Note: This is all just a random idea I had a few days ago. I am mostly curious about what others think of it. I know it’s not gonna be actually implemented anywhere. I wish it was that easy lol
Many people here have probably had someone complain to them that “They/Them pronouns are so confusing” while the same person accepts “you” as singular and plural.* Well, I propose a partial fix for both. Not in natural language, but at the very least text, because both of those bug me personally, even if just a little. I know any language that sees any actual use is going to be imperfect, but that doesn’t stop me from sharing random ideas on the internet.
* Edit: Irrelevant and off-topic. Just keeping it here for archival(?) purposes.
First some background info:
In German, there’s actually a similar problem, at least when spoken. It is, however, fixed in writing.
- “sie” -> “she”
- “Sie” -> “you” (singular, formal)
- “ihnen” -> “them”
- “Ihnen” -> “you” (singular, formal, different grammatical case)
Spot the difference? It’s the capital S and I.
So, why not take after the British Museum and steal things from a foreign country language?
How to fix this, according to a random person on the internet:
- “They/Them” -> Singular person with neutral pronouns
- “they/them” -> Multiple people
And while we’re at it, we can also do
- “You” -> The person you are talking to
- “you” -> A group of people, or often more importantly, a general you
The Problem:
Sentences. The first letter of a sentence is always capitalized, which brings confusion back. This is a glaring weak spot, but since this idea is never going to be used anyways, I can’t be bothered to actually find a good workaround. If You have any ideas though, feel free to share them.
So, what do you think? Is this idea fundamentally stupid, because everything is just fine as it is, or could a solution to imprecise pronouns actually be handy, even if this one is far from perfect?
The people complaining that they are confused about pronouns aren’t really confused by the pronouns. They just use that as an excuse because it doesn’t directly seem as transphobic. The evidence is that they have been using “they/them” for decades to refer to people of unknown gender without a problem before the GOP and other conservative groups started the culture war.
If you give them a way to not be confused by it, they will either continue to act confused, or find something else as a proxy for their anger.
I don’t think it’s worth the mental energy to solve a “problem” that they want to have.
I want to confuse them more.
Oh yeah, absolutely. As I said, this also just personally bugs me since, while the problem usually solved via context, there are moments where that just doesn’t work. That’s why I originally even thought of this idea.
I’m honestly not even certain anymore, why I put that little bit about those people at the start… I think I’ll just edit it out to, ironically in this case, alleviate confusion