It seems, to me, the singular use of "they" is more commonly used by people than they may even think. For example, you find a phone left somewhere in a business. So you bring it to an employee, saying "someone left their phone on the table." You probably won't even give that usage, in that context, a second thought -- you likely won't even notice it.
Language evolves. That much is true. But language evolves by consent, not by force or dictat. When a minority of people demand changes in language, and want to enforce those changes, the result will inevitably be resistance.
"Language evolves by consent" Not the case for the hundreds, if not thousands of Native languages that have been completely wiped out due to colonization.
Walking contradiction. That's how you know that this person is possessed by an ideology; it has him as it's mouthpiece. He hasn't fully integrated the ideas yet cuz he can't express them without glaring contradictions
@@vilesleftnostril.4704 "People have deep beliefs about language... Such as some ways of using languages are more correct" "I also clarified the correct words they could use when referring to me" "All of them would have to switch their pronouns when referring to me" Aka, "there are no right words, but when it comes to talking to me, there are!"
The key is not to get offended if somebody asks you to use these new terms and not to get offended if they do not want to use them. Unfortunately it seems this the opposite to what is our society trend nowadays
@@Zytech Just another distraction to keep the working class from seeing our common enemy - people who hoard wealth instead of allowing us to see the fruits of our labor
Alright, let’s just go ahead and tell someone that their identity isn’t valid and is something that should be debated. Please use they/them pronouns and be respectful of their (valid) identity.
Beg to differ. If someone calls you "Tom" and you say "Sorry, I'm Eduardo", but they keep calling you "Tom", that's pretty rude. Rude to the point of disrespectful. So ask yourself, why is using the wrong pronoun, repeatedly, intentionally, any different.
@@thoughtheretic The law will probably never say that. Just because something _can_ happen doesn't mean it will - this isn't a slippery slope. The law only says that you can't discriminate against already heavily marginalized groups
These people are everything but unique. The only unique in them is how they are all uniquely trying to be different. Their sole existince is based on "me me me". This is what you get when you have a culture, like in america, where narcissism is not frowned upon but instead "celebrated". Narcissism breeds mental illness.
@@eyemallears2647 It ended that way because communism is the obvious solution to capitalism, and with everyone joining a nation as strong and benevolent as the Soviet Union, where would the United States get its slave labor from? You can't exploit third world countries protected by a behemoth - and your own countrymen will turn on you when you force them to work even harder, while still seeing not a drop from the fruits of their labor. The Soviet Union had its downsides, but to say that communism as a whole does not work because of its failure is to say that it is natural for humans to develop depression and anxiety while ignoring the elephant in the room: loneliness. How well do you truly know the members of your community? How well do they know you? Why are you so afraid of each other? We are all in the same boat. We have nothing to lose but our chains.
You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink. Nobody was forced to do anything, not even you. We were given a choice: either add to the pile of reasons for someone to commit suicide and take away the gift of life, or don't. We simply chose not to add to the pile
@@lyrablack8621 the gift of life? Talk about the gift of life to these people that are self-mutilating their bodies instead of fixing their disphoria .
@@econ2206 There are various cures for dysphoria, but denying someone's identity just adds to the it. People self harm because they are in pain. It's not for attention or anything. Adding to their pain by gaslighting them only adds to their dysphoria
@@theWinterWalker Because when somebody does not want to use weird pronouns is labelled as a "phobe" or "feels threatened " or "need to educate themself" with a topic that almost nobody properly understands.
@24 SadSongs "Dad jailed for not calling his daughter, son" - "Norway Has Made Biphobic, Transphobic Speech Illegal" - UK has done it as well. Parts of Australia has done it and is spreading. Know something before talking to me.
This talk made me even more opposed to these 'natural changes of language'. As a linguist, the speaker wasn't able to offer a single argument and instead elevates themselves to a position of power in order to state and redefine. Forcing changes in this way just creates resentment. The only interesting part of this talk, the one where the speakers expertise would have been useful, was done off as "too complicated to get into". Instead, we get left with the final words "believe me".
"wasn't able to offer a single argument" It's very clear, you weren't listening then. "we get left with the final words "believe me"." Because people have this strange tendency not believing the identity of trans people. And that last sentence wasn't evidence based about the words, it was about asking people what pronouns they use, and that it's ok to do so. You mischaracterize on purpose to avoid asking yourself a difficult question. "Is it really that hard for me to be accommodating to trans people?" When I'm sure you do it for other situations, just fine.
@@infinitivez it's not a "single person accommodating" to trans people. It's the entire foundation of the society being torn down to accommodate less than 1 percent of the population.
@@bdan6954 1% is still 2-3 million people, which is 4-5 times the level of homelessness in America. We've changed society to accommodate for homeless people (although there are efforts to change it to dissuade homeless people), and we've made changes to accommodate the autistic population which is twice to three times that of the trans population. So it's not impossible.
It was co-opted. If you're this publicly visible, it's a matter of time. Leftists bully their way (“accommodate us or else…”) into organizations without remorse.
You don't expect strangers to address your grandmother as meemaw. You don't expect most anyone outside of your immediate family and close friends to address them as such.
@@luisfdconti My point was in regards to the analogy surrounding unique pronouns and comparing them to the names for grandmothers. The argument for they/them had a better analogy that was at least persuasive as it made sense -- the analogy for the term of address for grandmothers doesn't hold up for the reasons in my original post.
We all know that languages change... That's not the issue. The problem is with imposing language use on others on the penalty of losing a job or going to jail.
And this enforced use of language is the exact opposite of evolution. It has happened many times before - forced use of language was a characteristic of most totalitarian systems.
The issue isn't whether or not language, definitions, and grammar change over time. Of course they do - and should. The issue is with some folks pursuing the right to choose language, definitions, and grammar On The Fly. On the spot. If anyone can change a definition at any point, definitions start to lose meaning. Language becomes more confusing instead of more communicative. LGBTQ+ people should have every single human right and respect, just as anyone else. No less, but also no more..
don't really understand the beef with "choosing language, definitions, and grammar on the spot" when we celebrate authors like shakespeare and rowling and tolkien who literally did invent language on the spot that people use today. nobody can point to times this actually happened with repercussions except a twitter spat they had anyways lol
The whole argument against the singular "they" is insane. We've used it for hundreds of years. We already use it in singular form when talking about someone whose gender we do not know, so it's not a big leap to use it for a specific person
That's not true at all. We say "their" and "themself" far more often when referring to someone in the singular whose gender isn't known. Where we would use "they" in the singular most people would opt for saying "he or she" or even "he-she". "What dinner should we make for our foreign exchange student?" "I think we should let him/her pick the meal for themself." "When do you think he or she will want to go to bed?"
Step 1. Create your own language Step 2. Feel exited like you got a new toy to play with Step 3. Tell people to use your language Step 4. If they dont want to use it, blame them for being inhuman
@@hannesw.2624 biology doesn't ever change , can you deny that ? this is just a feeling , and why would people change the basics in the language just for a feeling
"If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them." Chapter 20 verse 13.
But my question is what happens in languages where absolutely everything is categorized into a gender. Only 25% of the world’s languages do this, but major world languages such as French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Arabic all have this feature.
