Have you ever wondered whether using ‘they’ or ‘them’ as a gender-neutral reference to a single third person (i.e., using ‘they’ instead of ‘he’) is wrong? I always assumed it was technically wrong, but convenient when you don’t know or don’t wish to refer to a specific gender, and don’t want to be sexist by just choosing the masculine.
But on this topic, I just ran across a damn interesting article I thought I’d share with you.
“one” is a perfectly acceptable form when the gender isn’t specified.
[quote=“the chief”]“one” is a perfectly acceptable form when the gender isn’t specified.[/quote]Except that “one” can sound pretentious, and can cause problems of repetition.
I use “they” (to mean he/she) all the time. Never felt it was incorrect and have often taught people to use it.
If Shakespeare can used “they” as a gender-neutral third-peson singular pronoun, so can I. So nyah! :nyah:
Yup.
“One must wash one’s hands before partaking in one’s meal; afterwards one must brush one’s teeth.”
Ah, well, of course, much better to sacrifice acuity and accuracy in order to avoid sounding fucking “pretentious”.
Here’s a scoop, one the hard way:
The only people who think proper language sounds pretentious are the fuckwits who are too stupid or too lazy to use it.
I fail to see how either group merits consideration, where the consideration comprises mis- or ill-use of a mutually native tongue.
Why do people get so touchy about these things?
‘One’ can be an elegant solution, but it does sound stiff and overly formal. Probably partly because it is an import from French. ‘They’ can be a problem if you have multiple plural nouns in the sentence.
[quote=“the chief”]The only people who think proper language sounds pretentious are the fuckwits who are too stupid or too lazy to use it.
I fail to see how either group merits consideration, where the consideration comprises mis- or ill-use of a mutually native tongue.[/quote]
Actually, the people who use “one” in the proper way are in the most distinct minority, even among highly educated people. This is especially true in the U.S. Why care about the U.S. in this case? Megalomania? No. Largest population of native English speakers. “One” sounds uppity and “they” is technically inaccurate. There is no good pronoun to use in this case in English which is why most people run around saying “they”.
After reading DB’s article, I think that “they” was still wrong in this case, even if used originally. Shows me that the language has always been lacking for a pronoun of this type.
While that situation has bugged me, the one that drives me up a tree is the widespread use of “you” in telling first person stories. No one seems to say “I” anymore when talking about themselves. Some sort of linguistic, schizophrenic pandemic.
That’s what’s so interesting about the article – it debunks the notion that “they” is technically inacurrate. 
It really just states that “they” was used before it was prohibited. Not sure that ever made it accurate. Interesting article nonetheless.
[quote=“the chief”]Ah, well, of course, much better to sacrifice acuity and accuracy in order to avoid sounding fucking “pretentious”.[/quote]Well, it entirely depends on the audience you’re writing for, doesn’t it. I don’t see why the touchiness - I didn’t say it was wrong, and I only said it can sound pretentious. It’s all a matter of context.
That wasn’t directed at you, I know you didn’t necessarily endorse the assessment.
Sorry if it read like that.
[quote=“the chief”]That wasn’t directed at you, I know you didn’t necessarily endorse the assessment.
Sorry if it read like that.[/quote]No problem man.
Why not use IT.
[quote=“TomHill”]Why not use IT.
I’d fuck me…
[quote=“the chief”][quote=“TomHill”]Why not use IT.
I’d fuck me…[/quote]
You’d LOVE it too!
[quote]If someone used their political position to alter English grammar, would it work?
If that sentence bothered you, then the answer is yes.[/quote]
That sentence didn’t bother me so I guess the answer is no. Using “their” in that sentence is perfectly acceptable usage IMHO.
[quote=“TomHill”]Why not use IT.
That was the pronoun I thought this whole thread was about.
I never liked when my mom used to say, “Everyone and his brother.” Wouldn’t you cover more people if you said “Everyone and her brother” or “Everyone and his sister”?
Or better yet…
“Everyone and its siblings”
How about we invent a new pronoun. Let’s see:
she + he + it
s + h + it
shit!!!