Singular They - Wikipedia, Tdslghe Free Encyclopedia

7/17/2019 Singular They - Wikipedia, Tdslghe Free Encyclopedia

1/35

Singular /they/

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation , search

Look up /*they */ in Wiktionary, thefree dictionary.

*Singular /they/* is the use in English of the pronoun /they/, or its inflected or derivative forms,such as /them/, /their/, or /themselves/, as a "pronoun that is neutralbetween masculine and feminine",^[1] to refer to asingle person or an antecedent that isgrammatically singular. It typically occurs with an antecedent ofindeterminate gender, as in sentences such as:

* "/Everyone/ returned to /their/ seats."^[2] * "/Somebody/ left /their/ umbrella in the office. Would /they/ please collect it?"^[3] * "/The patient/ should be told at the outset how much /they/ will be required to pay."^[4] * "But /a journalist/ should not be forced to reveal /their/

sources."^[4]

A reason for its use is that English has no dedicated singular personalpronoun of indeterminate gender.^[5] In some cases, its use can beexplained by notional agreement because words like "everyone", thoughsingular in form, are plural in meaning.^[6] Its use in formalEnglish has increased in recent times with the trend towardgender-inclusive language ,^[4] but it has been used byrespected writers for centuries.^[7]

Though singular /they/ has a long history of usage and is common ineveryday English, its use has been criticized since the late nineteenthcentury, and acceptance varies.

Contents

[hide ]

* 1 Inflected forms and derivative pronouns * 2 Usage

o 2.1 Older usage by respected authors o 2.2 Trend to prescription of generic /he/ from 19th century o 2.3 Contemporary use of /he/ to refer to a generic or indefinite antecedent o 2.4 Trend to gender-neutral language from the 20th century + 2.4.1 Use for specific, known people


2/35

o 2.5 Contemporary usage + 2.5.1 Use with a pronoun antecedent + 2.5.2 Use with a generic noun as antecedent * 3 Acceptability and prescriptive guidance o 3.1 Usage guidance in BritishAmerican style guides o 3.2 Usage guidance in American style guides o 3.3 Usage guidance in British style guides o 3.4 Australian usage guidance o 3.5 Usage guidance in English grammars * 4 Grammatical and logical analysis o 4.1 Distribution o 4.2 Referential and non-referential anaphors * 5 Cognitive efficiency * 6 Comparison with other pronouns * 7 See also

* 8 Notes * 9 References * 10 Sources of original examples * 11 Bibliography * 12 External links

Inflected forms and derivative pronouns[edit ]

Inflected forms of third-person personal pronouns Subjective(nominative ) Objective(accusative ) Prenominal possessive

(dependent genitive) Predicative possessive (independent genitive) Reflexive *He * /He/ laughs. I hug /him/. /His/ hair grows.I use/his/. He feeds /himself/.*She * /She/ laughs. I hug /her/. /Her/ hair grows.I use/hers/. She feeds /herself/.Prototypical *they * When I tell my children a joke /they/laugh. Whether they win or lose, I hug /them./ As long as people live,/their/ hair grows. Most of my friends have cell phones, so I use/theirs/. The children feed /themselves/.

*Singular /they/* When I tell someone a joke /they/ laugh. When Igreet a friend I hug /them/. When someone does not get a haircut,/their/ hair grows long. If my mobile phone runs out of power, a friendlets me borrow /theirs/. Each child feeds /themself/. (nonstandard)*Generic /he/* When Itell someone a joke /he/ laughs. When I greet a friend I hug /him/.When someone does not get a haircut, /his/ hair grows long. If mymobile phone runs out of power, a friend lets me borrow /his/. Eachchild feeds /himself/.


3/35

Singular /they/ has the same inflected forms as the "normal", plural/they/, i.e. /them/ and /their/. They are usually both used with thesame verb forms, i.e. "when I tell someone a joke /they/ laugh*s*" wouldbe non-standard.

The reflexive form /themselves/ is sometimes used but there is analternative reflexive form /themself/. Although /themself/ has a longhistory and re-emerged in the 1980s, it is still fairly rare and isaccepted only by a minority.^[8] ^[9] ^[10] It is sometimes used whenreferring to a single person of indeterminate gender, where the pluralform /themselves/ might seem incongruous, as in

* "It is not an actor pretending to be Reagan or Thatcher, it is, in grotesque form, the person themself."Hislop (1984);^[11] quoted in Fowler's^[12]

Singular /themself/ is used systematically in Canadian federallegislative texts in opposition to the plural /themselves/.

* "Where a recipient of an allowance under section 4 absents themself from Canada [...]"/War Veterans Allowance Act/, section 14.^[13] * "[...] the following conditions are imposed on a person or group of persons in respect of whom a deposit is required: [...] to present themself or themselves at the time and place that an officer or the Immigration Division requires them to appear to comply with any obligation imposed on them under the Act."/Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations/, section 48.^[14]

Usage[edit ]

Further information: Gender-specific and gender-neutral pronouns

/They/ with a singular antecedent has remained in common use forcenturies in spite of its proscription by traditional grammarians.^[15] Such use goes back to the MiddleEnglish of the 14th century.^[16] ^[17]

Older usage by respected authors[edit

]

It is found in the writings of many respected authors, including Chaucer, Shakespeare , JaneAusten , Thackeray, and Shaw :

* "And whoso fyndeth hym out of swich blame,

/They/ wol come up . . ."


4/35

Chaucer, /The Pardoner's Prologue/ (c. 1395);^[18] quoted by Jespersen and thence in /Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage/.^[19]

* " 'Tis meet that some more audience than /a mother/, since nature makes /them/ partial, should o'erhear the speech." Shakespeare, /Hamlet / (1599);^[20] quoted in /Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage/.^[21] * "If /a person/ is born of a . . . gloomy temper . . . /they/ cannot help it." Chesterfield, /Letter to his son/ (1759);^[22] quoted in /Fowler's/.^[23] * "Now /nobody/ does anything well that /they/ cannot help doing" Ruskin, /The Crown of Wild Olive/ (1866);^[24] quoted in /Fowler's/.^[23] * "/Nobody/ in /their/ senses would give sixpence on the strength of a promissory note of the kind." Bagehot, /The Liberal Magazine/ (1910);^[25] quoted in /Fowler's/.^[26] * "I would have /every body/ marry if /they/ can do it properly."

Austen , /Mansfield Park / (1814);^[27] quoted in /Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage/.^[19] * Caesar: "No, Cleopatra. /No man/ goes to battle to be killed."

Cleopatra: "But /they/ do get killed" Shaw , /Caesar and Cleopatra / (1901);^[28] quoted in Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage.^[21]

* "/A person/ can't help /their/ birth." W. M. Thackeray, /Vanity Fair/ (1848);^[29] quoted in /Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage/.^[19]

Alongside /they/, however, it was also acceptable to use the pronoun/he/ as a (purportedly) gender-neutral pronoun,^[30] as in the following:

* "Suppose the life and fortune of /every one of us/ would depend on /his/ winning or losing a game of chess." Thomas Huxley , /A Liberal Education/ (1868);^[31]

quoted by Baskervill.^[32] * "If /any one/ did not know it, it was /his/ own fault." George Washington Cable , /Old Creole Days/ (1879);^[33] quoted by Baskervill.^[32] * "/No one/ shall be arbitrarily deprived of /his/ nationality nor denied the right to change /his/ nationality." Article 15, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).^[34]


5/35

In Thackeray's writings, we find both

* "/A person/ can't help /their/ birth."Rosalind in W. M. Thackeray, /Vanity Fair/ (1848);^[29] quoted from the OED by Curzan in /Gender Shifts in the History of English/.^[35]

and

* "/Every person/ who turns this page has /his/ own little diary." W. M. Thackeray, /On Lett's Diary/ (1869);^[36] quoted in Baskervill, /An English Grammar/.^[37]

