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English neutral pronouns: Difference between revisions
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==History== | ==History== | ||
In English, people are usually called by a [[pronouns|pronoun]] that implies their gender. For example, [[English neutral pronouns#She|she]] for women, and [[English neutral pronouns#He|he]] for men. The use of [[singular they]] as a gender-neutral pronoun has been documented as standard usage in English throughout the past thousand years. However, prescriptive grammarians in the late eighteenth century decided that it was bad grammar because it works like a plural and because it isn't done in Latin.<ref name-"Churchyard">{{cite web|first=Henry|last= Churchyard|title=Jane Austen and other famous authors violate what everyone learned in their English class|url=http://www.crossmyt.com/hc/linghebr/austheir.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319092926/http://www.crossmyt.com/hc/linghebr/austheir.html |archive-date=19 March 2012}}</ref> | |||
Prescriptive grammarians of the late eighteenth century instead recommended using "he" as a gender-neutral pronoun when one is needed, instead of "singular they."<ref name="bustillos 250">{{Cite web |title=Our Desperate, 250-Year-Long Search for a Gender-Neutral Pronoun |last=Bustillos |first=Maria |work=The Awl |date=6 January 2011 |access-date=17 October 2020 |url= https://www.theawl.com/2011/01/our-desperate-250-year-long-search-for-a-gender-neutral-pronoun/}}</ref> However, "gender-neutral he" results in writings that are unclear about whether they mean only men or not, which makes problems in law.<ref name="Pullum">{{cite web|first=Geoffrey|last=Pullum|title=Canada Supreme Court Gets the Grammar Right.|work=Language Log|date=18 August 2004 |url=http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/001362.html}}</ref> | Prescriptive grammarians of the late eighteenth century instead recommended using "he" as a gender-neutral pronoun when one is needed, instead of "singular they."<ref name="bustillos 250">{{Cite web |title=Our Desperate, 250-Year-Long Search for a Gender-Neutral Pronoun |last=Bustillos |first=Maria |work=The Awl |date=6 January 2011 |access-date=17 October 2020 |url= https://www.theawl.com/2011/01/our-desperate-250-year-long-search-for-a-gender-neutral-pronoun/}}</ref> However, "gender-neutral he" results in writings that are unclear about whether they mean only men or not, which makes problems in law.<ref name="Pullum">{{cite web|first=Geoffrey|last=Pullum|title=Canada Supreme Court Gets the Grammar Right.|work=Language Log|date=18 August 2004 |url=http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/001362.html}}</ref> | ||