this post was submitted on 14 Aug 2023
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[โ€“] FederatedSaint@lemmy.world 32 points 1 year ago (3 children)

After having multiple conversations with parents about their non-binary children, I have to admit that constantly using they/them gets confusing as hell. This parent has multiple children and I frequently couldn't tell if they were referring to their children collectively, or to the non-binary child individually.

I have only one son and I sometimes find myself calling him by the dog's name. ๐Ÿ™

[โ€“] Erika2rsis@lemmy.blahaj.zone 13 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Potential solutions:

  • while saying "they", hold up one or two fingers depending on if the word is singular or plural (also possible in emoji: โ˜๏ธ/โœŒ๏ธ)
  • mutter "singular" or "plural" under your breath before saying "they"
  • replace plural they with "theys" or "thy'all", ร  la "yous" or "y'all"
  • pronounce singular they as /ฮธeษช/ and plural they as /รฐeษช/
[โ€“] Zyansheep@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Wait, what is the difference in pronunciation for ฮธeษช vs รฐeษช?

The same difference between "ether" and "either", or "thistle" and "this'll". Voiceless ฮธ, voiced รฐ.

[โ€“] SpaceAce@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Isn't it the difference between the 'th' sound in they(รฐ) and through(ฮธ)?

[โ€“] barsoap@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

or that and thatch.

[โ€“] eestileib@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago

Oh I LOVE the last one.

[โ€“] ddkman@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

And then imagine being one of the basically 7 billion people whose first language, isn't english, but are forced to use it because of, the internet. This type of let's be real malicious syntax is a huge issue.

"Oh those poor, poor ESLs, who are far too stupid to learn the intricacies of Our Tongue, surely we must dumb it down for their sake!"

Listen, as the child of an immigrant and a language learner in xyr own right, the problem with people being forced to learn a complex language is not that the language is complex but that people are forced to learn it. Making the world accessible for ESLs or non-Anglophones does not mean berating native speakers of English as "malicious" for developing their own language to suit their own needs.

[โ€“] SocialistWombat@hexbear.net 21 points 1 year ago

Gender status: ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ

[โ€“] UlyssesT@hexbear.net 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[โ€“] PipedLinkBot@feddit.rocks 2 points 1 year ago

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