And Caxton writes

* "/Eche of theym/ sholde . . . make /theymselfe/ redy." Caxton , /Sonnes of Aymon/ (c. 1489)^[38]

alongside

* "/Who/ of thise wormes shall be byten, /He/ must have triacle; Yf not that, /he/ shall deye." Caxton , /Dialogues in French and English/ (c. 1483).^[39]

Trend to prescription of generic /he/ from 19th century[edit ]

Preferring /he/ as a purportedly gender-neutral pronoun,nineteenth-century grammarians insisted on a singular pronoun on thegrounds of number agreement, though permitting the apparent lack ofgender agreement, and rejecting "he or she" as clumsy.^[40]

A recommendation to use the generic /he/, rather than /they/, in formalEnglish can be found as early as the mid-18th century, in Ann Fisher's /A New Grammar/, where she writes:

The /Masculine Person/ answers to the /general Name/, which comprehends both /Male/ and /Female/; as, /any Person who knows what he says/^[41] (as quoted by Ostade^[42] )

An 1895 grammar (Baskervill, W.M. and Sewell, J.W.: /An English Grammar

for the Use of High School, Academy and College Class/) notes the commonuse of the singular /they/ but recommends use of the generic /he/, onthe basis of number agreement:

Another way of referring to an antecedent which is a distributive pronoun [e.g. /everybody/] or a noun modified by a distributive adjective [e.g. every], is to use the plural of the pronoun following. This is not considered the best usage, the logical analysis requiring the singular pronoun in each case; but the construction is frequently found /when the antecedent includes or


6/35

implies both genders/. The masculine does not really represent a feminine antecedent, and the expression /his or her/ is avoided as being cumbrous.

Baskervill, An English Grammar^[43]

Baskervill gives a number of examples of recognized authors using thesingular /they/, including

* "/Every one/ must judge according to /their/ own feelings." Byron, /Werner/ (1823),^[44] quoted as "/Every one/ must judge of [sic] /their/ own feelings."^[43] * "Had the Doctor been contented to take my dining tables as /any body/ in /their/ senses would have done " Austen, /Mansfield Park/ (1814);^[45] ^[43] * "If the part deserve any comment, every considering /Christian/ will make it to /themselves/ as /they/ go " Defoe, /The Family Instructor/ (1816);^[46] ^[43] * "/Every person's/ happiness depends in part upon the respect /they/ meet in the world " Paley,^[47]

^[43]

but prefers the use of /he/:

[] when the antecedent includes both masculine and feminine, or is a distributive word, taking in each of many persons,the *preferred* method is to put the pronoun following in the masculine singular []

Baskervill, An English Grammar^[37]

In 1850, the British Parliament passed an act which provided that, when

used in acts of Parliament "words importing the masculine gender shallbe deemed and taken to include females".^[48] ^[49]

It has been argued that the real motivation for promoting the "generic"/he/ was an androcentic world view, with the default sex of humans beingmale and the default gender therefore being masculine.^[40]

As Wilson wrote in 1560

* " let us keepe a naturall order, and set the man before the woman

for maners sake". Wilson, /The arte of Rhetorique/ (1560);^[50] * " the worthier is preferred and set before. As a man is set before a woman " Wilson, /The arte of Rhetorique/ (1560);^[51]

and Poole wrote in 1646

* "The Masculine gender is more worthy than the Feminine." Poole /The English Accidence/ (1646); ^[52]


7/35

cited by Bodine^[53]

In spite of continuous attempts on the part of educationalists toproscribe singular /they/ in favour of /he/, its use remainedwidespread, and the advice was largely ignored, even by writers of theperiod, though the advice may have been observed more by Americanwriters.^[54] ^[55]

Use of the purportedly gender-neutral /he/ remained acceptable until atleast the 1960s,^[30] though someuses of /he/ were later criticized as being awkward or silly, forinstance when referring to:^[21]

* indeterminate persons of both sexes: o "the ideal that /every boy and girl/ should be so equipped that /he/ shall not be handicapped in /his/ struggle for social progress " C.C. Fries, /American English Grammar/, (1940).^[56] * known persons of both sexes: o "She and Louis had a gamewho could find the ugliest photograph of himself." Joseph P. Lash, /Eleanor and Franklin/ (1971)^[57]

Contemporary use of /he/ to refer to a generic or indefinite antecedent[edit ]

/He/ is still sometimes found in contemporary writing when referring toa generic or indeterminate antecedent. In some cases it is clear fromthe situation that the persons potentially referred to are likely to bemale, as in

* "The patient should be informed of his therapeutic options." in a

text about prostate cancer (2004)^[58]

In some cases the antecedent may refer to persons who are only/probably/ male or to occupations traditionally thought of as male:

* "It wouldn't be as if /the lone astronaut/ would be completely by /himself/." (2008)^[59] * "Kitchen table issues . . . are ones /the next president/ can actually do something about if /he/ actually cares about it. More likely if she cares about it!" Hillary Rodham Clinton (2008)^[60]

In other situations, the antecedent may refer to:

* an indeterminate person of either sex: o "Now, a writer is entitled to have a Roget on /his/ desk."Barzun (1985);^[61] quoted in /Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage/^[19] o "They're going to appoint a new manager. Well I hope /he/ does a better job than the present one."^[62]


8/35

o "A Member of Parliament should always live in /his/ constituency."^[62]

In 2010, we still find the use of generic /he/ recommended:

" . . . when indefinite pronouns are used as antecedents, they require /singular/ subject, object, and possessive pronouns . . ."

* "/Everyone/ did as /he/ pleased" . . .

"In informal spoken English, plural pronouns are often used with indefinite pronoun antecedents. However, this construction is generally not considered appropriate in formal speech or writing.

INFORMAL: /Somebody/ should let you borrow /their/ book.

FORMAL: /Somebody/ should let you borrow /his/ book."

Choy, Basic Grammar and Usage^[63]

In 2015, /Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage/ calls this "thenow outmoded use of /he/ to mean 'anyone'",^[64] stating

"From the earliest times until about the 1960s it was unquestionably acceptable to use the pronoun /he/ (and /him/, /himself/, /his/) with indefinite reference to denote a person of either sex, especially after indefinite pronouns and determiners such as /anybody/, ... /every/, etc., after gender-neutral nouns such as /person/ ... [but] alternative devices are now usually resorted to. When a gender-neutral pronoun or determiner ... is needed, the options usually adopted are the plural forms /they/, /their/, /themselves/, etc., or /he or she/ (/his or her/, etc.)"

/Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage/^[65]

Trend to gender-neutral language from the 20th century[edit ]

In the second half of the 20th century, people expressed concern at theuse of sexist and male-oriented language.^[66] Such usage includednot only the use of /man/ as a false generic but also the use of /he/ asa generic pronoun.^[67]

It was argued that /he/ could not sensibly be used as a generic pronoun

understood to include men and women. William Safire in his /On Language/ column in /The New YorkTimes/ approved of the use of generic /he/, mentioning the mnemonicphrase "the male embraces the female/.^[68] / C. Adendyck fromBrooklyn wrote to the /New York Times / in a reply:

"The average American needs the small routines of getting ready for work. As he shaves or blow-dries his hair or pulls on his panty-hose, he is easing himself by small stages into the demands of


9/35

the day."

C. Badendyck [/sic/], New York Times (1985)

^[69] as quoted by Miller and Swift.^[70]

By 1980, the movement had gained wide support, and many organizations,including most publishers, had issued guidelines on the use ofgender-neutral language.^[66]

Use for specific, known people[edit ]

In some situations, an individual may be known but referred to using thepronoun /they/ because their gender is unknown or because "they" istheir preferred pronoun;^[71] social media applications,for example, may permit account holders to select a nonbinary gendersuch as "gender fluid " or "bigender" and a pronoun, including /they///them/ which they wishto be used when referring to them.^[72]

Contemporary usage[edit ]

The use of masculine generic nouns and pronouns in written and spokenlanguage has decreased since the 1960s.^[73] In a corpus of spontaneous speechcollected in Australia in the 1990s, singular /they/ had become the mostfrequently used generic pronoun.^[73] Similarly, a study from 2002looking at a corpus of American and British newspapers showed apreference for /they/ to be used (rather than generic /he/ or /he orshe/) as a singular epicene pronoun.^[74]

The increased use ofsingular /they/ may be at least partly due to an increasing desire forgender-neutral language . While writers ahundred years ago might have had no qualm using /he/ with a referent ofindeterminate gender, writers today often feel uncomfortable with this.One solution in formal writing has often been to write /he or she/, orsomething similar, but this is considered awkward when used excessively,overly politically correct , or both.^[75] [76]

In contemporary usage, singular /they/ is usedat least by someto referto an indeterminate antecedent, for instance when the notional gender ornumber of the antecedent is indeterminate or the sex (social gender) of

the real-word entity referred to is unknown or unrevealed. Examplesinclude different types of usage.

