has its own very well defined time and place. Befitting the whole purpose of language.

Some are dumb enough to think it's a political statement.