Singular They in English: Its Origin and Developments
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In an effort to explain the widespread use of singular they in recent years, this paper first investigates the lack of an English personal pronoun for a third-person gender-neutral singular antecedent. It empirically shows that as an epicene pronoun, generic he has been in use since the Old English period and that they, originally a plural pronoun, has assumed such a role in Middle English as the grammatical gender agreement faded away. Singular they is also said to have originated from Scandinavian languages and entered during the Middle English period. It is also said that the use of singular they has recently been endorsed by authoritative writers’ manuals, great dictionaries, mass media, and others. As a result, they has become a dominant epicene pronoun candidate for a person whose gender is unknown or even nonbinary.
Abstract
In an effort to explain the widespread use of singular they in recent years, this paper first investigates the lack of an English personal pronoun for a third-person gender-neutral singular antecedent. It empirically shows that as an epicene pronoun, generic he has been in use since the Old English period and that they, originally a plural pronoun, has assumed such a role in Middle English as the grammatical gender agreement faded away. Singular they is also said to have originated from Scandinavian languages and entered during the Middle English period. It is also said that the use of singular they has recently been endorsed by authoritative writers’ manuals, great dictionaries, mass media, and others. As a result, they has become a dominant epicene pronoun candidate for a person whose gender is unknown or even nonbinary.
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