Use with a pronoun antecedent[edit ]

The singular antecedent can be a pronoun such as everybody, someone,anybody, or an interrogative pronoun such as "who":


10/35

* with /everybody/, /everyone/ etc.: o "/Everybody/ was crouched behind the furniture to surprise me, and /they/ tried to. But I already knew /they/ were there." Example given by Garner.^[77] o "/Everyone/ promised to behave /themselves/." Example given by Huddleston et.al.^[4] o "/Everyone/ returned to /their/ seats." Example given by Pinker.^[2] * with /nobody/ or /no one/: o "/Nobody/ was late, were /they/?" Example given by Swan.^[3] o "/No one/ put /their/ hand up." Example given by Huddleston et.al.^[78] o "/No one/ felt /they/ had been misled." Example given by Huddleston et.al.^[4] * with /somebody/ or /someone/: o "I feel that if /someone/ is not doing /their/ job it should be called to /their/ attention."An American newspaper (1984); quoted by Fowler.^[79] * with /anybody/ or /anyone/: o "If /anyone/ tells you that America's best days are behind her, then /they'/re looking the wrong way." President George Bush,

1991 State of the Union Address;^[80] quoted by Garner^[81] o "/Anyone/ can set /themselves/ up as an acupuncturist."Sarah Lonsdale "Sharp Practice Pricks Reputation of Acupuncture." Observer 15 December 1991, as cited by Garner^[81] o "If /anybody/ calls, take /their/ name and ask /them/ to call again later." Example given by Swan^[3] * even where the gender is known or assumed: o "Under new rules to be announced tomorrow, it will be illegal for /anyone/ to donate an organ to /their/ wife." Ballantyne,

"Transplant Jury to Vet Live Donors", /Sunday Times/ (London) 25 3. 1990, as cited by Garner^[81] * with an interrogative pronoun as antecedent: o "/Who/ thinks /they/ can solve the problem?". Example given by Huddleston et.al.; /The Cambridge Grammar of the English language/.^[82]

Use with a generic noun as antecedent[edit ]

The singular antecedent can also be a noun such as /person/, /patient/,

or /student/:

* with a noun (e.g. person, student, patient) used generically (e.g. in the sense of any member of that class or a specific member unknown to the speaker or writer) o ". . . if /the child/ possesses the nationality or citizenship of another country, /they/ may lose this when /they/ get a British passport." From a British passport application form; quoted by Swan.^[3] o "cognitive dissonance: "a concept in psychology [that] describes


11/35

the condition in which /a person's/ attitudes conflict with /their/ behaviour"./Macmillan Dictionary of Business and management/ (1988), as cited by Garner.^[81] o "A starting point would be to give more support to /the company secretary/. /They/ are, or should be, privy to the confidential deliberations and secrets of the board and the company. Ronald Severn. "Protecting the Secretary Bird". Financial Times, 6 January 1992; quoted by Garner.^[81] * with representatives of a class previously referred to in the singular o "I had to decide: Is /this person/ being irrational or is he right? Of course, /they/ were often right."Robert Burchfield in /U.S. News & World Report/ 11 August 1986, as cited in /Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage/^[19] * Even when referring to a class of persons of known sex, /they/ is sometimes used.^[83] o "I swear more when I'm talking to /a boy/, because I'm not afraid of shocking /them/". From an interview.^[3] o "/No mother/ should be forced to testify against /their/ child/"./ * /They/ may also be used with antecedents of mixed genders: o "Let me know if /your father or your mother/ changes /their/

mind." Example given by Huddleston et al.^[4] o "Either /the husband or the wife/ has perjured /themself/." Here /themself/ might be acceptable to some, /themselves/ seems less acceptable, and /himself/ is unacceptable. Example given by Huddleston et al.^[4] * Even for a definite known person of known sex, /they/ may be used in order to ignore or conceal the sex. o "I had /a friend/ in Paris, and /they/ had to go to hospital for a month." (definite person, not identified)^[3] * The word /themself/ is also sometimes used:

o "/Someone/ has apparently locked /themself/ in the office."[acceptability questionable]^[4]

Acceptability and prescriptive guidance[edit ]

Though both generic /he/ and generic /they/ have long histories of use,and both are still used, both are also systematically avoided byparticular groups.^[84] Style guides that avoid expressing a preference for either approachsometimes recommend recasting a problem sentence, for instance replacing

generic expressions with plurals to avoid the criticisms of either party.

The use of singular /they/ may be more accepted in British English thanin American English,^[85] or viceversa.^[1]

Usage guidance in BritishAmerican style guides[edit ]


12/35

/*The Handbook of Non-Sexist Writing*/ by Casey Miller and Kate Swiftwas first published in the United States but, because of differences inculture and vocabulary, separate British editions have since beenpublished. These authors accept or recommend singular uses of /they/ notjust in cases where there is an element of semantic plurality expressedby a word such as "everyone" but also where an indeterminate /person/ isreferred to, citing examples of such usage even in formal speech. Forinstance, they quote Ronald Reagan:

* "You must identify /the person/ who has the power to hire you and show /them/ how your skills can help /them/ with /their/ problems."^[86]

In addition to use of singular /they/, they and others also suggesta number of ways to avoid "the pronoun problem" in gender-neutralwriting. One strategy is to rewrite the sentence to use a plural /they/.For instance, in a newspaper story

* "Each candidate [two men and six women] had to write a description of himself . . ."

could have been changed to

* "The candidates had to write a description of themselves . .

.".^[87]

Another strategy is to eliminate the pronoun; so

* "A handicapped child may be able to feed and dress himself."

becomes

* "A handicapped child may be able to eat and get dressed without help."^[88]

Other methods of avoiding gender preference include recasting a sentenceto use "one", or (for babies) "it".^[89]

Usage guidance in American style guides[edit ]

/*Garner's Modern American Usage*/ (2003) recommends cautioususe of singular /they/, and avoidance where possible because its use isstigmatized.

* "Where nounpronoun disagreement can be avoided, avoid it. Where it can't be avoided, resort to it cautiously because some people will

doubt your literacy . . .".^[90]

Garner suggests that use of singular /they/ is more acceptable inBritish English:

* "Speakers of AmE resist this development more than speakers of BrE, in which the indeterminate /they/ is already more or less standard."^[85]

and apparently regrets the resistance by the American language community:


13/35

* "That it sets many literate Americans' teeth on edge is an unfortunate obstacle to what promises to be the ultimate solution to the problem."^[85]

He regards the trend toward using singular /they/ with antecedents like/everybody/, /anyone/ and /somebody/ as inevitable:

* "Disturbing though these developments may be to purists, they're irreversible. And nothing that a grammarian says will change them."^[6]

In the 14th edition (1993) of /*The Chicago Manual of Style*/, the University of Chicago Pressexplicitly recommended use of singular use of /they/ and /their/, notinga "revival" of this usage and citing "its venerable use by such writersas Addison, Austen, Chesterfield, Fielding, Ruskin, Scott, andShakespeare."^[91] Fromthe 15th edition, this was changed. In Chapter 5 of the 16th edition,now written by Bryan A. Garner, the recommendations are:

