someone: 'they' is plural, not singular
me: what's the root of 'themselves'
someone: 'themself'
me: you know that's a word right? specifying singular of a 'they'? directly implying that 'they' can be singular?
someone: ...
me: when addressing someone, what word is used?
someone: you?
me: wrong, go fuck thyself
someone: but we've used you as singular for centuries!
me: we've used they as singular for just as long, dickhead!
@troubleMoney @sydneyfalk
we've used we as singular for even longer
@sydneyfalk but that’s wrong, “themself” is not a valid reflexive pronoun. it is indeed “themselves”, coming from the fact that “self” is turned plural thanks to “they” being a plural noun. you could argue that there have been instances of it being used (mostly in unreliable scriptures) but then you might as well argue “ain’t” is a valid contraction
@sydneyfalk “but muh singular root!”
what’s the “singular root” of “we” then? oh right, it’s “I”. and what’s the “singular root” of “they”? oh right. he/she/it.
@sydneyfalk
Right on!
Sometimes its nice to be reminded of the implications of specific word choices.
However, it's totally unwelcome and abusive when someone demands you conform to the constructs of the language for the language's sake.
Furthermore, the language is for our use, not for pedants to harass people.
Keep up, linguists. Hate the perils of a living language? Find another hobby horse.
(I think the real linguists know this, but the self-important grammar-nazis should just drop it).