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Utah's Foremost Platform for Undergraduate Research Presentation
2021 Abstracts

Singularly They

Presenter: Taylor Connor, Dixie State University, English
Authors: Taylor Connor
Faculty Advisor: Olga Pilkington, Dixie State University, English
Institution: Dixie State University

The English language is evolving constantly to adapt to the new concepts being birthed each day. Slang phrases, for example, are creating novel words and connotations even as people speak. And more than that, there are grammatical changes taking place that will affect the academic world as well. Specifically, as the English language stretches to become more inclusive, the pronoun they is transforming into a singular pronoun in addition to functioning in the plural sense of the word. It is possible that the singular they will be able to entirely replace the generic he and he/she or (s)he in academic writings. There are significant grammatical changes taking place as the singular pronouns “they/them/their” are rising to popularity and greater usage in reference to people with unknown genders, and for respect of nonbinary and transgender people. In order to understand how the singular pronoun they is evolving into daily vocabulary, this essay studies how the samples of people interpret the use of singular they/them/their and how the gender neutral pronoun is used in reference to a single individual in Archie Bongiovanni’s Grease Bats. The findings from analysing these sources leads one to believe that the future is bright for the singular they in academic and personal uses. Essayists can say goodbye to clunky he/she or (s)he in favor of employing the singular they. And most importantly, nonbinary persons can safely come out and have their pronouns recognized by the general public.