[quote]"alauris":/users/1322359 said: They also fail to realise that singular "they" has been in use for centuries. And that we have "you", a pronoun used for singular and plural, as well as referring to subjects and objects. So if a pronoun having multiple uses isn't the issue, I wonder why some people disapprove of the singular "they". [/quote] Thou hath failed to mention that singular they is older than singular you.

[quote]"memecanxd":/users/281814 said: I mean, it makes sense IF they see they as plural only. Doesnt rly excuse it but it does explain the logic [/quote] [quote]"alauris":/users/1322359 said: They also fail to realise that singular "they" has been in use for centuries. And that we have "you", a pronoun used for singular and plural, as well as referring to subjects and objects. So if a pronoun having multiple uses isn't the issue, I wonder why some people disapprove of the singular "they". [/quote] [quote]"beepbep":/users/505756 said: Because singular "they" is/was just not commonly used in modern language, whatever the historical use. Every time I use it that way, I have to do a little mental catch that the word is referring to a single person rather than a group, despite that usage resurging over the past decade or two. I am happy to use someone's preferred pronouns and will obviously continue to do so regardless, but it [i]is[/i] extra effort, at least in my experience. [/quote] The words 'they' and 'them' also have ambiguity. That's the problem with words that fit many contexts, if you don't have the original contextualization, it's confusing and vague. When both parties are already aware of who would fit the gap, then it's okay to use those words, because of existing context, otherwise the ambiguity can hinder in identifying individuals which is something language attempts to circumvent. Imagine you and your father are at the airport to pick up a friend who just flew in. If you told your father 'they are somewhere here' then...well he's not gunna have any idea who this person is or looks like. Using he or she, given that global population is 'about' 50/50, would eliminate about 50% of people there, still vague but immensely less so than before especially if there's a small amount of people there. Giving further identifiers can narrow the results down more and more, like 'he wears glasses','she is in a black tank top', 'he has a cowboy hat', can make identifying who they are a lot easier. But imagine if you didn't use a pronoun and instead just used their name. 'We are looking for my friend Arthur, they're wearing a pink shirt and have blonde hair'. One of two things will happen depending on familiarity with the name itself. If your father does NOT know the names origin, then anyone with a pink shirt and blonde hair would fit the bill and make the name useless in visually identifying them. If they DID know the names origin, then they'd likely look for a man fitting that description considering Arthur is a masculine name, only for it to turn out the person in question to look like a 1 for 1 recreation of a Barbie girl, meaning not only did the name not help in identifying them, but actively hindered the process. It gets even worse when you ARE talking about multiple people and one of them identifies as a they, because in that case sentences like this "Jake, Millie and Joe went to the park, he went to swing on the swings, she climbed the jungle gym, and they played on the carousel." can mean one of two things, the third person is a they, or, all three of them played on the carousel. If you don't know these people well enough, then the information given can be less useful due to ambiguity, even moreso if all three use alternative pronouns, or multiple ones.

Whatever happened to Katzun? I used to watch their videos when I was younger but I haven't heard anything from them in years

[quote]"memecanxd":/users/281814 said: I mean, it makes sense IF they see they as plural only. Doesnt rly excuse it but it does explain the logic [/quote] They also fail to realise that singular "they" has been in use for centuries. And that we have "you", a pronoun used for singular and plural, as well as referring to subjects and objects. So if a pronoun having multiple uses isn't the issue, I wonder why some people disapprove of the singular "they".

I mean, it makes sense IF they see they as plural only. Doesnt rly excuse it but it does explain the logic