Thursday, October 15, 2015

20151015.0601

On one of the discussion boards to which I subscribe, there is at present something of an argument going on about the use of singular "they," as in such sentences as "Each one of us should know what they should do." There are many who rail against the phenomenon, raging about pronoun/antecedent agreement and asserting that "they" is a plural pronoun in all events and in all cases; for them, those who use the singular "they" are stupid and ruining the language. There are many others who identify the spread of singular "they"--and its use is increasing--as a simple reflection of the ongoing processes of language change. In such a view, the pronoun is expanding to fill a perceived hole in the language: a useful non-gendered singular personal pronoun, and those who use singular "they" are simply using already-available tools to do new work, much like using a screwdriver as a chisel or a pair of linesman's pliers as a hammer.

I admit inclining towards the second group. Although my usage still keeps "they" as a plural, and when I teach, I urge my students to do the same, I also note that in a few decades, the issue will not be debated so hotly, if at all; the pronoun will be accepted as both singular and plural. In the meantime, however, older readers--who are among the more likely to be signing paychecks--have expectations that must be met if the ideas to be put across are accepted, for which reason I exhort my students as I do. And as the argument rages on--sometimes literally, given some of the inflammatory comments made on both sides (and shamefully; those involved are supposed to be those who know better than to resort to ad hominem attacks), I find that I wonder about a number of things, some of which I list below in nothing resembling a particular order (don't tell my students):
  • "They" seems on track to be accepted as both singular and plural, as is the case with "you" now--at least "formally." But "you" as both causes confusion (which I think is the underpinning of one of the arguments against singular "they," and it is not a bad one), and there is motion away from having a single pronoun for second-person singular and plural use. (Guy Bailey and the late Jan Tillery have an article about one aspect of the phenomenon.) Why this would be, I am unsure.
  • Many of those who rail against singular "they" rail against other points of usage, as well. There seems to be a concept of (American) English having been perfect at some point, an idea of a "pure" form towards which earlier usage strove and since which usage has declined. When this is is never made clear. I would like to see someone argue a particular point at which the English of the United States was at its pinnacle.
  • Related to the previous: Change in language is documented, and with increasing abundance in English since 1476 and the introduction by Caxton of printing to England. The man himself complains of language change in the 1490 prologue to Eneydos, writing "And certainly our langage now vsed varyeth ferre from that whiche was vsed and spoken whan I was borne" (in Jack Lynch's online edition), and five hundred years have not changed the complaint made--which has itself not stopped the changes. Why the language should stop changing at some specific point eludes.

2 comments:

  1. My grammar class talked about plural "you" and epicene "they" yesterday. Anne Curzan and Ben Zimmer have some accessible thoughts on the matter.

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    1. Thanks for the leads! As time permits, I'll take a look.

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