Some languages, like Russian and German, have 3 grammatical genders ("masculine", "feminine" and something in the middle, never used for living beings, probably being closest to English "it"), and Swedish has two, none of which are "masculine" or "feminine". Also, the most popular world language by the number of native speakers, which is Chinese, has no such concept at all, while a lot of African languages have so many grammatical categories, that they are called "classes" and do not relate to gender concepts as well. Lucky enough, in most places on Earth there's not a single good reason why you should care about using specific words, titles or pronouns for people with special needs only because they demand it or belong to any particular cultural or social group, unless it's someone you personally care for, in which case he/she/they/whatever might as well require you to address them with "your highness" , "Princess Consuela Banana Hammock", "mrgl-mrgl" or any other sequence of sounds they seem appropriate, and it's your choice to do so (or not to do so). It has absolutely nothing to do with language, neither it requires revisiting the rules that are used by common folk, who have no such exquisite claims
Grammatical gender is distinct from social gender. If we were to re-translate the original word that resulted in the term 'grammatical gender', it would likely be something like 'grammatical genre' or 'grammatical category'. The association between the gender of a person and the gender of a noun etc is just that; an association. It's a connection drawn by our minds, not embedded in the grammar itself. Otherwise, are you suggesting that Norwegian chairs are 'male'? What would that even mean?
@UCjsNezplcp3HUJBjS_69w2g Yeah, no, that's not how this works. Language changes constantly, it changes from use, and it is *the listener* who determines meaning, not the speaker. This is necessarily how it works. This is what a shared language *is* . There is nothing neoliberal about this. More than that, there are many languages that have several other social genders encoded in their pronouns, and as you yourself point out the purpose of pronouns is to reflect the social gender of the subject. That very explicitly makes its purpose *social* rather than *grammatical* , and descriptively the only requirement of the pronoun is for it to stand in for the correct noun which is determined linguistically by the listener and socially by the referenced.
Well, aren't all words made up? SOmeone at some point inn history was like "imma put some sounds together and make a word that means _______" I'm not wrong; not like human just came to being speaking every language
I agree language change, but you cannot make it change, you should know it the best. Languages changes naturally when a big population changes it naturally not by force as you try to do. Nothing by force is well received
The gender u r assigned at birth is different than what u identify as and if a person doesn't feel as if the two match for them that is their choice and we need to respect and support that. Thats the least we can do as human beings and it is basic courtesy.
@@Guiltypleasure98 Ain't an answer Y'all you're fighting for ur ... "Ideas" but never have anything to say except "good for u" ; find arguments before fighting for something and then we'll be able to talk
Right, don't made up language to respect people, made up language is crap, we should stop making up language and maybe just speak at all, then nobody is offended
You'll begin to notice that the overwhelming majority of ted talks speakers argue their idea from fundamentally flawed premises, cognitive biases, or logical fallacies. It's a bit ironic since most of these speakers come from humanities backgrounds but seem to gloss over these fundamental aspects.
Juuusst gonna combat the grease-fire that is this comment section and say that I'm a straight cis dude that appreciated this talk. Given the options of respecting traditions and respecting people...just respect people. It ain't hard.
Changing language is one thing but being duped into changing your own person moral standard by saying it is just a benign language change is totally a different thing.
Language can evolve, but only as far as the general population allows it. If a word doesn't catch on it will die off. If the word stops being used for too long it will die off. As a culture we don't have to accept that the word they and them can Define one individual.
In summary: 1. "All of us have deeply held beliefs about language... Such as some ways of using languages are more correct" 2. "I also clarified the correct words they could use when referring to me" 3. "All of them would have to switch their pronouns when referring to me" 4. "There are commonly held incorrect beliefs about language" 5. "belief 1: Some people believe that grammar rules don't change" 6. "Grammar rules do change!" 7. "so commit to asking and learning" So going step by step, (1) we all have deep beliefs about language, but (2) yours (3) trump others because (4) you know correct language. Some (5) don't want to or (6) they don't believe, but (7) your words take precedence. This is just a sophisticated way of saying I'm right and your wrong with a smile. Ask, and compromise, is my suggestion. Respect yourself and others, where you can, by choosing something neutral. This approach is too imbalanced.
We got this thing in german speaking countries called "gendern". Like in many other countries, german uses the generic maskulin (just using the grammatical-male version of a word to address all sexes). e.g. "most actors can't afford to live off their profession". For the feminist movement however, this is a big problem because it doesn't specifically highlight that also women are meant by that term. They demand (with great success) to "gender" all these words. e.g. "most actorEsses can't afford to live off their profession" Does it make sense to you to obscure language like that in this case?
If you balk at the idea that we aren't bound by what words meant before, consider this: Words mean what they are perceived by the listener to mean. You, as a speaker, only control this insofar as you are able to predict what that perception will be. That's what a shared language *is*. If words meant what they were *intended* to mean by the *speaker* , then there would be no language barriers. But language isn't a neutral means of conveying meaning from one mind to another. It's a *shared interface* , and input *will* be processed differently from output. It's a continuous game of communicative adjustment spanning all of human history.
Archie: People get really upset when you challenge their beliefs about language. People in the comments: I'm really upset because you challenged my beliefs about language!
Well, isn't is strange how sometimes language change happens super fast and before you know it, everyone uses some word or phrase, and other times, you try all sorts of things, like massively downvoted TED talks, and people are still against the changes you propose? You've tried and failed many, many times. Don't you think it's time to stop?
Language change with the people who use the language, it is always changing, it is bond to the culture of that people, it can be forced, but it will change to what the people who use it want. What I see is people forcing what they want agains boomers who dont want a change, keep forcing, maybe zoomers get used to what you want to force.
I agree with everything, but what you fail to realize is that people are not typically forced to make these language transitions. They happen organically, as language evolves. The solution here is simple: you speak how you want, and let others speak how they want. If we truly love and respect one another, there is no reason why we can't forgive our language differences and not be offended just because someone calls themselves 'they,' or someone else calls us 'him' or 'her.'
The language of the majority doesn’t need to change for the minority. “Stop trying to make fetch happen. It’s not going to happen!” I’ll use your pronouns ftm and mtf and can easily be friends. However, both genders are in themselves fluid and someone who says they need a entire new persona around this is almost guaranteed to have the majority not pursue friendship with them (which leads to only people who identify that way being in a bubble of their own ideologies which never challenge their own ideas). We have names for gender non conformers already (tomboy, butch, femboy androgynous, etc), and though they may not fit the mold of traditional gender roles, but they still expect to be called by their gendered terms because it’s convenient and shows that you aren’t fragile.
I don't get it. Are you saying you're not going to call them "them" while you call them "them" all throughout your little text? ("Someone who says they need"... That's it, you already understand singular they. Now stop whining.)
if the majority of people want to change then it will change if not then it wont. its like asking people to start saying a new random thing, if they like it then they will if not then they wont.
Like racism towards a small group of people that existed for a long time. The majority didn't want to chnage so according to you it should not be challenged to be changed. Got it.
@@me-df9re think he's saying that's not how it changes. Cos you know if small minorities could just change terms the language would be uncomprehend able after a couple decades
How can someone identify as non-binary and transgender? If you don't feel you fall into either of the gender groups, how can you transition from one gender you don't identify as to the other gender you don't identify as?
"Transgender" means you don't identify as the gender you were assigned at birth. This is most often used between the two sexes, but non-binary people of any kind might, and often do, refer to themselves as trans. Hope this helped :)
The definition of trans is ever changing and used to be transsexual but no one can define what women means and yet they don't feel like one or do feel like one.
Everything bothers everyone. Lets celebrate and rejoice what we do have. Freedoms newly acquired and how the species is doing in general. Hundred years ago a flu killed 30 percent of humanity. Now not even one percent. We have running water, knowledge of sanitation. Toilets. Electricity. People live to 115. Before 30 was considered lucky to get to.
language has always evolved around our cultural time frames through the centuries and even decades where the meaning of words have changed. the main problem is how people use words in order to express a belief or a regime or even sections of society. which in certain times in our history have used to disparish a plural section of society or a singular section of society. thats why we have dictionaries so people know the meaning of words for example people sofen langauge or use soft language rather than to tell the truth or even to hear the truth. Words can be used has dangerous expressions at times.