"*The singular /they/*. A singular antecedent requires a singular referent pronoun. Because /he/ is no longer accepted as a generic pronoun referring to a person of either sex, it has become common in

speech and in informal writing to substitute the third-person plural pronouns /they/, /them/, /their/, and /themselves/, and the nonstandard singular /themself/. While this usage is accepted in casual context, it is still considered ungrammatical in formal writing."^[92]

and

"*Gender bias*. . . . On the one hand, it is unacceptable to a great many reasonable readers to use the generic masculine pronoun (/he/ in reference to no one in particular). On the other hand, it is unacceptable to a great many readers (often different readers) either to resort to non-traditional gimmicks to avoid the generic

masculine (by using /he/she/ or /s/he/, for example) or to use /they/ as a kind of singular pronoun. Either way, credibility is lost with some readers."^[84]

According to /*The American Heritage Book of English Usage*/, manyAmericans avoid use of /they/ to refer to a singular antecedent out ofrespect for a "traditional" grammatical rule, despite use of singular/they/ by modern writers of note and mainstream publications:

* "Most of the Usage Panel rejects the use of /they/ with singular antecedents as ungrammatical, even in informal speech. Eighty-two percent find the sentence /The typical student in the

program takes about six years to complete their course work/ unacceptable. . . . panel members seem to make a distinction between singular nouns, such as /the typical student/ and /a person/, and pronouns that are grammatically singular but semantically plural, such as /anyone/, /everyone/ and /no one/. Sixty-four percent of panel members accept the sentence /No one is willing to work for those wages anymore, are they?/"^[93]


14/35

The /*Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association*/explicitly reject the use of singular /they/ and gives the followingexample as "incorrect" usage:

* "/Neither/ the highest scorer nor the lowest scorer in the group had any doubt about /their/ competence."

while also specifically taking the position that generic /he/ isunacceptable. The APA recommends using /he or she/, recasting thesentence with a plural subject to allow correct use of /they/, or simplyrewriting the sentence to avoid issues with gender or number.^[94]

Strunk & White, the authors of /*The Elements of Style*/ find use of /they/ with a singularantecedent unacceptable:

"*They.* Not to be used when the antecedent is a distributive expression, such as /each/, /each one/. /everybody/, /every one/, /many a man/. Use the singular pronoun. [. . . ] A similar fault is the use of the plural pronoun with the antecedent /anybody/, /anyone/, /somebody/, /someone/ [. . . ] The use of /he/ as pronoun for nouns embracing both genders is a simple, practical convention

rooted in the beginnings of the English language. "

Their assessment, in 1979, was

"/He/ has lost all suggestion of maleness in these circumstances. [. . .] It has no pejorative connotation; it is never incorrect."^[95]

*Joseph M. Williams *, who wrote a number ofbooks on writing with "clarity and grace", discusses the advantagesand disadvantages of various solutions when faced with the problem ofreferring to an antecedent such as /someone/, /everyone/, /no one/ or a

noun that does not indicate gender and suggests that this will continueto be a problem for some time. He "suspect[s] that eventually we willaccept the plural /they/ as a correct singular" but states thatcurrently "formal usage requires a singular pronoun".^[96]

According to /*The Little, Brown Handbook*/, most expertsand someteachers and employersfind use of singular /they/ unacceptable:

"Although some experts accept /they/, /them/, and /their/ with singular indefinite words, most do not, and many teachers and employers regard the plural as incorrect. To be safe, work for agreement between singular indefinite words and the pronouns that

refer to them [. . . ]"

It recommends using /he or she/ or avoiding the problem by rewriting thesentence to use a plural or omit the pronoun.^[97]

The /*Purdue Online Writing Lab*/ (OWL) maintains that singular /they/is incorrect:

"Remember: the words /everybody/, /anybody/, /anyone/, /each/,


15/35

/neither/, /nobody/, /someone/, /a person/, etc. are singular and take singular pronouns."^[98]

Usage guidance in British style guides[edit ]

In the first edition of /*A Dictionary of Modern English Usage*/ (published in 1926) it isstated that singular /they/ is disapproved of by grammarians and shouldbe avoided in favour of the generic /he/. Examples of its use by eminentwriters are given, but it is suggested that "few good modern writerswould flout [grammarians] so conspicuously as Fielding and Thackeray",whose sentences are described as having an "old-fashioned sound".^[26]

In the second edition of Fowler's, /*Fowler's Modern English Usage*/ (edited by Sir ErnestGowers and published in 1965), it is stated thatsingular /they/ is disapproved of by grammarians and, while common incolloquial speech, should preferably be avoided in favour of the generic/he/ in prose. Numerous examples of its use by eminent writers aregiven, but it is still suggested that "few good modern writers wouldflout [grammarians] so conspicuously as Fielding and Thackeray".^[99]

According to the third edition of Fowler's (/*The New Fowler's ModernEnglish Usage */, edited byBurchfield and published in 1996) singular /they/ has not only beenwidely used by good writers for centuries, but is now generallyaccepted, except by some conservative grammarians, including the Fowlerof 1926, who ignored the evidence:

"Over the centuries, writers of standing have used /they/, /their/, and /them/ with anaphoric reference to a singular noun or pronoun, and the practice has continued in the 20C. to the point that, traditional grammarians aside, such constructions are hardly noticed

any more or are not widely felt to lie in a prohibited zone. Fowler (1926) disliked the practice [. . .] and gave a number of unattributed 'faulty' examples [. . . ] The evidence presented in the /OED/ points in another direction altogether."^[23]

/*The Complete Plain Words */ wasoriginally written in 1948 by Sir Ernest Gowers, a civil servant, in anattempt by the British civil service to improve "official English". Asecond edition, edited by Sir Bruce Fraser, was published in 1973. Itrefers to /they/ or /them/ as the "equivalent of a singular pronoun ofcommon sex" as "common in speech and not unknown in serious writing "but "stigmatized by grammarians as usage grammatically indefensible. The

book's advice for "official writers" (civil servants) is to avoid itsuse and not to be tempted by its "greater convenience", though"necessity may eventually force it into the category of acceptedidiom".^[100]

A new edition of /*Plain Words */, revised andupdated by Sir Ernest Gowers' great granddaughter, Rebecca Gowers, waspublished in 2014. It notes that singular /they/ and /them/ have becomemuch more widespread since Gowers' original comments, but still finds it"safer" to treat a sentence like 'The reader may toss their book aside'


16/35

as incorrect "in formal English", while rejecting even more stronglysentences like

* "There must be opportunity for the individual boy or girl to go as far as his keennness and ability will take him."^[101]

/*The Times Style and Usage Guide*/ (first publishedin 2003 by /The Times/ of London) recommends avoiding sentences like

* "If someone loves animals, they should protect them."

by using a plural construction:

* "If people love animals, they should protect them."

/*The Cambridge Guide to English Usage*" (2004) finds singular/they /"unremarkable":/

"For those listening or reading, it has become unremarkablean element of common usage.^[102]

It expresses several preferences.

* "Generic/universal /their/ provides a gender-free pronoun, avoiding the exclusive /his/ and the clumsy /his/her/. It avoids gratuitous sexism and gives the statement broadest reference . . . /They/, /them/, /their/ are now freely used in agreement with singular indefinite pronouns and determiners, those with universal implications such as any(one), every(one), no(one), as well as each and some(one), whose reference is often more individual . . ."^[102]

/*The Economist Style Guide*/ refers to the use of/they/ in sentences like

* "We can't afford to squander anyone's talents, whatever colour their skin is."

as "scrambled syntax that people adopt because they cannot bringthemselves to use a singular pronoun".^[103]

/*The New Hart's Rules */ is aimed at thoseengaged in copy editing, and the emphasis is on the formal elements ofpresentation including punctuation and typeface, rather than onlinguistic style butlike /The Chicago Manual of Style/makes occasionalforays into matters of usage. It advises against use of the purportedlygender-neutral /he/, and suggests cautious use of /they/ where /he or

she/ presents problems.

