BreakingNews·190920 - “they”现在也是一个单数代词

The reference book company Merriam-Webster has added a new definition of the pronoun "they" to its famous Webster's Dictionary. It now lists the word "they" as referring to a "single person whose gender identity is non-binary". This will be welcome news for those who identify neither as male nor female - people with non-binary identities. Many institutions have already incorporated a gender-neutral option into their official forms. A growing number of local governments, schools and airlines have introduced the gender choice of "X" to accommodate people who do not consider themselves as male or female, and for gender fluid people who switch between different genders.

参考书公司Merriam Webster在其著名的韦氏词典中增加了一个新的代词“the s”的定义。它现在列出的“他们”一词是指“性别认同是非二元的单身人士”。对于那些既不认同男性身份也不认同女性身份的人来说，这将是一个好消息。许多机构已经将性别中立的选择纳入其正式形式。越来越多的地方政府、学校和航空公司推出了“X”的性别选择，以适应那些不认为自己是男性或女性的人，以及那些在不同性别之间转换的具有性别流动性的人。

Merriam-Webster stated that the use of "they" in place of "he" or "she" recognizes people who did not "conform to an expected gender expression, or who seemed to be neither male nor female". It added: "We've struggled to find the right language to describe these people, and in particular, the right pronouns." It points out that the word "they" has been used as a singular pronoun since the late 1300s. William Shakespeare used it in this way in the early 17th century. In 1898, the playwright George Bernard Shaw wrote in his play Antony and Cleopatra that: "No man goes to battle to be killed....But they do get killed." Merriam-Webster says that today, "nearly everyone uses the singular "they" in casual conversation".

《韦氏词典》指出，用“他们”代替“他”或“她”是指那些“不符合预期的性别表达，或者看起来既不是男性也不是女性”的人。报告还说：“我们一直在努力寻找合适的语言来描述这些人，特别是合适的代词。”报告指出，“他们”一词从13世纪末开始就被用作单数代词。威廉·莎士比亚在17世纪初就这样使用它。1898年，剧作家萧伯纳(George Bernard Shaw)在他的戏剧《安东尼与克利奥帕特拉》(Antony and Cleopatra)中写道：“没有人去战斗是为了被杀……但他们确实会被杀。”韦氏词典(Merriam Webster)说，今天，“几乎每个人都在随意的交谈中使用单数“他们”。