Quote:
Originally Posted by Wiggo
I haven't read Shakespeare in the original for quite some time, but I'm sure that “they/them” is used by him for the pluralis majestatis, which doesn't exactly support your argument.
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The argument isn't that Shakespeare started or popularised singular they, it's that it's been around since before his time. Well and truly before his time, too - the OED traces it back in writing as far as 1375, meaning that its use in everyday speech predated that. People who object to singular "they" on grammatical grounds should be losing their minds at singular "you".