• fxomt@lemm.eeM
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      2 days ago

      I have no idea why they exist since they serve the same purpose as they/them but sound weirder, but apparently it’s “zee” and “zerr”

      • then_three_more@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        Thank you.

        And yes, I’ve never got it. Singular they dates back to Middle English. So I’ve never understood the feeling of the need to reinvent the wheel.

        Of course if someone wanted to go by xi I’d do my best to honour that.

        • fxomt@lemm.eeM
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          2 days ago

          I don’t necessarily have any grudges against neopronouns (except stupid ones like dragon fucker) but i just use they/them because my brain cannot handle using words like that lmao

          besides, its gender neutral so i suppose its fine?

          • tauonite@lemmy.world
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            1 day ago

            Yeah I agree with you. I’m personally for a universal gender neutral singular third person neopronoun, or they/them, whichever becomes common (they/them is already common but with some opposition and can be a bit clunky sometimes). I am, however, against personalized neopronouns. Those are just additional names for a person that you need to remember and use correctly. Pronouns have five cases in English, which would make every single person have six names you need to pick from depending on context. It’s impractical and unnecessary. I thought the point of pronouns was so that the name didn’t have to be repeated again and again?

            Just have a universal pronoun and it’s all over, everyone is happy.

        • Yes, but

          First, this is coming from a place of irritation with ambiguity, not from being supportive of neopronouns. Not that I’m opposed to neopronouns, per se, but my motivation in defending something like xi/xer is more banal: I hate how ambiguous English can be about some things, and in particular, pronouns.

          I am not from the South, but I adopted y’all as soon as I learned about it merely because “you” being both singular and plural drives me nuts. “Y’all” is clearly plural “you,” and if everyone used “y’all” then we could normalize “you” to always being singular.

          Same with “they,” only there isn’t a common convenient dialect fix for the plural/singular issue. I happily embrace “xi/xer/xem” and whatever else necessary to provide a distinction between singular and plural. For me, the gender aspect is entirely secondary, but I’m happy to adapt to whatever.

          I do object to open ended shit like “people should be allowed to define how they’re referred to.” OP’s joke would be funny except that Latin had distinct rules - people weren’t just making up whatever shit and flexing by socially pressuring others around them to conform to their own invented pidgin vocabulary.

          Let’s define a set of pronouns that covers the LGBTQ+ set; we’ll end up with, what, 8 or 10 pronoun groups. I don’t think that’s the most absurd thing. You want absurd, look through a telephone registry in Paris, and see names like Jean-Franc Christophe-Luarde de Luc. That’s clearly naming gone off the rails. If someone wants to make up their own fantasy pronouns, fine, but I will not feel ashamed for not using “dragonfucker” as a pronoun for that one dipshit.

      • corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
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        2 days ago

        no idea why they exist since they serve the same purpose

        I see someone missed school.

        • fxomt@lemm.eeM
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          2 days ago

          Pretty sure they don’t teach about neopronouns in muslim countries. Explain please?

    • southsamurai
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      2 days ago

      I’ve heard them said as either zi zer, or zhi zher. Why they chose an x for an initial letter fire a word proposed for English, I’ll never understand.

      I’ve even heard someone say them as an s, which is absolutely not what was intended for the obvious reason.