Is There Really a Singular 'THEY'? opus 586
| 10 June 2025 0415 Hours | | Linguistics, Behavior, Custom, Psychology |
'THEY'--the third person plural--is just that--plural.
But, know, that 'THEY' has struggled a vicarious existence.
Even you have most likely utilized the singular 'THEY'.
'EveryONE should put on THEIR life jackets now!'
'EACH student loves the time when THEY are free at recess.'
It is a 'borrowed' genderless pronoun, designating anyone.
Using 'HE or SHE' seems really awkward, not falling off the tongue.
Creating and using 'EX or HEESH'--clever, but will never catch on.
And now we have just added a new complication--
'THEY' as a personal pronoun! The 'new THEY'. (More on that to come.)
Many do not wish to use 'HE or SHE', 'HIM or HER'.
Being linguistically able, I could carefully use the 'new THEY',
But I even have trouble turning off the car radio,
Until that last bit of a classical music piece has concluded!