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.
Web Resources
Related TED Talk: Why is there a "b" in doubt?
A brief history of plural word...s
NPR Related Links
Mapping The Birthplace Of Modern Languages
Two books examine the evolution of the English language
The Characters That Built China
Copyright 2024 NPR
