“They”可以當單數用，但這個新用法卻沒那么簡單......

“They”可以當單數用？？？莫非這么多年學的都是“假英語”……小編并未聳人聽聞，“They”的單數用法是經《韋氏詞典》（Merriam-Webster）“認證”的！

9月17日，《韋氏詞典》宣布新增533個單詞，涉及政治、經濟、體育、文化等多個領域，還包含部分網絡流行詞，如：“Vacay”（“Vacation”的縮寫）“Fabulosity”（“Fabulous”和“Quality”的混合詞）“Escape room”（密室逃脫）“Free solo”（徒手攀巖），“Stinger”（彩蛋）“Dad jokes”（“老爸笑話”，指老套過時或易尷尬冷場的笑話）......一眾新詞中，一個“老詞”顯得格外引人注目。在新收錄的“種族和身份”（New Words About Race and Identity）一類單詞中，出現了“They”。消息發出后引發網友熱議。

《韋氏詞典》對于“They”的新增釋義如下：-used to refer to a single person whose gender identity is nonbinary.“指代性別認同非二元的單數人稱?！?《韋氏詞典》“They”新增釋義例句："I knew certain things about…the person I was interviewing...They had adopted their gender-neutral name a few years ago, when they began to consciously identify as nonbinary — that is, neither male nor female. They were in their late 20s, working as an event planner, applying to graduate school."如此看來，此處“They”似乎有些類似我們在非正式語境中使用的“Ta”，即對于不明性別或其個人性別認同非男性或女性人士的代稱。

*注！不過，“They”雖然可做單數使用，“They is...”的用法在考試中依然是要被扣分的！由例句看來，“They”不論做單數或復數人稱代詞使用，與其搭配的謂語或者系動詞都是不變的。Merriam-Webster, a renowned American online dictionary, announced on Tuesday that it has added "they" as a non-binary pronoun to its dictionary, together with over 530 other new words.

The new entry, which refers to a single person who does not identify as male or female, is listed to "address the complex ways we view ourselves and others and how we all fit in," said the publisher.

“They”做單數，是單數人稱代詞不夠用嗎？對于包含“They”在內的部分“種族與身份”一類新增單詞和釋義，《韋氏詞典》解釋說這些詞與“自我認同”相關："Several new entries are for words that address the complex ways we view ourselves and others and how we all fit in."“這些新詞詮釋了我們看待自己和他人的復雜方式，以及我們自己如何適應其中”。此前，“They”也有單數用法，指代上文中提到的不確定第三人稱單數： 而“They”的新用法是針對一個性別已知、但并不認同自己是男性或女性的人，因為總有人不接受既定的性別表達。“They”的單數用法由來已久《韋氏詞典》在一篇名為《Singular 'They'》的文章中提到，“They”做單數的用法由來已久，最早可追溯到十四世紀。《牛津詞典》（Oxford English Dictionary）研究顯示，1375年，在中世紀文學作品《William and the Werewolf》中就曾出現“They”的單數用法：“Each man hurried . . . till they drew near . . . where William and his darling were lying together.”The use of "they"?as a singular pronoun can be traced back to 1375 when the word appeared in the medieval romance "William and the Werewolf"?as a singular form referring to the antecedent "each man," according to the Oxford English Dictionary. It was also found to be referring to a singular term in a letter written?by Emily Dickinson in 1881.十七世紀，英國繼承法中有時用“It”指代不適用于二元性別的人。

《韋氏詞典》指出，人們認為這一將人“物化”（dehumanizing）的表達已經是當時涉及性別指稱最準確的表述。1881年，英國小說家艾米莉·狄金森（Emily Dickinson）也曾在一封信中用到了單數的“They”："Almost anyone under the circumstances would have doubted if [the letter] were theirs, or indeed if they were themself."單數“They”的出現，就像單數的“You”從復數的“You”發展而來的過程，只是我們已經習慣了用“You are XX”來形容單數的“你”了。

“They”的新增單數用法背后有何“玄機”？其實，“They”做單數的用法并非僅僅出現于文學作品、法律文件或日常對話中。近年來，隨著社會對于LGBTQ人群接受度的提高，很多媒體呼吁將“They”賦予同“He”和“She”一樣的第三人稱含義，并開始在報道中使用這一用法。2017年3月，美聯社（Associated Press）首次將“They”做單數或指代“中性”人稱（gender-neutral pronoun）的用法納入寫作規范（AP Stylebook）。

寫作規范主編Paula Froke表示，此舉是為確認“They”在口語中的單數用法并顧及性別認同非二元人群的需要："…we offer new advice for two reasons: recognition that the spoken language uses they as singular and we also recognize the need for a pronoun for people who don’t identify as a he or a she."除美聯社外，目前《芝加哥格式手冊》（Chicago Manual of Style，適用于美國英語的格式指南）、美國現代語言學會出版的MLA格式手冊（MLA style manual）以及美國心理學會出版手冊（APA style manual）都已經納入“They”的單數用法。

*Grammarly例句："They are a talented artist. I really enjoyed their painting of a flower in art class yesterday."In March 2014, the use of singular "they"?was for the first time allowed in the Associated Press Stylebook.《紐約時報》（The New York Times）曾于7月發表評論文章《It's Time for 'They'》。文章指出，“They”做單數使用時適用范圍廣且靈活（inclusive and flexible），還可以打破性別局限（breaks the stifling prison of gender expectations）。

8月，《衛報》在一篇名為《He, she, or...? Gender-neutral pronouns reduce biases – study》的文章中表示，包含“They”在內的中性代詞有助于減少性別刻板印象，從而對女性及LGBT人群產生積極影響（reduces mental biases that favor men, and boosts positive feelings towards women and LGBT people）。除“They”以外，英語中還曾出現其他中性第三人稱，如：1860及70年代美國作家使用的“ze”和“zir”；2016年，《韋氏詞典》新增“Mx.”一詞作為與“Mr.”和“Ms”并列的中性尊稱。