The Awful German Language (1880)

Re:The Awful German Language (1880) by spiralx on Monday October 08, 2018 @12:26PM (#18168803)

> For English, aside from do/does useless distinguishment, the lack of a gender neutral noun for a person usually make people write in a way "he/she". You could say, "the person" but it's long.

You mean "they", used as far back as Shakespear?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The Awful German Language (1880) by h1d on Monday October 08, 2018 @02:02PM (#18169739)

There's none for singular form.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The Awful German Language (1880) by spiralx on Tuesday October 09, 2018 @07:57AM (#18175139)

"A person walked down the street. They were wearing a brown coat."

Singular they has been in recorded use since 1375, it's only been the last couple of hundred years people started trying to insist it wasn't valid.

https://public.oed.com/blog/a-brief-history-of-singular-they...

[ Parent | on HN ]