". . . it is now regarded. . . as old-fashioned or sexist to use /he/ in reference to a person of unspecified sex, as in /every child needs to know that he is loved./ The alternative /he or she/ is often preferred, and in formal contexts probably the best solution, but can become tiresome or long-winded when used frequently. Use of /they/ in this sense (/everyone needs to feel that they matter/) is becoming generally accepted both in speech and in writing, especially where it occurs after an indefinite pronoun such as


17/35

/everyone/ or /someone/, but should not be imposed by an editor if an author has used /he or she/ consistently."^[104]

The 2011 edition of the /*New International Version Bible */ uses singular/they/ instead of the traditional /he/ when translating pronouns thatapply to both genders in the original Greek or Hebrew. This decision wasbased on research by a commission that studied modern English usage anddetermined that singular /they/ (/them///their/) was by far the mostcommon way that English-language speakers and writers today refer backto singular antecedents such as /whoever/, /anyone/, /somebody/, /aperson/, /no one/, and the like."^[105]

Australian usage guidance[edit ]

The Australian /*Federation Press Style Guide for use in preparation ofbook manuscripts*/ recommends "Gender-neutral language should be used",stating that use of /they/ and /their/ as singular pronouns isacceptable.^[106]

Usage guidance in English grammars[edit ]

According to /*A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language*/ (1985):

"The pronoun /they/ is commonly used as a 3rd person singular pronoun that is neutral between masculine and feminine. . . . At one time restricted to informal usage. it is now increasingly accepted in formal usage, especially in [American English].^[1]

/*The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language*/ discusses theprescriptivist argument that /they/ is a plural pronoun and that the useof /they/ with a singular "antecedent" therefore violates the rule ofagreement between antecedent and pronoun, but takes the view that/they/, though /primarily/ plural, can also be singular in a secondary/extended/ sense, comparable to the purportedly extended sense of /he/to include female gender.^[8]

Use of singular /they/ is stated to be "particularly common", even"stylistically neutral" with antecedents such as /everyone/, /someone/,and /no one/, but more restricted when referring to common nouns as

antecedents, as in

* "/The patient/ should be told at the outset how much /they/ will be required to pay."^[4] * "/A friend of mine/ has asked me to go over and help /them/ . . ."^[8]

Use of the pronoun /themself/ is described as being "rare" and"acceptable only to a minority of speakers", while use of themorphologically plural /themselves/ is considered problematic when


18/35

referring to /someone/ rather that /everyone/ (since only the latterimplies a plural set).^[8]

There are also issues of grammatical acceptability when reflexivepronouns refer to singular noun phrases joined by /or/, the followingall being problematic:

* "Either the husband or the wife has perjured /himself/." [ungrammatical] * "Either the husband or the wife has perjured /themselves/." [of questionable grammaticality] * "Either the husband or the wife has perjured /themself/." [typically used by only some speakers of Standard English].^[8]

On the motivation for using singular /they/, /*A Student's Introductionto English Grammar*/ states

"this avoidance of /he/ can't be dismissed just as a matter of political correctness. The real problem with using /he/ is that it unquestionably colours the interpretation, sometimes inappropriately. . . /he/ doesn't have a genuinely sex-neutral sense".^[9]

The alternative /he or she/ can be "far too cumbersome", as in

* "/Everyone/ agreed that he or she would bring his or her lunch with /him or her/.

or even "flatly ungrammatical", as in

* "/Everyone's here, isn't/ he or she/?^[9] /

"Among younger speakers", use of singular /they/ even with definitenoun-phrase antecedents finds increasing acceptance, "sidestepping anypresumption about the sex of the person referred to", as in

* "You should ask /your partner/ what /they/ think." * "/The person/ I was with said /they/ hated the film." Example given by Huddleston et al.^[9]

Grammatical and logical analysis[edit ]

Steven Pinker suggests that "singular" /they/ andplural /they/ can be regarded as a pair of homonyms two words with different meanings but the same spelling and sound.^[107] However, thisanalysis is not extended to /you/, another originally plural pronoun

that has come to have singular use.

Distribution[edit ]

Distributive constructions apply a /single/ idea to /multiple/ membersof a group. They are typically marked in English by words like /each/,/every/ and /any/. The simplest examples are applied to groups of two,and use words like /either/ and /or/"Would you like tea or coffee?".


19/35

Since distributive constructions apply an idea relevant to eachindividual in the group, rather than to the group as a whole, they aremost often conceived of as singular, and a singular pronoun is used.

* "England expects that every man will do his duty ."Nelson (1806, referring to a fleet crewed by male sailors) * "Every dog hath his day." John Ray /A Collection of English Proverbs/ (1670), originally from Plutarch , /Moralia/, c. 95 AD, regarding the death of Euripides .

However, many languages, including English, show ambivalence in thisregard. Because distribution also requires a group with more than onemember, plural forms are sometimes used.^[a]

Referential and non-referential anaphors[edit ]

According to the traditional analysis ,English personal pronouns (e.g. /his/,/her/, /their/) are typically used to refer backward (or forward) within

a sentence to a noun phrase (which may be a simplenoun ). This reference is called an /anaphoric/ reference,and the referring pronoun is termed an /anaphor/.^[b] ^[109]

The so-called singular /they/ is morphologically plural, and isaccompanied by a plural verb. However, it is often used in circumstanceswhere an indeterminate antecedent is signified by an indefinite singularantecedent; for example,

* "The /person/ you mentioned, are /they/ coming?"

In some sentences, typically those including words like /every/ or/any/, the morphologically singular antecedent does not refer to asingle entity but is "anaphorically linked" to the associated pronoun toindicate a set of pairwise relationships, as in the sentence:^[109]

* "/Everyone/ returned to /their/ seats." (where each person is associated with one seat)

One explanation given for the use of /they/ to refer to a singularantecedent is /notional agreement/, when the antecedent is seen assemantically plural, as in the Shaw quotation

* "/No man/ goes to battle to be killed." . . . "But /they/ do get killed. [/Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage/]^[21]

In other words, in the Shaw quotation /no man/ is syntacticallysingular, demonstrated by taking the singular form /goes/; however, itis semantically plural (/all/ go [to kill] not to be killed), henceidiomatically requiring /they/.^[110]


20/35

Linguists like Pinker and Huddleston explainsentences like this (and others) in terms of bound variables, a term borrowed from logic. Pinker prefers the terms /quantifier/ and /boundvariable/ to /antecedent/ and /pronoun/.^[2]

The word /reference/ is traditionally used in two different senses:

1. the relationship between an anaphor (e.g. a pronoun) and its antecedent;2. the relationship between a noun phrase and the real-world entity (the /referen/).^[109]

With a morphologically singular antecedent, there are a number ofpossibilities, including the following:^[109]

* coreferential, with a definite antecedent (the antecedent and the anaphoric pronoun both refer to the same real-world entity): o "Your /wife/ phoned but /she/ didn't leave a message." * coreferential with an indefinite antecedent: o "One of your /girlfriends/ phoned, but /she/ didn't leave a message."

o "One of your /boyfriends/ phoned, but /he/ didn't leave a message. o "One of your /friends/ phoned, but /they/ didn't leave a message." * reference to a hypothetical, indefinite entity o "If you had an unemployed /daughter/, what would you think if /she/ wanted to accept work as a pole dancer?" o "If you had an unemployed /child/, what would you think if /they/ wanted to accept work as a mercenary or a pole dancer?" * a bound variable pronoun is anaphorically linked to a quantifier (no single real-world or hypothetical entity is referenced): o "/Nobody/ knew where /they/ were." o "/Every woman/ present sat with /their/ heads held high."

