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this post was submitted on 26 Apr 2024
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https://www.englishgratis.com/1/wikibooks/english/singularthey.htm
All of these are centuries old, and each of them know the gender of whom they speak of. You are incorrect. Please update your knowledge and don't correct someone for something you didn't at least look up.
Yeah, those examples are precisely what I mean. The article you linked to explains exactly what I mean, even stating that Shakespeare wouldn't have used "they" if he knew the gender of the person he referred to.
The referents in these cases are general, not specific people. "Not a man" - no one, not referring to a specific person. "Some more audience than a mother" - someone else than a mother, not a specific person. "Each one" - not a specific person but every person.
If you look at dictionary definitions over the centuries, you'll find singular they mentioned, but always specifically for this general meaning.
As an added note I don't think it makes a difference if the current use is new or not, and it shouldn't matter in this debate. Language changes all the time, even if people resist it.
Lol, they just had the exact same argument with me.
Yeah, it's silly. I think the whole linguistic discussion is irrelevant. It's a new phenomenon, which is great. I love how language evolves.