Orangutans are the only great apes besides humans to ‘talk’ about the past

Re:Orangutans are the only great apes besides humans to ‘tal... by johnchristopher on Friday November 16, 2018 @12:26PM (#18470152)

Most likely I would try to dance around it or find a different way to convey my thoughts (like for any other thing I couldn't express clearly) or use `it` because in my first language (french) `il` is the default pronoun for a baby (`il a faim ton bébé ?`) while thinking something's off and ask the person to forgive my blunder.

I would certainly not used something like `is they a boy ?` though.

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Re:Orangutans are the only great apes besides humans to ‘tal... by nicoburns on Friday November 16, 2018 @01:57PM (#18471033)

In english there are two ways to refer to a person of unknown gender. "it" and "they". Of a baby you could say:

"Is it a boy or a girl?" or "Are they are a boy or a girl?"

Both are perfectly correct and common, but "it" sounds impersonal and as such can be a bit rude.

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Re:Orangutans are the only great apes besides humans to ‘tal... by gdfasfklshg4 on Tuesday November 20, 2018 @02:42AM (#18492384)

I have never heard anyone ask "Is they a boy or a girl?".

This is actually a problem for me. I can't see the difference between pink and blue baby clothes.

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Re:Orangutans are the only great apes besides humans to ‘tal... by johnchristopher on Tuesday November 20, 2018 @05:11AM (#18492842)

I'd just ask the name, that should be a strong clue. If not then wait for someone to talk to or about the child.

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