Cognitive efficiency[edit ]

In the light of increasing use of the plural pronoun /they/ to refer tomorphologically singular antecedents, there have been a few studies thathave attempted to determine whether such usage is more "difficult" tounderstand. One such study, "In Search of Gender Neutrality: Is Singular/They/ a Cognitively Efficient Substitute for Generic /He/?" by Foertschand Gernsbacher found that "singular /they/ is a cognitively efficientsubstitute for generic /he/ or /she/, particularly when the antecedentis nonreferential" (e.g. /anybody/ or /a nurse/) rather than referringto a specific person (e.g. /a runner I knew/ or /my nurse/). Clauseswith singular /they/ were read "just as quickly as clauses containing a

gendered pronoun that matched the stereotype of the antecedent" (e.g./she/ for a nurse and /he/ for a truck driver) and "much more quicklythan clauses containing a gendered pronoun that went against the genderstereotype of the antecedent".^[111]

Comparison with other pronouns[edit ]


21/35

The singular and plural use of /they/ can be compared with the pronoun/you/, which originally was only plural, but by about 1700 replaced/thou/ for singular referents,^[102] while retaining the plural verb form.

See also[edit ]

* Agreement (linguistics) * Bound variable pronoun * English personal pronouns * Gender neutrality in English * Gender-specific and gender-neutral pronouns * Genderqueer * Notional agreement * Spivak pronoun * They

Notes[edit ]

1. *Jump up ^ * "Either the plural or the singular may be acceptable for a true bound pronoun. . . .": "/Every student/

thinks /she/ / /they/ is / are smart."^[108] 2. *Jump up ^ * The more usual case, where the pronoun follows the antecedent, it is called a retrospective anaphor. The less usual case, where the pronoun precedes the antecedent (as in the sentence "When he saw the damage, the headmaster called the police.") [example from cited source] is called an /anticipatory anaphor/. Some writers use the term /anaphor/ only for retrospective anaphors and use the term /cataphor/ for anticipatory anaphors. The word /endophor/ may also be used for both.

References[edit

]

1. ^ Jump up to: ^/*a*/ ^/*b*/ ^/*c*/ Quirk et al. 1985 , p. 770.2. ^ Jump up to: ^/*a*/ ^/*b*/ ^/*c*/ Pinker 1995 , p. 378.3. ^ Jump up to: ^/*a*/ ^/*b*/ ^/*c*/

^/*d*/ ^/*e*/ ^/*f*/ Swan 2009 , 528.4. ^ Jump up to: ^/*a*/ ^/*b*/ ^/*c*/ ^/*d*/ ^/*e*/ ^/*f*/


22/35

^/*g*/ ^/*h*/ ^/*i*/ Huddleston & Pullum 2002 , p. 493.5. *Jump up ^ * Garner 2003 , p. 717.6. ^ Jump up to: ^/*a*/ ^/*b*/ Garner 2003 , pp. 643644.7. *Jump up ^ * Merriam-Webster 2002 , pp. 734736.8. ^ Jump up to: ^/*a*/ ^/*b*/ ^/*c*/ ^/*d*/ ^/*e*/ Huddleston & Pullum 2002 , p. 494.9. ^ Jump up to: ^/*a*/ ^/*b*/ ^/*c*/ ^/*d*/ , Huddleston &

Pullum 2005 , p. 104.10. *Jump up ^ * Fowler 1996 , p. 777.11. *Jump up ^ * Hislop 1984 , p. 23.12. *Jump up ^ * Fowler 1996 , p. 776, themself.13. *Jump up ^ * Canadian government 2013 , p. 18.14. *Jump up ^ * Canadian government 2014 , p. 48.15. *Jump up ^ * Fowler 2015 , p. 814.

16. *Jump up ^ * Huddleston & Pullum 2002 , pp. 493494.17. *Jump up ^ * American Heritage Dictionaries 1996 , p. 178.18. *Jump up ^ * Chaucer 1395 , p. 195.19. ^ Jump up to: ^/*a*/ ^/*b*/ ^/*c*/ ^/*d*/ ^/*e*/

Merriam-Webster 2002 , p. 734.20. *Jump up ^ * Shakespeare 1599 , p. 105.21. ^ Jump up to: ^/*a*/ ^/*b*/ ^/*c*/ ^/*d*/ Merriam-Webster 2002 , p. 735.22. *Jump up ^ *


23/35

Chesterfield 1759 , p. 568.23. ^ Jump up to: ^/*a*/ ^/*b*/ ^/*c*/ Fowler 1996 , p. 779.24. *Jump up ^ * Ruskin 1866 , p. 44.25. *Jump up ^ * Bagehot 1910 .26. ^ Jump up to: ^/*a*/ ^/*b*/ Fowler 1926 , p. 648.27. *Jump up ^ * Austen 1814 , p. 37.28. *Jump up ^ * Shaw 1901 , p. 67.29. ^ Jump up to: ^/*a*/ ^/*b*/ Thackeray 1868 , p. 66.30. ^ Jump up to: ^/*a*/ ^/*b*/ Fowler 1996 , p. 358.31. *Jump up ^ * Huxley 1868 .

32. ^ Jump up to: ^/*a*/ ^/*b*/ Baskervill 1895 , 409.33. *Jump up ^ * Cable 1879 .34. *Jump up ^ * UNO 1948 .35. *Jump up ^ * Curzan 2003 , p. 77.36. *Jump up ^ * Thackeray 1869 , p. 189.37. ^ Jump up to: ^/*a*/

^/*b*/ Baskervill 1895 , 410.38. *Jump up ^ * Caxton 1489 , p. 39.39. *Jump up ^ * Caxton 1483 , p. 11.40. ^ Jump up to: ^/*a*/ ^/*b*/ Bodine 1975 , p. 133.41. *Jump up ^ * Fisher 1750 .42. *Jump up ^ * Ostade 2000

.43. ^ Jump up to: ^/*a*/ ^/*b*/ ^/*c*/ ^/*d*/ ^/*e*/ Baskervill 1895 , 411.44. *Jump up ^ * Byron 1823 , p. vi.


24/35

45. *Jump up ^ * Austen 1814 , p. 195.46. *Jump up ^ * Defoe 1816 , p. 200.47. *Jump up ^ * Paley 1825 , p. 200.48. *Jump up ^ * Miller & Swift 1995 , p. 46.49. *Jump up ^ * Warenda 1993 , p. 101.50. *Jump up ^ * Wilson 1560 , p. 167.51. *Jump up ^ * Wilson 1560 , p. 208.52. *Jump up ^ * Poole 1646 , p. 21.53. *Jump up ^ * Bodine 1975 , p. 134.54. *Jump up ^ * Leonard 1929 , p. 225.55. *Jump up ^ * Bodine 1975 , p. 131.56. *Jump up ^ * Fries 1969 , p. 215.

57. *Jump up ^ * Lash 1981 , p. 454.58. *Jump up ^ * Weiss, Kaplan & Fair 2004 , p. 147.59. *Jump up ^ * Atkinson 2008 .60. *Jump up ^ * Spillius 2008 .61. *Jump up ^ * Barzun 1985 .62. ^ Jump up to: ^/*a*/ ^/*b*/ Huddleston & Pullum

2002 , p. 492.63. *Jump up ^ * Choy & Clark 2010 , p. 213.64. *Jump up ^ * Fowler 2015 , p. 367.65. *Jump up ^ * Fowler 2015 , p. 372.66. ^ Jump up to: ^/*a*/ ^/*b*/ Miller & Swift 1995 , pp. 19.67. *Jump up ^ * Miller & Swift 1995 , pp. 1161.