@@alealo7285 Rather than underestimating the "chaos," which remains undefined by you and therefore incomprehensible, you seem to be overestimating your own command over the tool of language.
Every thing regarding this discussion is annoying beyond annoying. Anymore it’s non-stop everywhere…and online-saturated beyond proportion to the real world. This stuff is outta control.
According to the comments I've read, this TED talk about treating trans people with respect is: - "Dangerous" - "Government Propaganda" - Will lead to the degredation and/or extinction of our language and society - "A violation of free speech/fascist" I've seen a lot of comments about being "put in jail" for misusing pronouns. Y'all are so scared and sensitive.
According to real life, something you obviously haven't been paying attention too, people are already being prosecuted for using the wrong "pronouns" in certain countries. Ignorance is no longer an excuse and many people will not go silently in the night to entertain your ridiculousness.
Words only change meaning when people are allowed to speak them in many situations to many people. If you want a word to retain its meaning, censor it.
To me, I have always said "You okay mate" or "good to meet you mate" This is weather male or female etc... No person in my opinion is meant to be treat different as others do.
You don't need to understand, and you don't need to enjoy it, but calling people by their preferred pronouns is kind, courteous, and can really encourage people who are struggling mentally. How hard can it be to change one word?
If they're struggling mentally, they should be in therapy, and NOT the US Armed Forces. Instead, they want everyone ELSE to struggle mentally about not hurting someone's feelings.
You have the right to ask people to use whatever pronouns you prefer, but you don't have the right not to be offended if others use a pronoun from common vernacular based on your outward appearance.
Please use they/them pronouns and be respectful of their (valid) identity. They/them in the singular is already commonly used in the English language for someone of an unknown gender, so stop whining.
@@luisfdconti The singular they/them as a pronoun sure, but it being used as a pronoun to replace his and her is recent. It's being pushed by the inter sectional cult of woke.
@@TheRealpdq At no point, ever, has 'they' been a noun. 'They' is a pronoun; it has been a pronoun since we adopted it from Old Norse in the 13th Century, and it has been used in the singular pronoun form since the 14th Century. I'm struggling to understand where you've gone wrong, because your comment makes practically no sense. More baffling, Luis' comment has - what - two likes and yours has nine... meaning more people think "they" is a fucking noun (???) than are willing to accept recorded fucking history! You're actually out here making people stupider. That is what you're doing. What made you think 'they' is a noun?? Use it in a sentence or something; show me what you think a noun is.
About Archie from "incubator for teaching innovation: "Their research focuses on language practices, ideologies, and linguistic activism within trans communities, both online and in the Southern United States." Basically he isn't really a linguist. Maybe part of it is linguistcs but not as big as ideology.
I think this a is a narrow presentation of his projects: Here is a quote: "I am currently working on my PhD in Linguistics as well as the Graduate Certificate in Women's and Gender Studies at the University of South Carolina. My research interests are within sociolinguistics and discourse analysis focusing on the relationship between language, gender, and identity."
Maybe he should state that he is a social linguist, since it is quite ironic that people like him want nuance, yet they never use nuance. Also his talk sadly isn't really about linguistics. It's more about his ideology. Else he should have realised that his comparison to "thou" is a bad one.
@@GermanGlitchhunter He studied linguistics. He is a linguist. His expertise is not only the social linguistic part. Álso a short speech will always need some sort of reductionism. You can't present every data in such short time. He is presenting an idea. And for that idea it doe snot matter wheter he is presented as social linguist or as linguist. The former will only create misunderstands because people won't know this specific term. And as he said, language is about bringing people closer together. "It's more about his ideology" No its not. It is mostly about false beliefs of people. Many here do admit that language does evolve. Can you explain why the comparision is bad?
This guy is obviously not a linguist. I'm Brazillian, here we speak Portuguese. In Portuguese, there's no neutral pronouns. Only male and female. Objects have genders. Litterally everything is gendered. Now, out of nowhere, we should automatically change our ENTIRE LANGUAGE STRUCTURE just because of a small handful of people. Yes. More than 300 million portuguese speakers worldwide should, apparently, use neutral pronouns Wich WERE NEVER USED IN THE LANGUAGE BEFORE. Do you guys even know how ridiculous this whole thing is? Do you guys know how many languages are gendered? Dude. Stop it. That's how our language works. Adding neutral pronouns would screw up the entire grammar of the language. But no. English speakers MUST save us with their superior gender neutral language oh nooooo. Simply ridiculous.
Grandmother calling herself granny is one thing, grandmother calling herself grandad is another. The latter is a comparable example to the pronoun thing. The former is not. Also, would speaker appreciate a sweater embroidered with "they." ?
Language changes constantly, that is true. However, it changes naturally and one linguistic variation is not better than the other. Otherwise, it becomes a constructed language or language planning.
And what is changing naturally? Its made up from humanity and they even showed the example with the singular you thing but u prob didn't watch that long
They're correct if we're being legal in how we think about what they've said. And quite frankly, we pick up different words that have divergent meaning every day. Modern-day slang is an explicit representation of this and how we address people from nicknames to slang terms quite fluently. However, this is merely slang to address everyone. So why can't we use grammatically correct terms to address those who may prefer to be referred to as them, their or they. It's no quandary. Especially when it's so simple to call someone a 'mate' or a 'pal' by preference. If this is accepted and made habitual (which it should in theory), then it could benefit how our modern society communicate and get along with one another. So yep, totally agree. Sorry for my exhausting paragraph. :))
@@SuperCraftler you cannot hurt an already sick society. This is only reinforcement of the current paradigm. It's conditioning by redundancy of a message until people internalize values (that are not their own.) Ted talks filter out topics in the same fashion as how Google filters search results to fit the establishment narrative. Ever see a Ted talk that contests woke ideas? We only see ones intended to subvert social contracts with the outcome of an even more atomized public that has less bargaining power in their own lives despite the empowering individualism that woke propaganda sells the them. Is it any surprises how the billionaire class (and other exploitive classes) keep getting more powerful as the conventional social/sexual contracts get thrown out for new ones?
if you people think the content of this ted talk is a genuine threat to society you are off your fucking gourd. the bubble you have to live in to look at the state of the world and think that the real threat is gender neutral singular pronouns.
@@SurfbyShootin You're right. "Woke" ideas are extremely effective at atomizing the public, but only because half of the public will throw a fit at the mere suggestion of new ideas. The billionaires know this, and they consistently stoke this tendency by manufacturing outrage at a small minority of people who want to just live their lives in a way that doesn't line up with what everyone else wants. We could, on one hand, continue to be upset at this small minority of non-conforming people and dedicate all our energy to resisting them. Or, we could welcome them, be more accepting, and shift our attention to something that actually matters. Like the billionaire class.
Language is always in constant change, there are still no words today for what will come tomorrow. We should be proud of the diversity and wonder that English has to offer. So let's walk with an open mind and a heart, everyone deserves the right words to express themselves.
The amount of closeminded people in the comment section is so dissapointing. I'm not trans or non-binary but atleast I'm willing to listen and understand their point of view.. Ahh well the people on this site never fail to dissapoint me anyways so why stop now.
H it takes so little to just respect people ? especially if it makes the other person happy and comfortable ?? like whats your problem ?? you cant disagree on what someones pronouns and gender identity are ?? they are who they are , just be a decent human being and be nice.
You will be even more disappointed! Comments are forbidden on the ted official website! Transgender is a sacred religion whose truth cannot be questioned! You must believe in singing and applauding! Otherwise, you can only shut up and execute public punishment!
