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Old 08-31-2012, 04:15 AM   #124
pdurrant
The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze View Post
The problem with presuming that an historical precedent for they trumps the need for a gender-neutral pronoun is the absence of its systematic adoption in earlier times.
An interesting point.

I think that it hasn't become more prevalent because of a systematic campaign against its use by English teachers over the past couple of centuries.

Now that it's more accepted that they (etc.) can be used as a singular pronoun, their use will become far more common. And so become even more accepted.
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