tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6940841.post8605468302516134297..comments2024-02-02T07:41:55.155-05:00Comments on The Headpiece for the Staff of Ra: Quick debunking: Singular `they'MosBenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14396378353702882073noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6940841.post-50511076623994333172008-03-17T17:29:00.000-04:002008-03-17T17:29:00.000-04:00I forgot to include the link that prompted this po...<A HREF="http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/005423.html" REL="nofollow">I forgot to include the link that prompted this post.</A><BR/><BR/>As you were.Noumenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02442204504120141558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6940841.post-90417773312212030742008-03-16T22:10:00.000-04:002008-03-16T22:10:00.000-04:00I suppose I agree that "they" is acceptable becaus...I suppose I agree that "they" is acceptable because we lack a better alternative, but it's never sounded weird to me. I suppose I can see how it's awkward when I specifically think about it but when use it without thinking. For a while, at the height of my English major kick, I tried to correct myself when I'd drop a they bomb with a "he/she" or "his/her" but quickly decided that that was *way* more awkward than using they.MosBenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14396378353702882073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6940841.post-5905740762028980102008-03-16T14:30:00.000-04:002008-03-16T14:30:00.000-04:00The singular "they" is acceptable because there is...The singular "they" is acceptable because there is no alternative. But to my ears, it's ugly, awkward and clumsy. I try to avoid it whenever possible. <BR/><BR/>Some languages have gender-neutral personal pronouns to cover precisely the situations where we are forced to use "they". Unfortunately, English does not.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02620757577974844563noreply@blogger.com