Here’s an interesting article from the American media:
McKernan uses the pronoun “they” instead of “his” or “her” to call themself. The 37-year-old artist from Nashville, Tennessee calls their works “surreal.” They say they are “dealing with discomfort in the human journey.”
He…?
She…?
They..?
Are you confused?
I wasn’t before, but I am now.
I’m also feeling discomfort with modern grammar.
How about you?
И я чувствую
Probably it is surreal grammar .. a little bit 😊💥
I’m feeling discomfort too.l
There’s nothing modern about this, the singular “they” has been around since forever. I first met it in the 90s when, as a high-school student, I read stuff like “Everyone must know their preferences” and the like. It is an elegant and simple way to evade such clumsy structures as “Everyone must know his/her preferences when he/she decides what equipment to take with him/herself on the excursion.”
What is modern is the gender-related application of “they” – but grammatically, it poses no complication whatsoever.
Mind you, in many languages (Maori and Hungarian, for instance), there is no gender distinction in the third person singular, and one could argue that is the way it should actually be. Particularly weird are Neo-Latin languages with their built-in m/f distinction for inanimate objects. But this is another topic altogether.
Interesting.
and the must big problem, that i have very small vocabulary
When a beginner embarks on a long journey of learning the English language and constantly stumbles along the way, he doesn’t even see the grammatical pitfalls, which are endlessly numerous.
Cheers.
Да, я вот считаю, что английский язык в овершенстве мне не выучить никогда. Это не неверие в собственные силы, это такое чувствование. Для меня английский настолько сложен, но уверенности в собственных силах у меня просто нет.
Я за последние месяцы поняла , что для меня англййский язык это база , со сложной и четкой грамматической конструкцией. Очень много фраз, которые нужно выучить как основу.
Some grammar in language has to be. It pays similar like regulation in human life. Without this is chaos and discomfort feeling.
In my opinion it’s a hard message of the American artist translated as a such mixture of pronouns, a message about the subtle disappearance of human personality because of nudging, a way of persuading and altering the human behavior used by advertisers, politicians, entrepreneurs, social media, and so far, wich change the real decisions and choices of people for their benefit.
The result…is about who?
I…?….you?…we?…he or maybe she…??
I would never pay attention to this.
I met this issue for the power words SHIP, OFFENDED, BELL (etc.)
A sinking ship. DEFINITION: a large boat. EXPRESSION: if yo’re leaving on a long trip you can say Ï’m shipping out next week.” ALSO: if a company ships a product that means you buy it and they send it to you through the mail.
Do you know anyone who is easily offended? DEFINITION: if you offend someone you say something rude or vulgar which they don’t like.
If you visit Philadephia you can see the famous Liberty bell. IDION 1: if something isn’t familiar to you, you can say ït doesn’t ring a bell”, ex. “Do you remember Bob?””Hmm, the name doesn’t ring a bell”v IDIOM: if you ask someone if they understand and he says “Clear as a bell” that means ÿes”.
To me, it looks like normal today.
I feel so bad about that change of the English grammar and the similar changes in the people’s minds – it’s making me so sad 😞
Really confusing😀 what it is modern grammar? I’ve never heard about it🤔
Definitely not confused :-). Feeling relaxed, focused and happy. But what about 37-year-old artist from Nashwille, Tennessee. He/she/they is/are an animal or human? Unintendend consequence of modern grammar = we have to use more the words :-). Have a good night.
Hi! The language (all, English too) is in changing. As the ocean, ebb and flow. Now maybe ebb. Consequently it is alive, in moving.
Oh no. I don´t get it at all. But maybe I don´t have to understand it.
Many people do not understand why in Estonia we don´t make a gender distinction in the third person singular. “He”, “she”- we only use one word. That´s just how it is…
In my language Hungarian, there is no he, she and it. But if we are talking about a man or a woman, we can use other grammatical devices to tell exactly who we are talking about. However, if a language, which has he, she and it, but recently some people want to change that, it is not just a grammatical rule business. They want to break the biological definition of gender. Plus: “Believe one absurdity and other absurdities will be believed.”
In Finland we don’t have a different word she and he. It’s not confusing to me. But do you replace f/m with “they”? Your grammar is changing…
It’s another problem for me, I’m feeling discomfort with words which have several meanings and often completely different 🙁
When you learn a foreign language, you always encounter similar problems. The good thing about this is that you will have a sense of success when you discover them step by step.
Feeling discomfort as well..
And I am feeling discomfort with their modern gender BS.
Me too 🙂
I’m wondering if it is correct or not.