Here's a new one.

[conuly]

First, an interesting post from Language Log on singular they when the gender in question isn't.

http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=4475

The only issue I have with singular they is that it overlaps with plural they, but of course nobody complains that plural -s overlaps with possessive 's, and it's the same sort of thing, isn't it? At least, it is if unproofread signs are any indication!

But lots of people don't like singular they, and they don't have to use it. Others might be just fine with it, but rephrase specific sentences to sound more formal and/or less awkward.

Which might explain how an aftercare program came up with the sentence "On days when students are not taking a class, he/she participates in games, art projects, or more." Well, mistakes happen.

Comments

[eofs.livejournal.com]

You know, I've never thought about it before... but did thou merge with you partly because of the similarity in blackletter between y and þ. (And the subsequent habit of representing þ with y when printing presses arrived.)

And you're quite correct that thou isn't totally dead, it's still in use around here. Not just in stock phrases like "thee and thine" but in every day speech. But it's not used consistently enough that one can rely on it. (Out of curiosity... you're on the hunt for a non-colloquial 2nd person plural. Presumably your intention with thou is to use that as the singular again, maintaining you as the plural?)

As for you as a third person generic pronoun, I became a lot better at using 'one' in those circumstances after I started learning German. Also got a lot better at who/whom at that point, the single token effort to teach that in school when I was 14 having not really worked. I suspect that most people view these both as affectations of mine, but it doesn't really bother me. My colleagues mostly view my peculiarities with affection.