I've been using the singular they for as long as I can remember. It's simple and easy.
"A student should be able to study whatever they want."
"Jack should be able to study whatever he wants."
"Jill should be able to study whatever she wants."
It's a little more complicated now, of course. /1
Was just reading your email version, and had to come comment that you’re a man after my own heart, and I need to track down my own copy of that Vogue etiquette guide because I love old housekeeping guides. A favorite class in college was “the Victorian novel as historical evidence.”
One quibble: "If it hasn’t happened with the singular “you” in the last few centuries..."
IT DID!
Singular "you" used to be the 2nd-person plural; it took over the job of 2nd-person singular "thou" and we just don't think about it anymore. I see no reason the same shouldn't happen to the 3rd person.
Thank you for footnote 2. I recently edited a document for a friend that was to be used in a legal proceeding and most of what I did was addressing that issue. It was VERY important the reader know which He was being referenced.
My impression is editors go through 3 stages with singular-they:
• NOVICE: It's confusing, fight to the death to stop it.
• INTERMEDIATE: Rewrite to use 2nd-person or plurals instead?
• EXPERT: I got 10 things to write. If I use singular they, and it works, then leave it, I got shit to do.
I do not miss the days of having to write endless documentation full of clunky “he or she” and “his or her.”
The renewed acceptance and expanded application of singular “they” is convenient in so many ways.
I find your point about the recent linguistic past (20th century) vs. the distant past (12th century - spoiler: I howl and hector about it) interesting. I'm not 100% sure I grok the needle you're threading about which is "more correct" or which is a more compelling etymological justification.
I switched to 'they'ing everyone a while ago when I was editing. Worked, and more importantly read, fine. I have recently noted that doing so can be seen as (understandably) rude to people who have had to fight for their preferred pronouns. I suppose especially if she and he are also used in a text
This reminds me a) Santa Himself comfortably decries “making a child take something it doesn’t want” as recently as 1947 and b) of narrating a well-meaning author’s laser battle between The Baddies and 3 heroes (she, they, he) and hooWEE has there been general improvement in the 5 or 6 years since.
