The topic of gender-neutral and neopronouns has become a “hot” one lately. I have been sitting on this article for some time, and believe it’s right to publicize it now. I wrote it in Graduate School. It is the result of my term research work on the epicene (gender neutral) singular pronoun in English, way before most people had been introduced to the idea, and if it was used, it was not as strongly politicized.
This article I am sharing is old; I’ve been sitting on it for well over 10 years (from 2010 or so) so it does not address the immediate drama of the current debating on gender pronouns and gender issues in general. Nor does it offer any moral or value judgements that could apply to contemporary discourse. Instead, the article provides a matter of fact, sober, academic response to the oft-falsely-claimed argument of “they is not a singular pronoun.” How many times have you heard that one? Usually by folks who last studied grammar before they reached puberty!
I hope that this article and its proofs and points will be used widely in responding to unfounded arguments. Feel free to link it, distribute it, and share it in its entirety, or refer to it in your own research, groups, or publications.
Here are a couple of choice snippets:
“Chesterfield’s usage from 1759 is quoted in the OED (Oxford English Dictionary”
“Shakespeare used it at least twice…”
and
“the only valid references for what is permissible are…the usages observable in populations.”
Enjoy!
Leave a Reply