Trying to understand here. This person describes Archie by what Archie is NOT (male or female). Archie is non-binary which acknowledges the existence of a binary to begin with and says, that's not me, and back in the 1600s, language was different. Really Archie? And Archie and others LIKE Archie, who make up an infinitesimally minute percentage of the population, want everyone else to deny what we see and hear when Archie speaks, so that Archie can answer the question, who am I, and not feeling bad. Archie is funny. Kinda like the SNL character in the comedy skit, "It's Pat". It's this kind of insanity which is why I've taken my G out of the LGBTQIA "community", which only exists to advance socialism and social unrest.
Genders carry associations, social labels which might feel flat-out wrong, but are likely to arise whenever assumptions are made or certain linguistic indicators (such as gendered pronouns) get used. There is a binary; it’s artificial, but it has real sociological consequences for as long as people keep defining themselves and others on its terms. To be non-binary is to reject placement within an artificial social structure, to ask to not be judged by those terms or associations. To identify others in association with their preferred gender identity, even if it is defined partially by the rejection of identity with a prevailing social structure, is an important way to show respect and compassion, to see them as they want to see themself. It’s basic decency.
You have no problem when politicians and companies use pretty language to make you do things against your own interest. How is it different when an individual you don't even know, who isn't even targeting you, merely _suggests_ a different worldview?
@@downsjmmyjones101 Because it is a title, one that not only have they not earned but are trying to enforce. Imagine if an army captain tried to require private citizens to refer to them by their rank, or someone you meet says you will refer to me as sir, it's BS
I don't really care about pronounce that they prefered. In my language, we don't really have much gender associate words. But i have problems with how they push people to follow what they want to hear, just to make them feel accepted as whole. If you live long enough, you know the self acceptance is from within. Nothing outside will quench our thirst of acceptance, so they will feel empty inside and depressed. Become one part of big group might make you feel better and accepted,.people call you whatever you want might make you feel better, but at the end, something is already missing inside. No pronounce, hormon blockers, or anything else will make you happy when inside you already feel something missing
Natural language transformation speed is 200 - 1000 years. Expecting that language could be force changed in 2-5 years doesn't seem to be realistic expectation. Besides there are many languages which are not using gender related pronouns. So this concept is not making much sense for those languages. But what you could learn from those languages is that you start to describe the situation with context. Also a factor that only approx 4-5% of population is demanding the change.
Thomas Elwood had a point. By switching "you" to address someone in the singular instead of the plural and losing the word "thou" we made language harder and had to then come up with alternatives like "you all" which has been shortened to "y'all" which, even to this day, sounds like slang instead of proper English. Perhaps I'll change one of my pronouns to "thou" since it's not being used anymore anyway.
It's not necessarily the case that languge became more complicated. In linguistics there are many perspectives and when looking at articulation it's way more easy, since "you" is one sound while "thou", which requires way more energy, hence it became easier. Also language isn't just isolated to words. Context is alos a big part of language. There are markers like body language (for instance pointing towards a certain person) or loudness that can provide enough information about wether or not you talk to just one person or many.
It’s not that people think grammar rules don’t change. Its that people know that grammar rules should make logical sense. If it doesn’t make logical sense, people will not easily take on the illogical grammar.
It seems, to me, the singular use of "they" is more commonly used by people than they may even think. For example, you find a phone left somewhere in a business. So you bring it to an employee, saying "someone left their phone on the table." You probably won't even give that usage, in that context, a second thought -- you likely won't even notice it.
Because you don't if it's a man or a woman. A single person can't be both. You seem confused as to how it's used.
@@josephmorgan3382 Why?
Language evolves. That much is true. But language evolves by consent, not by force or dictat. When a minority of people demand changes in language, and want to enforce those changes, the result will inevitably be resistance.
"Language evolves by consent" Not the case for the hundreds, if not thousands of Native languages that have been completely wiped out due to colonization.
Yes the lgbtq+ community is HARASSING you with their FORCED views.
Or are you ?
It doesn’t hurt you to respect these people’s choices buddy.
@@ewoewo1113 Its LGBTQAI+...
@@laneatkinson6441 and in 2021 we should'nt do that anymore
@@laneatkinson6441 One language changing within itself is different from another language destroying it.
It feels a bit awkward to make the argument that there is no correct language, while simultaneously correcting others in their use of language.
Walking contradiction. That's how you know that this person is possessed by an ideology; it has him as it's mouthpiece. He hasn't fully integrated the ideas yet cuz he can't express them without glaring contradictions
That's post-structuralism in a nutshell. A self-defeating, scientific dead-end.
oversimplifying matters can always make them look contradictory
@@vilesleftnostril.4704 "People have deep beliefs about language... Such as some ways of using languages are more correct"
"I also clarified the correct words they could use when referring to me"
"All of them would have to switch their pronouns when referring to me"
Aka, "there are no right words, but when it comes to talking to me, there are!"
People have the right to identify however they like. People also have the right to not play your word games.
That's absolutely right. Everyone has the right to be a douchetard.
Damn right.
@@luisfdconti face palm
@@luisfdconti Everyone has the right to stay crazy
The key is not to get offended if somebody asks you to use these new terms and not to get offended if they do not want to use them. Unfortunately it seems this the opposite to what is our society trend nowadays
@@Zytech Just another distraction to keep the working class from seeing our common enemy - people who hoard wealth instead of allowing us to see the fruits of our labor
Alright, let’s just go ahead and tell someone that their identity isn’t valid and is something that should be debated. Please use they/them pronouns and be respectful of their (valid) identity.
Beg to differ. If someone calls you "Tom" and you say "Sorry, I'm Eduardo", but they keep calling you "Tom", that's pretty rude. Rude to the point of disrespectful.
So ask yourself, why is using the wrong pronoun, repeatedly, intentionally, any different.
@@thoughtheretic The law will probably never say that. Just because something _can_ happen doesn't mean it will - this isn't a slippery slope. The law only says that you can't discriminate against already heavily marginalized groups
@@mikesimone5480 exactlyyyy.
We shouldn't change our understanding of reality to celebrate your unique personality.
THATS WHAT IM SAYINGG
@@malikhallsmith Well yea but we should respect people
These people are everything but unique.
The only unique in them is how they are all uniquely trying to be different.
Their sole existince is based on "me me me".
This is what you get when you have a culture, like in america, where narcissism is not frowned upon but instead "celebrated".
Narcissism breeds mental illness.
You don’t decide or determine what “reality” is.
And pronouns aren’t a “unique personality trait”,they’re an essential part of one’s being.
Everything is changing dude, get over it
Or you can just call each other as in the Soviet Union - "comrade" :)
Yes comrade. That all ended well.
Red Alert 2 nostalgia, "Yes comrad general!"
@@eyemallears2647 It ended that way because communism is the obvious solution to capitalism, and with everyone joining a nation as strong and benevolent as the Soviet Union, where would the United States get its slave labor from? You can't exploit third world countries protected by a behemoth - and your own countrymen will turn on you when you force them to work even harder, while still seeing not a drop from the fruits of their labor.
The Soviet Union had its downsides, but to say that communism as a whole does not work because of its failure is to say that it is natural for humans to develop depression and anxiety while ignoring the elephant in the room: loneliness. How well do you truly know the members of your community? How well do they know you? Why are you so afraid of each other?
We are all in the same boat. We have nothing to lose but our chains.
holodomor be like
Death to Stalin. Hail Diagolon
Wow! What a great speech! I am watching this for my syntax class and I am amazed at this speaker!
