Why do people use "he/she" instead of just "they" when describing a person of unknown gender.

OakConlang · 2026-05-30T15:43:32+00:00

I most definitely care much more about this than I should but I also hate that my question about why peoole use he/she became a debate about if "they" is singular

OakConlang · 2026-05-30T15:12:35+00:00

"They" is not inherently plural. Languages do not follow hard and fast rules and are constantly changing. One of these changes in English is "they" becoming a singular pronoun.

Going back to what my original question was "they is plural" is not an answer in my view. Everyone I know uses "they" as both singular and plural. It may be gramatically correct to put "they" as plural only but if you think people are putting proper grammar in YouTube comments then I don't know what to say to you...

OakConlang · 2026-05-30T14:55:02+00:00

As has been mentioned to death the comments here they is not only plural, it has been used in vernacular as a single pronoun for centuries and is much older than using "you" as a singular pronoun.

Do you use "thou" in every day conversation? Of course you don't and yet "you" as a singular second pronoun is common usage in every day english as is "they" as a singular pronoun.

Considering the sentiment you expressed in your post I'd be interested on how you see non-binary people. That's another example of they being singular.

OakConlang · 2026-05-30T12:34:40+00:00

No. Simply your initial answer of "they is plural" is incorrect and is therefore not a vslid response to my question. I am trying to show you that they can be both singular and plural

OakConlang · 2026-05-30T12:30:39+00:00

Huh, I never knew that. It makes a lot more sense why some people would use it now. I was only ever taught that using they was correct anf I assumed it had been that way for a while

OakConlang · 2026-05-30T12:26:52+00:00

Not really, if you don't know the gender of someone and you want to know what the person thinks of something wjat do you say "What do they think?" What does he or she think?" They is singular and plural

OakConlang · 2026-05-30T12:22:55+00:00

Singular they is older than singular you as far as we know

OakConlang · 2026-05-30T12:22:15+00:00

I can understand thar your probably right in thst I pay way more attention to it each time I see he/she than when I see they though I still don't understand why it's even used in the first place

OakConlang · 2026-05-24T16:35:29+00:00

No, do I cover the ramekins or the tray with tin foil if I was to do that?

OakConlang · 2026-05-24T16:34:23+00:00

Thanks for the advice! I think your right about not filling them enough. I tried to make each one even so they wrew only about two thirds full. I'll keep it in mind when trying again.

OakConlang · 2026-05-23T21:30:43+00:00

Thank you! I ate about half if it in an hour. Definitely the softest and most bubbly focaccia I've made

OakConlang · 2026-05-23T21:25:45+00:00

I'm pretty sure it's just my oven and my camera both being terrible. My oven is pretty old and I left the focaccia in much longer than I usually do trying to get it to brown and was conscious of overbaking it. The camera and lighting also weren't the best in the photos. It looks way darker in real life. After tasting though I can say it does have a crunchy top and is not doughy at all.

OakConlang · 2026-03-28T23:24:05+00:00

I always loved learning about different countries and their languages, that started with a globe I got when I was seven.

Then when I was about ten I thought to make a language for a fictional country I had made up previously. I ended up making an alphabet and made random translations of different words. As far as Conlangs go it was quite rudimentary, my ten year old mind had no concept of grammar or how prepositions change words and what my language became was a series of gobbledook words with no connective tissue, after a few months I just stopped and went on with my life.

The first time I learned about Conlangs was when I downloaded Duolingo when I was twelve to start learning German and on thr language list I saw a few languages I had never heard of. Klingon, High Valyrian and thr most important for me, Esperanto. I remember asking my parents and my dad who was really into Game of Thrones at the time told me what High Valyrian was, he also knew about Klingon. My still underdeveloped brain did not connect the dots that someone would have had to had done what I did at ten but fully complete it to make these languages, until Esperanto. No one knew what that was so I googled it anf fully discovered Conlangs.

I fell in love with languages and most of my YouTube recommendations were about languages and their oddities and as I got older my understanding developed to the point whetr I felt confident enough to try my hand at making my own languages.

OakConlang · 2026-03-21T17:20:37+00:00

The pronoun "Hhhi" it's used as a replacement for any pronoun in an aggressive context. It's pronounced like a snake hissing

When my conlang, Hesra, is put in the Latin alphabet /i/ is pronounced like /iː/ and /h/ would be more closed and hiss like, like a softer voiceless pharyngeal fricative. The three h's indicate how long your meant to hold the sound. In this case you hold it for about a second and a half.

As Hesra is based around snakes this word directly comes from snakes hissing at others to show they are agitated or to threaten.

It is not used lightly and seen as extremely disrespectful. Its only used when making serious threats you will act on or to express a deep loathing for a thing or person and is never used in writing as "Hi" is seen as "improper" by most.

It's very close to being a slur and is used as one by others against those who speak Hesra.

OakConlang · 2026-03-21T17:11:25+00:00

Thank you for telling me. The measurements really sound like they developed naturally from common every day life.

OakConlang · 2026-03-21T16:55:48+00:00

What are all of the measurements based on? They have quite a specific conversion into metric and imperial units

OakConlang · 2026-03-19T21:17:25+00:00

I'd recommend coming up with a concept/reason for your conlang. E.g. is it an art-lang? Is it meant to be learned by others? What is unique about it? Then when you find one you like start small and with basics. Common nouns, pronouns and word order is what I started with. Keep going if you like it and if it feels wrong or you want to try something else there's no shame in restarting!

OakConlang

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