68. *Jump up ^ * Safire 1985 , pp. 4647.69. *Jump up ^ * Adendyck 1985 .70. *Jump up ^ * Miller & Swift 1995 , pp. 4647.71. *Jump up ^ * Teich, Nicholas M. (2012). /Transgender 101: A Simple Guide to a Complex Issue/. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 12. ISBN 9780231157124


25/35

.72. *Jump up ^ * CNN 2014 .73. ^ Jump up to: ^/*a*/ ^/*b*/ Pauwels 2003 , p. 563.74. *Jump up ^ * Baranowski, Maciej (2002). "Current usage of the epicene pronoun in written English". /Journal of Sociolinguistics/ *6* (3): 378397. doi :10.1111/1467-9481.00193 .75. *Jump up ^ * Matossian 1997 .76. *Jump up ^ * Balhorn, Mark (2009). "The epicene pronoun in contemporary newspaper prose". /American Speech/ *84* (4): 391413. doi :10.1215/00031283-2009-031 .77. *Jump up ^ * Garner 2003 , p. 643.78. *Jump up ^ * Huddleston & Pullum 2002 , p. 1458.79. *Jump up ^ * Fowler 1996 , p. 776.80. *Jump up ^ * Bush 1991

, p. 101.81. ^ Jump up to: ^/*a*/ ^/*b*/ ^/*c*/ ^/*d*/ ^/*e*/ Garner 2003 , p. 175.82. *Jump up ^ * Huddleston & Pullum 2002 , p. 1473.83. *Jump up ^ * Newman 1998 .84. ^ Jump up to: ^/*a*/ ^/*b*/ Chicago 2010

, 5.222.85. ^ Jump up to: ^/*a*/ ^/*b*/ ^/*c*/ Garner 2003 , p. 718.86. *Jump up ^ * Miller & Swift 1995 , p. 50.87. *Jump up ^ * Miller & Swift 1995 , p. 53.88. *Jump up ^ * Miller & Swift 1995 , p. 55.89. *Jump up ^ * Miller & Swift 1995 , pp. 5758.

90. *Jump up ^ * Garner 2003 , p. 174.91. *Jump up ^ * Chicago 1993 , pp. 7677.92. *Jump up ^ * Chicago 2010 , 5.46.93. *Jump up ^ * American Heritage Dictionaries 1996 , pp. 178179.


26/35

94. *Jump up ^ * APA 2001 , p. 47.95. *Jump up ^ * Strunk & White 1979 , p. 60.96. *Jump up ^ * Williams 2008 , pp. 2325.97. *Jump up ^ * Fowler 1992 , p. 354.98. *Jump up ^ * Purdue OWL .99. *Jump up ^ * Fowler 1965 , p. 635.100. *Jump up ^ * Gowers 1973 , p. 140.101. *Jump up ^ * Gowers 2014 , pp. 210213.102. ^ Jump up to: ^/*a*/ ^/*b*/ ^/*c*/ Peters 2004 , p. 538.103. *Jump up ^ * Economist 2010 , p. 117.104. *Jump up ^ * OUP 2012 , p. 27.

105. *Jump up ^ * Washington Post 2011 .106. *Jump up ^ * Federation Press 2014 .107. *Jump up ^ * Pinker 1995 , pp. 370403.108. *Jump up ^ * Huang 2009 , p. 144.109. ^ Jump up to: ^/*a*/ ^/*b*/ ^/*c*/

^/*d*/ Huddleston & Pullum 2002 , pp. 14551456.110. *Jump up ^ * Merriam-Webster 2002 , p. 736.111. *Jump up ^ * Foertsch & Gernsbacher 1997 .

Sources of original examples[edit ]

* Atkinson, Nancy (4 March 2008). "A One Way One Person Mission to Mars" . Retrieved 17 January 2014.* Austen, Jane (1833). /Mansfield Park/

. Richard Bentley.* Bagehot, Walter (1910). "Speech in

Portsmouth, 10 November 1910" . /The Liberal


27/35

Magazine/ (Liberal Publication Department (Great Britain), published 1915) *22*.* Barzun, Jacques (1985). /Simple and Direct/. Harper and Row.* Cuellar, Jessica (2008). /A Study of Presidential State of the Union

Addresses: The Sells and Arguments that are Used/. Oklahoma State University. ProQuest. ISBN 978-0-549-99288-2 .* Byron, Baron George Gordon Byron (1823). /Werner,

a Tragedy/ . A. and W. Galignani.* Cable, George Washington (1907)

[1879]. /Old Creole Days/ .* Canadian government (12 December 2013).

"Canadian War Veterans Allowance Act (1985) as amended 12 December 2013" (pdf). Government of Canada . R.S.C., 1985, c. W-3. Retrieved 19 April 2014.* Canadian government (6 February 2014).

"Immigration and RefugeeProtection Regulations (2002) as amended 6 February 2014" (pdf). Government of Canada . SOR/2002-227. Retrieved 19 April 2014.* Caxton, William (1884) [c. 1489]. Richardson, Octavia, ed. /The

right plesaunt and goodly historie of the foure sonnes of Aymon/ . Early English Text Society . pp. 38f. Retrieved 11 January 2014.* Caxton, William (1890) [c. 1483]. Bradley, Henry, ed. /Dialogues in

French and English/ . Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Ltd. for the Early English Text Society. p. 11. Retrieved 11 January 2014.* Chaucer, Geoffrey (2008) [1395]. "The

Pardoner's Prologue". In Benson, Larry Dean. /The Riverside Chaucer/ . Oxford University Press. ISBN

978-0-199-55209-2 .* Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope Earl of

(1759). "Letters to his Son, CCCLV, dated 27 April 27, 1759". /The Works of Lord Chesterfield/ . Harper (published 1845).* Defoe, Daniel (1816). /The Family Instructor/

. Brightly and Childs.* Fries, Joseph P. (1969) [1940]. "The inflections and syntax of

present-day American English with especial reference to social differences or class dialects: the report of an investigation financed by the National Council of Teachers of English and

supported by the Modern Language Association and the Linguistic Society of America". In Bolton, W.F.; Crystal. /The English Language Volume 2 Essays by Linguistics and Men of Letters 1858-1964/ . Cambridge University Press Archive. ISBN 978-0-451-14076-0 .* Hislop, Ian (1984). "Ian Hislop". /The Listener/ (British

Broadcasting Corporation) *111*.* Huxley, Thomas Henry (2005). /A Liberal


28/35

Education/. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 978-1-425-35760-3 .* Lash, Joseph P. (1981) [1971]. /Eleanor and Franklin/

. Penguin Group (Canada). ISBN 978-0-451-14076-0 . ; quoted in /Reader' Digest/, 1983, as an example of its awkwardness when referring to both sexes. * Paley, William ; Paley, Edmund; Paxton, James (1825). /The Works of William Paley: The principles of moral and political philosophy/ . C. and J. Rivington and J. Nunn.* Ruskin, John (1873) [1866]. /The Works of John

Ruskin: The Crown of Wild Olive/ . George Allen.* Shakespeare, , W.; Loffelt, Antonie Cornelis (1867). /Hamlet, Prince

of Denmark/ . J. L. Beijers en J. van Boekhoven.* Shaw, George Bernard (2011). /Caesar and

Cleopatra/ . Floating Press. ISBN

978-1-775-45349-9 .* Spillius, Alex (12 May 2008). "US elections: Hillary Clinton 'about

to drop out'" . /The Telegraph/.* Thackeray, William Makepeace

(1868). /The Works of William Makepeace Thackeray : in 22 Volumes: Vanity fair/ *2*. Smith, Elder.* Thackeray, William Makepeace

(1869). "On Lett's Diary". /The Works of William Makepeace

Thackeray/ *20*. Smith, Elder.* UNO (1948). "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights"

. United Nations Organization .* Weiss, R.E.; Kaplan, S.A.; Fair, W.R. (2004). /Management of

Prostate Diseases/ . Cambridge; New York: Professional Communications Inc. ISBN 978-1-884-73595-0 .