Imagine trying to force your idea and calling it a natural change
You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink. Nobody was forced to do anything, not even you. We were given a choice: either add to the pile of reasons for someone to commit suicide and take away the gift of life, or don't. We simply chose not to add to the pile
@@lyrablack8621 Missing the point entirely and trying to spin it
@@lyrablack8621 You need help.
@@lyrablack8621 the gift of life? Talk about the gift of life to these people that are self-mutilating their bodies instead of fixing their disphoria
.
@@econ2206 There are various cures for dysphoria, but denying someone's identity just adds to the it. People self harm because they are in pain. It's not for attention or anything. Adding to their pain by gaslighting them only adds to their dysphoria
And yet, there are still people who think that one day, for no reason at all...
O/
..all life will be doomed when God farts and..
O/
This is a real subtle way of trying to mask a much larger psychological change within people. This is way more than just linguistics.
I agree, it's called maybe some people could stop dehumanizing others. The language we use at them is only one small fascet.
Please use they/them pronouns and be respectful of their (valid) identity.
@@manuelashka07 lol
@@manuelashka07 or what?
@@phineasfacingforward3460 or you treat people bad and might hurt them
Best part starts at 13:31
😂
Awww did it hurt your little misogynistic homophobic self? Should I call the Waaambulance for you? 🤣😂
@@CandysChannel it was a joke, no need to be so sensitive.
Good thing nobody asked you to see it
@@user-fk9mo2ld6w Too bad you were so sensitive that you had to make a joke cuz you are homophobic 😂
"Evolves" - Prosecuting people for using the wrong words isn't evolution.
We’re evolving but back wards.
@@animationoblivion5284 must return to monke
Why do you feel prosecuted? Lol
@@theWinterWalker Because when somebody does not want to use weird pronouns is labelled as a "phobe" or "feels threatened " or "need to educate themself" with a topic that almost nobody properly understands.
@24 SadSongs "Dad jailed for not calling his daughter, son" - "Norway Has Made Biphobic, Transphobic Speech Illegal" - UK has done it as well. Parts of Australia has done it and is spreading. Know something before talking to me.
This talk made me even more opposed to these 'natural changes of language'. As a linguist, the speaker wasn't able to offer a single argument and instead elevates themselves to a position of power in order to state and redefine. Forcing changes in this way just creates resentment. The only interesting part of this talk, the one where the speakers expertise would have been useful, was done off as "too complicated to get into". Instead, we get left with the final words "believe me".
"wasn't able to offer a single argument"
It's very clear, you weren't listening then.
"we get left with the final words "believe me"."
Because people have this strange tendency not believing the identity of trans people. And that last sentence wasn't evidence based about the words, it was about asking people what pronouns they use, and that it's ok to do so. You mischaracterize on purpose to avoid asking yourself a difficult question. "Is it really that hard for me to be accommodating to trans people?" When I'm sure you do it for other situations, just fine.
@@infinitivez it's not a "single person accommodating" to trans people. It's the entire foundation of the society being torn down to accommodate less than 1 percent of the population.
@@bdan6954 1% is still 2-3 million people, which is 4-5 times the level of homelessness in America. We've changed society to accommodate for homeless people (although there are efforts to change it to dissuade homeless people), and we've made changes to accommodate the autistic population which is twice to three times that of the trans population. So it's not impossible.
@@bdan6954 Regardless whether people use pronouns or not, water still flows from the tap.
Why did Ted stop talking about science?
Ted was never just about science lmao
Linguistics is a science.
@@xcrayolaxskiesx Poststructuralist "linguistics" is not linguistics. It's a pseudoscience.
It was co-opted. If you're this publicly visible, it's a matter of time. Leftists bully their way (“accommodate us or else…”) into organizations without remorse.
@@xcrayolaxskiesx gender not
There is no political solution.
You don't expect strangers to address your grandmother as meemaw. You don't expect most anyone outside of your immediate family and close friends to address them as such.
That "them" right there is a singular them. Well done, you've learned something today.
@@luisfdconti No, he was just using them properly. "Them" or "They" are always used in the place of plural nouns not as singular nouns.
Confusion.
... and definitely not used as a gender pronoun.
@@luisfdconti My point was in regards to the analogy surrounding unique pronouns and comparing them to the names for grandmothers.
The argument for they/them had a better analogy that was at least persuasive as it made sense -- the analogy for the term of address for grandmothers doesn't hold up for the reasons in my original post.
We all know that languages change... That's not the issue. The problem is with imposing language use on others on the penalty of losing a job or going to jail.
And this enforced use of language is the exact opposite of evolution. It has happened many times before - forced use of language was a characteristic of most totalitarian systems.
The issue isn't whether or not language, definitions, and grammar change over time. Of course they do - and should.
The issue is with some folks pursuing the right to choose language, definitions, and grammar On The Fly. On the spot.
If anyone can change a definition at any point, definitions start to lose meaning. Language becomes more confusing instead of more communicative.
LGBTQ+ people should have every single human right and respect, just as anyone else. No less, but also no more..
Thats why a big part of the new age activist crowd are called deconstructionists. They actively undermine what makes society the society
Like in the Tale of the Tower of Babel.
@@uHasioorr Who's the author of that?
don't really understand the beef with "choosing language, definitions, and grammar on the spot" when we celebrate authors like shakespeare and rowling and tolkien who literally did invent language on the spot that people use today. nobody can point to times this actually happened with repercussions except a twitter spat they had anyways lol
@@neonskylite2242 Shakespeare and Rowling and Tolkien didn't go around inciting mob to ostracize people for not using their made up language.
The whole argument against the singular "they" is insane. We've used it for hundreds of years. We already use it in singular form when talking about someone whose gender we do not know, so it's not a big leap to use it for a specific person
That's not true at all. We say "their" and "themself" far more often when referring to someone in the singular whose gender isn't known. Where we would use "they" in the singular most people would opt for saying "he or she" or even "he-she".
"What dinner should we make for our foreign exchange student?"
"I think we should let him/her pick the meal for themself."
"When do you think he or she will want to go to bed?"
@@joshuaewalker No Joshua, that’s just you going to unnecessary lengths
@@joshuaewalker 'their' and 'themselves' are the inflected forms of 'they', muppet.
Step 1. Create your own language
Step 2. Feel exited like you got a new toy to play with
Step 3. Tell people to use your language
Step 4. If they dont want to use it, blame them for being inhuman
That is not what Archie did in this Video.
@@Rithmy Oh really , tell me how this is not what He did ?
First of all, why are there two step 2.
Secondly, it's not a thing of changing others, it's about respect
@@hannesw.2624 biology doesn't ever change , can you deny that ? this is just a feeling , and why would people change the basics in the language just for a feeling
@@hannesw.2624 You are right, thx for noting. It is not only about respect, but partly ye
i will never use RABBI LANGUAGE from their Talmood
"If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them." Chapter 20 verse 13.
@@Renjia are you speaking of religion or Government rules ?
But my question is what happens in languages where absolutely everything is categorized into a gender. Only 25% of the world’s languages do this, but major world languages such as French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Arabic all have this feature.
you make new words
Some languages, like Russian and German, have 3 grammatical genders ("masculine", "feminine" and something in the middle, never used for living beings, probably being closest to English "it"), and Swedish has two, none of which are "masculine" or "feminine". Also, the most popular world language by the number of native speakers, which is Chinese, has no such concept at all, while a lot of African languages have so many grammatical categories, that they are called "classes" and do not relate to gender concepts as well.
