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3rd person singular pronouns (Mid Eng) (en.wiktionary.org)
submitted 2 months ago by to c/nonbinary@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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[–] [S] 3 points 2 months ago (6 children)

that's actually natural. but I was looking for 3rd person singular [unknown gender] pronouns to replace Francis Augustus Brewster’s e/em/es (1841), to find out Middle English speakers already had.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago (5 children)

    Ah, my brain read the first definition and totally forgot you put 3rd person in the title and failed to see the following definitions. Oops.

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  • [–] [S] 0 points 2 months ago (4 children)

    It's alright. I still want your input:

    1. a/am/as
    2. a/ar/ars
    3. ae/aer
    4. e/em/es
    5. they/them
    6. [insert your own]
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  • [–] 0 points 2 months ago* (3 children)

    I'm fine with singular they, personally, but as a cis-het guy, I'm not sure I'm the most qualified to be speaking on the subject, heh.

    If something shorter was desired, maybe y (pronounced more like /i/) like french uses in another context that otherwise never stands alone in English and shouldn't really be homophonic with anything else meaningful when usage is considered.

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  • [–] [S] 0 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    So “e/em/es,” (4) or french “J’y” (6)? Does french “y” have accusative or possessive transformations, or is it combinational?

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  • [–] 0 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    French 'y' is like 'there' in English, roughly (IIRC; it's been decades). But, since English doesn't use it, it doesn't matter. Presumably, it would take a normal 's for possession. I don't know about accusative or dative.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 2 months ago

    So, something like y/y/y’s: e.g.
    I think y is very nice.
    I met y recently.
    Is this y’s dog?
    Y told me that the house is y’s.
    Y said y would rather do it yself.

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