• DirkMcCallahan@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    2 years ago

    My boomer parents will die on the hill that it sounds “wrong” to use “they” to refer to a singular entity. And whenever they bring that up, I always remind them that the word “they” has been used in that way for AGES.

    Example: “Whose umbrella is this? Did they already leave?”

    It doesn’t seem to make a difference.

    • sebinspace@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      2 years ago

      Watched a video that addressed this in good faith, because it is a tad awkward. They brought up and old term (because this isn’t new), “thone”, short for “the one”. And I’mma be real with you, “THE ONE, DIRK MCCALLAHAN” does ring kinda hard.