Lucky enough, in most places on Earth there's not a single good reason why you should care about using specific words, titles or pronouns for people with special needs only because they demand it or belong to any particular cultural or social group, unless it's someone you personally care for, in which case he/she/they/whatever might as well require you to address them with "your highness" , "Princess Consuela Banana Hammock", "mrgl-mrgl" or any other sequence of sounds they seem appropriate, and it's your choice to do so (or not to do so). It has absolutely nothing to do with language, neither it requires revisiting the rules that are used by common folk, who have no such exquisite claims
@@EmmaBGames yOu mAkE nEw wOrDs
Grammatical gender is distinct from social gender. If we were to re-translate the original word that resulted in the term 'grammatical gender', it would likely be something like 'grammatical genre' or 'grammatical category'. The association between the gender of a person and the gender of a noun etc is just that; an association. It's a connection drawn by our minds, not embedded in the grammar itself. Otherwise, are you suggesting that Norwegian chairs are 'male'? What would that even mean?
@UCjsNezplcp3HUJBjS_69w2g Yeah, no, that's not how this works. Language changes constantly, it changes from use, and it is *the listener* who determines meaning, not the speaker. This is necessarily how it works. This is what a shared language *is* .
There is nothing neoliberal about this. More than that, there are many languages that have several other social genders encoded in their pronouns, and as you yourself point out the purpose of pronouns is to reflect the social gender of the subject. That very explicitly makes its purpose *social* rather than *grammatical* , and descriptively the only requirement of the pronoun is for it to stand in for the correct noun which is determined linguistically by the listener and socially by the referenced.
Most the names we give grandmothers are not made up.... they come from different cultures... this person is a linguist?
Well, aren't all words made up? SOmeone at some point inn history was like "imma put some sounds together and make a word that means _______"
I'm not wrong; not like human just came to being speaking every language
@@ryanscribner6375 What?
@@ryanscribner6375 scam.
I agree language change, but you cannot make it change, you should know it the best. Languages changes naturally when a big population changes it naturally not by force as you try to do. Nothing by force is well received
I’m not going to ignore biology so you can feel better about yourself. It’s not my duty to go along with your illusions.
Omg. Thank you for talking sense, Helena!
The gender u r assigned at birth is different than what u identify as and if a person doesn't feel as if the two match for them that is their choice and we need to respect and support that. Thats the least we can do as human beings and it is basic courtesy.
@@anishagupta2426 it isn't a basic courtesy, otherwise you wouldn't be forcing it on other people on YT comments / Ted talks
Oh, but you will ignore psychology, neurology, linguistics, and just being respectful? Alright quit whining boomer
@@manuelashka07 thank uuu
Languages change over time naturally. You're trying so hard to force it 😂
So true 👌🏼
What'd happen if we agreed to every minority's crazy ideas?
@@gccgcc533 Wooooooooooooow lol. Good for you buddy.
Nah, you just live in the past
@@Guiltypleasure98 Ain't an answer
Y'all you're fighting for ur ... "Ideas" but never have anything to say except "good for u" ; find arguments before fighting for something and then we'll be able to talk
@@courtneymaria56 “you just live in the past” lol nah, you just live in the delusional minority...
Language evolves organically, not shoehorned like this...
Right, don't made up language to respect people, made up language is crap, we should stop making up language and maybe just speak at all, then nobody is offended
i believe its pronounced jooohorned
One minute in, and the speaker is already telling me about their sexual and political preferences in a video about linguistics :/
Where on earth did they mention their sexual preferences?
@@courtneymaria56 even if he didn't no one cares what he identifies as
@@alolai2327 its very apparent since your not using their preffered prounouns....
@@scamperpamper6372 and what's he gonna do? Get me cancelled? Cry? Either way idgaf
@@romanski5811 no
I was going to write something profound ....but ...you know ....I don't feel like it now
I'm still deciding😆
Small international clique
Bizarre arguments, especially grandma parallel.. It just doesn't make any sense.
You'll begin to notice that the overwhelming majority of ted talks speakers argue their idea from fundamentally flawed premises, cognitive biases, or logical fallacies.
It's a bit ironic since most of these speakers come from humanities backgrounds but seem to gloss over these fundamental aspects.
If someone tells you "I'm going to see my Bunny this weekend", you would need quite the twisted mind to assume they refer to their grandmother.
@@diogeneslantern18 Very well said!
Anything to bring more lawlessness, to this hellish realm. 🔥
Is this the wrong time and place to ask everyone's opinion on the JQ?
109
110
Juuusst gonna combat the grease-fire that is this comment section and say that I'm a straight cis dude that appreciated this talk. Given the options of respecting traditions and respecting people...just respect people. It ain't hard.
You're not a "cis" anything. You are a heterosexual man.
Yay, some luv in the dark
You shouldn't just throw around respect willy nilly. Treat people with courtesy sure, but reserve your respect for those who are deserving of it.
@@taha1j1 exactly, common decency
Thank you for this comment, it is sadly needed
BREAKING NEWS: This world consists of more than only transgender views or considerations.
I think this is called devolution
Remember when TED posted content and not ideology?
That TED talk about drying your hands efficiently was something else.
It's ideology only when it's not your ideology
90% of Ted Talks are ideology, what are you on about lmao. Bruh just wanted to use a fancy word in a CZcams comment.
@@WhiteVanEpidemic +
Ted has always posted ideology :/
Conceptual things are ideas lol.
Changing language is one thing but being duped into changing your own person moral standard by saying it is just a benign language change is totally a different thing.
so what kind of moral standard do you have now and what is the other moral standard?
Language can evolve, but only as far as the general population allows it. If a word doesn't catch on it will die off. If the word stops being used for too long it will die off. As a culture we don't have to accept that the word they and them can Define one individual.
Actually we do, there really is no harm or good reason to avoid change in this direction
@@giacomogalli2448 You think we have to accept "they/them" is applicable to individuals when adressing them and their gender and/or identity is known?
In summary:
1. "All of us have deeply held beliefs about language... Such as some ways of using languages are more correct"
2. "I also clarified the correct words they could use when referring to me"
3. "All of them would have to switch their pronouns when referring to me"
4. "There are commonly held incorrect beliefs about language"
5. "belief 1: Some people believe that grammar rules don't change"
6. "Grammar rules do change!"
7. "so commit to asking and learning"
So going step by step, (1) we all have deep beliefs about language, but (2) yours (3) trump others because (4) you know correct language. Some (5) don't want to or (6) they don't believe, but (7) your words take precedence.
This is just a sophisticated way of saying I'm right and your wrong with a smile.
Ask, and compromise, is my suggestion. Respect yourself and others, where you can, by choosing something neutral. This approach is too imbalanced.
You take that perfectly sound logic somewhere else it's not wanted here.
We got this thing in german speaking countries called "gendern".
Like in many other countries, german uses the generic maskulin (just using the grammatical-male version of a word to address all sexes). e.g. "most actors can't afford to live off their profession".
For the feminist movement however, this is a big problem because it doesn't specifically highlight that also women are meant by that term. They demand (with great success) to "gender" all these words. e.g. "most actorEsses can't afford to live off their profession"
Does it make sense to you to obscure language like that in this case?
They are using the generic third-person pronoun. How much more neutral could you get?
What is the compromise between calling someone their preferred pronouns and not calling them their preferred pronouns
@@Worthless1010 they or their name, but respect yourself and them enough to say, that if need be.
If you balk at the idea that we aren't bound by what words meant before, consider this:
Words mean what they are perceived by the listener to mean. You, as a speaker, only control this insofar as you are able to predict what that perception will be. That's what a shared language *is*.
If words meant what they were *intended* to mean by the *speaker* , then there would be no language barriers. But language isn't a neutral means of conveying meaning from one mind to another. It's a *shared interface* , and input *will* be processed differently from output. It's a continuous game of communicative adjustment spanning all of human history.
