Topic Reading-Vol.1548-7/7/2016

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

The Ultimate 21^st century word

A grammar question. Why “are” is used with a singular pronoun “you”? Isn’t that supposed to be “is”? Then what about “they”? How would you feel if “is” is used with a pronoun “they”?

There are growing number of people who want to be called by their preferred gender pronouns openly these days as LGBT becomes more accepted across the societies and countries in the world.

In fact, as more people prefer being called beyond traditional “he” or “she,” societies are trying to accommodate such preference by creating or authorizing new pronouns.

One idea to accommodate such needs is to use “they” as a singular pronoun to replace “he” or “she.” A linguist thinks it’s easier to accept extending the use of already existing pronoun than creating a new one.

Enjoy reading and thinking if “they” become popular or authentic as a singular pronoun soon.

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20160623-the-ultimate-21st-century-word