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They/Them and the evolution of English
Listen
12:59
TRH: Anne Curzan
Part 1 of the TED Radio Hour episode The History Behind Three Words
Linguist Anne Curzan delights in the nuances and evolution of language. She says we should embrace they/them as singular pronouns---which have actually been used for hundreds of years.
About Anne Curzan
Anne Curzan is a professor of English at the University of Michigan who studies how the English language works and how it has changed over time.
Her books include Says Who? A Funner Kinder Usage Guide for Anyone who Cares about Words and Fixing English: Prescriptivism and Language History. She also co-hosts the show That's What They Say on Michigan Radio. She was a member of the Usage Panel for the American Heritage Dictionary from 2005-2018.
This segment of the TED Radio Hour was produced by Rachel Faulkner White and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour. You can follow us on Facebook @TEDRadioHourand email us at TEDRadioHour@npr.org.
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Web Resources
Related TED Talk: Why is there a "b" in doubt?
A brief history of plural word...s
NPR Related Links
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Two books examine the evolution of the English language
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