If it's a shared interface, how can the absolute definition of words be simply bound to the perception of the listener? It's more vague than that.
You have the right o be called what you want but don't get upset if people het confused every time you change your mind
Archie: People get really upset when you challenge their beliefs about language.
People in the comments: I'm really upset because you challenged my beliefs about language!
Who can get upset about something so ridiculous and unnecesary
Exactly,can’t believe these people are living in the 21st century.
Thou shan't touch mine language! Reason hath to be preserved! *clutches pearls*
Pfft. White people problems.
😂😂
I'm from Pakistan ...a student n teacher of English language and literature...in past I did work on relationship between geNder n language learning
Well, isn't is strange how sometimes language change happens super fast and before you know it, everyone uses some word or phrase, and other times, you try all sorts of things, like massively downvoted TED talks, and people are still against the changes you propose? You've tried and failed many, many times. Don't you think it's time to stop?
Sadly they will not
Please use they/them pronouns and be respectful of their (valid) identity.
Oy...
VEY
Please stop with this nonsense, its like everyone trolling the internet got taken seriously and big, out of touch organizations ran with it.
Language change with the people who use the language, it is always changing, it is bond to the culture of that people, it can be forced, but it will change to what the people who use it want.
What I see is people forcing what they want agains boomers who dont want a change, keep forcing, maybe zoomers get used to what you want to force.
If you get offended, that's your problem. If you make your problem other people's problem, you're the problem. Problem solved.
TED quality has fallen so far without having an actual audience/vetting.
I agree with everything, but what you fail to realize is that people are not typically forced to make these language transitions. They happen organically, as language evolves. The solution here is simple: you speak how you want, and let others speak how they want. If we truly love and respect one another, there is no reason why we can't forgive our language differences and not be offended just because someone calls themselves 'they,' or someone else calls us 'him' or 'her.'
Agreed 1000%, the force is so selfish and self absorbed , or community absorbed
The language of the majority doesn’t need to change for the minority. “Stop trying to make fetch happen. It’s not going to happen!” I’ll use your pronouns ftm and mtf and can easily be friends. However, both genders are in themselves fluid and someone who says they need a entire new persona around this is almost guaranteed to have the majority not pursue friendship with them (which leads to only people who identify that way being in a bubble of their own ideologies which never challenge their own ideas). We have names for gender non conformers already (tomboy, butch, femboy androgynous, etc), and though they may not fit the mold of traditional gender roles, but they still expect to be called by their gendered terms because it’s convenient and shows that you aren’t fragile.
I don't get it. Are you saying you're not going to call them "them" while you call them "them" all throughout your little text?
("Someone who says they need"... That's it, you already understand singular they. Now stop whining.)
Well said
@@luisfdconti I'm sure the them they are using is the plural, general them.
@@capuchinosofia4771 You're wrong and you refuse to re-read the comment to see why
Please use they/them pronouns and be respectful of their (valid) identity.
if the majority of people want to change then it will change if not then it wont. its like asking people to start saying a new random thing, if they like it then they will if not then they wont.
Like racism towards a small group of people that existed for a long time. The majority didn't want to chnage so according to you it should not be challenged to be changed. Got it.
@@me-df9re think he's saying that's not how it changes. Cos you know if small minorities could just change terms the language would be uncomprehend able after a couple decades
@@me-df9re Love how you compared two unrelated topics to lend credence to your stance 😂
Reality isn’t going to change so your emotional disturbance can be normal. Cry more
How can someone identify as non-binary and transgender? If you don't feel you fall into either of the gender groups, how can you transition from one gender you don't identify as to the other gender you don't identify as?
"Transgender" means you don't identify as the gender you were assigned at birth. This is most often used between the two sexes, but non-binary people of any kind might, and often do, refer to themselves as trans. Hope this helped :)
The definition of trans is ever changing and used to be transsexual but no one can define what women means and yet they don't feel like one or do feel like one.
You stop it right now. You know darn well logical thinking isn’t allowed. 😂😅😳
Everything bothers everyone. Lets celebrate and rejoice what we do have. Freedoms newly acquired and how the species is doing in general. Hundred years ago a flu killed 30 percent of humanity. Now not even one percent. We have running water, knowledge of sanitation. Toilets. Electricity. People live to 115. Before 30 was considered lucky to get to.
language has always evolved around our cultural time frames through the centuries and even decades where the meaning of words have changed. the main problem is how people use words in order to express a belief or a regime or even sections of society. which in certain times in our history have used to disparish a plural section of society or a singular section of society. thats why we have dictionaries so people know the meaning of words for example people sofen langauge or use soft language rather than to tell the truth or even to hear the truth. Words can be used has dangerous expressions at times.
What's dangerous about this change?
@@downsjmmyjones101 Chaos.
She’s a girl
@@alealo7285 How is it chaos? How is chaos necessarily dangerous?
@@alealo7285 Rather than underestimating the "chaos," which remains undefined by you and therefore incomprehensible, you seem to be overestimating your own command over the tool of language.
GET A LOAD OF THIS JEW
i'm not surprised that the transphobes here are also actual neonazis
I mean I'm not some ultra-liberal person but this talk was insightful and interesting. Why does it have so many dislikes?
Incels.
It's a narcissistic science denier pleading to change language.
Because it's about changing language based on random people's feelings instead of the way they look like / reality
He explained that pretty well but seemed less about language rather than his personal beliefs?
These things they’re talking about actually affect millions of people and not just Archie :)
you mean they explained why using they as a singular pronoun is ok?
@@Meve76 wouldn’t that be referring to multiple people? There only one dude there
@@angeltafolla9783 did you listen to the video? ...maybe put the subtitles they clearly stated they use they as their pronoun...
@@Meve76 what does that even mean
When did TED make the left turn off the cliff ? Please mourn for TED's demise in silence for 1 second.
Every thing regarding this discussion is annoying beyond annoying. Anymore it’s non-stop everywhere…and online-saturated beyond proportion to the real world.
This stuff is outta control.
According to the comments I've read, this TED talk about treating trans people with respect is:
- "Dangerous"
- "Government Propaganda"
- Will lead to the degredation and/or extinction of our language and society
- "A violation of free speech/fascist"
I've seen a lot of comments about being "put in jail" for misusing pronouns. Y'all are so scared and sensitive.
Watch out, maybe it turns u gay or so!
@@hannesw.2624 it's already happened to the frogs
According to real life, something you obviously haven't been paying attention too, people are already being prosecuted for using the wrong "pronouns" in certain countries. Ignorance is no longer an excuse and many people will not go silently in the night to entertain your ridiculousness.
@@jj0493 oh fck, let's save them!!! And finger guns, and rainbows, and respect
Words only change meaning when people are allowed to speak them in many situations to many people. If you want a word to retain its meaning, censor it.
To me, I have always said "You okay mate" or "good to meet you mate" This is weather male or female etc...
No person in my opinion is meant to be treat different as others do.
You don't need to understand, and you don't need to enjoy it, but calling people by their preferred pronouns is kind, courteous, and can really encourage people who are struggling mentally. How hard can it be to change one word?
I identify as an attack helicopter.
What If Someone doesn't care about his feelings
If they're struggling mentally, they should be in therapy, and NOT the US Armed Forces. Instead, they want everyone ELSE to struggle mentally about not hurting someone's feelings.
@@alolai2327 Then just don't be hurt when others don't respect yours
@@TheRealpdq , you Attack Helicopters are inferior to us M1 Abrams. What are you going to do about it, Chopper Boy?
