Doesn't this prove my point? Using singular "they" is a recent, political change. Old dictionaries, like I've linked, don't include its use. A small selection of new, left-wing "dictionaries" are the only place you see it.
Well it proves that “singular they” is acknowledged by the OED, pretty much the authority of the English language, as being in common use from circa 1300. If you think Websters is older or more authoritative than the OED (or that the OED is new and left-wing) then I suppose we just have to agree to disagree but at that point I would suggest that perhaps you are rejecting any source that doesn’t support your claims and personal beliefs.
I would not call them the authority on the english language lol, but what are you talking about? The idea of being transgender was invented in the 1970's by John Money, there were no 1300 nonbinary people.
The relevant section of your definition is this:
I.2.c Used with reference to a person whose sense of personal identity does not correspond to conventional sex and gender distinctions, and who has typically asked to be referred to as they (rather than as he or she).
This was a recent addition. It did not exist in any older dictionary, or more moderate new dictionaries. I showed you this in an earlier comment, this revisionist history claiming they was always used in a singular fashion to avoid gendering people is insane, it literally couldn't have existed before the 70's because the concept hadn't been invented yet.
Doesn't this prove my point? Using singular "they" is a recent, political change. Old dictionaries, like I've linked, don't include its use. A small selection of new, left-wing "dictionaries" are the only place you see it.
Well it proves that “singular they” is acknowledged by the OED, pretty much the authority of the English language, as being in common use from circa 1300. If you think Websters is older or more authoritative than the OED (or that the OED is new and left-wing) then I suppose we just have to agree to disagree but at that point I would suggest that perhaps you are rejecting any source that doesn’t support your claims and personal beliefs.
I would not call them the authority on the english language lol, but what are you talking about? The idea of being transgender was invented in the 1970's by John Money, there were no 1300 nonbinary people.
The relevant section of your definition is this:
I.2.c Used with reference to a person whose sense of personal identity does not correspond to conventional sex and gender distinctions, and who has typically asked to be referred to as they (rather than as he or she).
This was a recent addition. It did not exist in any older dictionary, or more moderate new dictionaries. I showed you this in an earlier comment, this revisionist history claiming they was always used in a singular fashion to avoid gendering people is insane, it literally couldn't have existed before the 70's because the concept hadn't been invented yet.
1 reply →