Bibliography[edit

]

* Adendyck, C. (7 July 1985). "[Letter commenting on] Hypersexism And the Feds" . /The New York Times/.* /The American Heritage Book of English Usage: A Practical and

Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English/ . Houghton Mifflin


29/35

Harcourt. 1996. ISBN 978-0-547-56321-3 .* American Psychological Association

(2001). /Publication manual of the American Psychological Association/ (5th ed.).* Baskervill, W.M.; Sewell, J.W. (1895). /An English Grammar/

. Retrieved 17 December 2013.* Berry, Chris; Brizee, Allen. "Using Pronouns Clearly"

. Retrieved 2 August 2014.* Bodine, Ann (August 1975). "Androcentrism in Prescriptive Grammar:

Singular /They/, Sex-Indefinite /He/, and /He or She/" (pdf). /Language in Society/ (Cambridge University Press) *4* (2): 129146. doi :10.1017/s0047404500004607 . ISSN 0047-4045 .* University of Chicago Press (1993). /The Chicago Manual of Style:

The Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers/ (14th ed.). University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-10389-1

.* University of Chicago Press (2010). /The Chicago Manual of Style/ (16th ed.). University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-10420-1 .* Choy, Penelope; Clark, Dorothy Goldbart (2010). /Basic Grammar and

Usage/ (8th ed.). Cengage Learning. ISBN 978-1-428-21155-1 .* Griggs, Brandon (13 February 2014). "Facebook goes beyond 'male' and

'female' with new gender options" . CNN.* Curzan, Anne (2003). /Gender Shifts in the History of English/

. Studies in English Language. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-43668-7 .* Economist (2010). /Economist Style Guide/. Studies in English

Language (10th ed.). Profile Books. ISBN 978-1-846-68606-1 .* "Federation Press Style Guide for Use in Preparation of Book

Manuscripts"

(pdf). Retrieved 14 January 2014.* Fisher, Ann (1750) [1745]. /A New

Grammar (reprinted in facsimile)/ (2nd ed.). Newcastle upon Tyne: R.C. Alston (published 1974).* Fowler, Henry Ramsey; Aaron, Jane E. (1992). /The Little, Brown

Handbook/ (5th ed.). HarperCollins. pp. 300301. ISBN 978-0-673-52132-3 . . N.B.: This is not the English usage authority Henry Watson Fowler.


30/35

* Fowler, H.W.; Crystal, David (2009) [1926]. /A Dictionary of Modern English Usage/. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-199-58589-2 .* Fowler, H.W.; Gowers, Sir Ernest (1965). /A Dictionary of Modern

English Usage/. Oxford University Press.* Fowler, H.W.; Burchfield, R.W. (1996). /The New Fowler's Modern

English Usage/. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-198-61021-2 .* Fowler, H.W. (2015). Butterfield, Jeremy, ed. /Fowler's Dictionary

of Modern English Usage/. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-966135-0 .* Foertsch, Julie; Gernsbacher, Morton Ann (March 1997). "In Search of

Gender Neutrality: Is Singular /They/ a Cognitively Efficient Substitute for Generic /He/?" (pdf). /Psychological Science/ *8* (2): 106111. doi :10.1111/j.1467-9280.1997.tb00691.x .* Garner, Bryan A. (2003). /Garner's Modern

American Usage/. Oxford University Press. ISBN

978-0-19-516191-5 .* Gowers, Ernest ; Fraser, Bruce

(1973). /The Complete Plain Words/. H.M. Stationery Office. ISBN 978-0-11-700340-8 .* Gowers, Ernest ; Gowers, Rebecca (2014). /Plain

Words/ . London: Particular. ISBN 978-0-241-96035-6 .* Huang, C.T.J. (2009). /Between Syntax and Semantics/

. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-203-87352-6 .* Huddleston, Rodney ; Pullum, Geoffrey

(2002). /The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language/. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-43146-8 .* Huddleston, Rodney D. ; Pullum, Geoffrey K.

(2005). /A Student's Introduction to English Grammar/. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-84837-4

.* Leonard, Sterling Andrus (1929). /The Doctrine of Correctness in

English Usage, 1700-1800/ . Russell & Russell (published 1962).* Matossian, Lou Ann (1997). /Burglars, Babysitters, and Persons: A

Sociolinguistic Study of Generic Pronoun Usage in Philadelphia and Minneapolis/ (PDF). Institute for Research in Cognitive Science. University of


31/35

Pennsylvania Press. Retrieved 10 June 2006.* /Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage/. Penguin.

2002. ISBN 9780877796336 .* Miller, Casey; Swift, Kate (1995) [1981]. Kate Mosse, ed. /The

Handbook of Non-Sexist Writing for Writers, Editors and Speakers/ (3rd British ed.). The Women's Press. ISBN 07043-44424 .* Newman, Michael (1998). "What Can Pronouns Tell Us? A Case Study of

English Epicenes". /Studies in language/ (John Benjamins) *22* (2): 353389. doi :10.1075/sl.22.2.04new . ISSN 0378-4177 .* Oxford University Press (2012). "New Hart's Rules". /New Oxford

Style Manual/. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-199-65722-3 .* Peters, Pam (2004). /The Cambridge Guide to English Usage/

. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-3-125-33187-7 .

* Ostade, Ingrid Tieken-Boon van (28 August 2000). "Female grammarians of the eighteenth century" . University of Leiden.* Pauwels, Anne (2003). "Linguistic sexism and feminist linguistic

activism". In Holmes, Janet and Meyerhoff, Miriam (eds.). /The Handbook of Language and Gender/. Malden, MA : Blackwell. ISBN 978-0-631-22502-7 .* Pinker, Steven (1995) [1994]. "The Language

Mavens". /The Language Instinct/. Penguin. ISBN 0140175296

.* Poole, Josua (1646). /The English Accidence/. Scolar Press (published 1967).* Quirk, Randolph ; Greenbaum, Sidney

; Leech, Geoffrey ; Svartvik, Jan (1985). /A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language/. Harlow: Longman. ISBN 978-0-582-51734-9 .* Safire, William (28 April 1985). "On Language; You Not Tarzan, Me

Not Jane" .

/The New York Times/.* Strunk, William; White, E.E.B. (1979). /The Elements of Style/ (3rd

ed.). Allyn & Bacon. ISBN 978-0-205-19158-1 .* Swan, Michael (2009). /Practical

English Usage/ (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-194-42098-3 .* Warenda, Amy (April 1993). "They"


32/35

(pdf). /The WAC Journal/ *4*. Retrieved 28 December 2013.* "New Bible draws critics of gender-neutral language"

. /The Washington Post/. Associated Press. 17 March 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2013.* Williams, Joseph M. (2008). /Style: The

Basics of Clarity and Grace/. Longman. ISBN 978-0205605354 .* Wilson, Thomas (1560). Mair, George Herbert, ed. /The arte of

Rhetorique/ . Clarendon (published 1909).

External links[edit ]

* "Anyone who had a heart (would know their own language) "

by Geoff Pullum. Transcript of a radio talk.

[hide ]

* v * t * e

English gender-neutral pronouns

* generic he * it * one * who * *singular they*

* Neologisms

o Spivak pronouns o /sie/hir/ o /thon/

o /ve/ o /xe/ o /ze/

Retrieved from"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Singular_they&oldid=685916318"Categories :

* Gender-neutral pronouns * Disputes in English grammar


33/35

* Modern English personal pronouns * Grammatical number

Hidden categories:

* Use British (Oxford) English from March 2014 * All Wikipedia articles written in British (Oxford) English

Navigation menu

Personal tools

* Create account * Not logged in * Talk * Contributions * Log in

Namespaces

* Article

* Talk

Variants

Views

* Read

* Edit

* View history

More


34/35

Search

Navigation

* Main page * Contents * Featured content * Current events * Random article * Donate to Wikipedia * Wikipedia store

Interaction

* Help

* About Wikipedia * Community portal * Recent changes * Contact page

Tools

* What links here * Related changes * Upload file * Special pages * Permanent link

* Page information * Wikidata item * Cite this page

Print/export

* Create a book * Download as PDF

* Printable version

Languages

* Catal * Franais * Norsk bokml *


35/35

Edit links

* This page was last modified on 15 October 2015, at 20:19. * Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy . Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. , a non-profit organization.

* Privacy policy * About Wikipedia * Disclaimers * Contact Wikipedia * Developers * Mobile view

* Wikimedia Foundation

* Powered by MediaWiki

Date post:	06-Jan-2016
Category:	Documents
Upload:	wdu20790
View:	10 times
Download:	0 times

Singular They - Wikipedia, Tdslghe Free Encyclopedia

Documents