A shame on you started removing the opposing comments and the dislikes
This is a poor argument
Sad that so many people have disliked this video. It’s a nice explainer for how we should act around people in our lives. Thank you Archie! ❤️
This is a good argument to how it's completely okay to identify yourself as a "Apache attack helicopter"
@Puddin And still relevant.
You have the right to ask people to use whatever pronouns you prefer, but you don't have the right not to be offended if others use a pronoun from common vernacular based on your outward appearance.
Please use they/them pronouns and be respectful of their (valid) identity. They/them in the singular is already commonly used in the English language for someone of an unknown gender, so stop whining.
is 2+2=4?
It is. And singular they is older than singular you.
@@luisfdconti The singular they/them as a pronoun sure, but it being used as a pronoun to replace his and her is recent. It's being pushed by the inter sectional cult of woke.
Another Orwell fan. It's actually 5
@@TheRealpdq At no point, ever, has 'they' been a noun. 'They' is a pronoun; it has been a pronoun since we adopted it from Old Norse in the 13th Century, and it has been used in the singular pronoun form since the 14th Century.
I'm struggling to understand where you've gone wrong, because your comment makes practically no sense.
More baffling, Luis' comment has - what - two likes and yours has nine... meaning more people think "they" is a fucking noun (???) than are willing to accept recorded fucking history!
You're actually out here making people stupider. That is what you're doing. What made you think 'they' is a noun?? Use it in a sentence or something; show me what you think a noun is.
That's tRaNsPhObIc
He, she, and linguist. Got it.
Neither "he" nor "she". (And not even a linguist in my opinion.)
About Archie from "incubator for teaching innovation:
"Their research focuses on language practices, ideologies, and linguistic activism within trans communities, both online and in the Southern United States."
Basically he isn't really a linguist. Maybe part of it is linguistcs but not as big as ideology.
I think this a is a narrow presentation of his projects:
Here is a quote:
"I am currently working on my PhD in Linguistics as well as the Graduate Certificate in Women's and Gender Studies at the University of South Carolina.
My research interests are within sociolinguistics and discourse analysis focusing on the relationship between language, gender, and identity."
These are sub-disciplines within the broader field of linguistics. Archie is a linguist 😊
Maybe he should state that he is a social linguist, since it is quite ironic that people like him want nuance, yet they never use nuance. Also his talk sadly isn't really about linguistics. It's more about his ideology. Else he should have realised that his comparison to "thou" is a bad one.
@@GermanGlitchhunter
He studied linguistics. He is a linguist. His expertise is not only the social linguistic part.
Álso a short speech will always need some sort of reductionism. You can't present every data in such short time. He is presenting an idea. And for that idea it doe snot matter wheter he is presented as social linguist or as linguist. The former will only create misunderstands because people won't know this specific term. And as he said, language is about bringing people closer together.
"It's more about his ideology"
No its not. It is mostly about false beliefs of people. Many here do admit that language does evolve.
Can you explain why the comparision is bad?
They*
This guy is obviously not a linguist. I'm Brazillian, here we speak Portuguese. In Portuguese, there's no neutral pronouns. Only male and female. Objects have genders. Litterally everything is gendered. Now, out of nowhere, we should automatically change our ENTIRE LANGUAGE STRUCTURE just because of a small handful of people. Yes. More than 300 million portuguese speakers worldwide should, apparently, use neutral pronouns Wich WERE NEVER USED IN THE LANGUAGE BEFORE. Do you guys even know how ridiculous this whole thing is? Do you guys know how many languages are gendered? Dude. Stop it. That's how our language works. Adding neutral pronouns would screw up the entire grammar of the language. But no. English speakers MUST save us with their superior gender neutral language oh nooooo. Simply ridiculous.
Grandmother calling herself granny is one thing, grandmother calling herself grandad is another. The latter is a comparable example to the pronoun thing. The former is not.
Also, would speaker appreciate a sweater embroidered with "they." ?
Altering a language entirely to your own liking is called "cultural appropriation".
Language changes constantly, that is true. However, it changes naturally and one linguistic variation is not better than the other. Otherwise, it becomes a constructed language or language planning.
Why are you implying conlangs are bad things? Sina sona ala sona e toki pona? 🥺 And "language planning" does not exist, you're muddying the waters
And what is changing naturally? Its made up from humanity and they even showed the example with the singular you thing but u prob didn't watch that long
They're correct if we're being legal in how we think about what they've said. And quite frankly, we pick up different words that have divergent meaning every day. Modern-day slang is an explicit representation of this and how we address people from nicknames to slang terms quite fluently. However, this is merely slang to address everyone. So why can't we use grammatically correct terms to address those who may prefer to be referred to as them, their or they. It's no quandary. Especially when it's so simple to call someone a 'mate' or a 'pal' by preference. If this is accepted and made habitual (which it should in theory), then it could benefit how our modern society communicate and get along with one another. So yep, totally agree. Sorry for my exhausting paragraph. :))
The video has been published 4 minutes ago, yet people are already judging a 13 minutes video?!
I watched the whole video and honestly, it's garbage.
@@CharlesDickens111 Could you elaborate on that? How could this hurt our society as a whole? Genuinely curious.
@@SuperCraftler you cannot hurt an already sick society. This is only reinforcement of the current paradigm. It's conditioning by redundancy of a message until people internalize values (that are not their own.)
Ted talks filter out topics in the same fashion as how Google filters search results to fit the establishment narrative. Ever see a Ted talk that contests woke ideas? We only see ones intended to subvert social contracts with the outcome of an even more atomized public that has less bargaining power in their own lives despite the empowering individualism that woke propaganda sells the them.
Is it any surprises how the billionaire class (and other exploitive classes) keep getting more powerful as the conventional social/sexual contracts get thrown out for new ones?
if you people think the content of this ted talk is a genuine threat to society you are off your fucking gourd. the bubble you have to live in to look at the state of the world and think that the real threat is gender neutral singular pronouns.
@@SurfbyShootin You're right. "Woke" ideas are extremely effective at atomizing the public, but only because half of the public will throw a fit at the mere suggestion of new ideas. The billionaires know this, and they consistently stoke this tendency by manufacturing outrage at a small minority of people who want to just live their lives in a way that doesn't line up with what everyone else wants.
We could, on one hand, continue to be upset at this small minority of non-conforming people and dedicate all our energy to resisting them. Or, we could welcome them, be more accepting, and shift our attention to something that actually matters. Like the billionaire class.
J
E
W
If you can read this, this comment wasn't deleted.
just write how many genders there are and check 20 sec later
@@StasiSLG 2...
@@StasiSLG 73
@@StasiSLG every time you complain they add one more
This is one of the most delusional things I've ever heard
@@gorgthesalty 23
Why is it delusional?
The amount of ignorance in here is astounding.
@@theWinterWalker nah, just try to get your neurons working together as a team.
@@Superpilalcalina you could use some of that advice
@@theWinterWalker don't take contrapoints too seriously
Male Female that's it if you don't like what you are it doesn't mean you can change it
Why not
@@hannesw.2624 because it's scientific facts
@@ahmadayoubi9406 agreed
Nations. Religions. Languages. Gender. All human constructs.
@Luis What do we call a living creatures that have two "Sexes" then?
Language is always in constant change, there are still no words today for what will come tomorrow. We should be proud of the diversity and wonder that English has to offer. So let's walk with an open mind and a heart, everyone deserves the right words to express themselves.
And if you accidentally use the wrong words you lose your job and have to pay a fine.
The amount of closeminded people in the comment section is so dissapointing. I'm not trans or non-binary but atleast I'm willing to listen and understand their point of view..
Ahh well the people on this site never fail to dissapoint me anyways so why stop now.
Not believing in made up genders isn't being closed minded
So...ppl are closeminded because they don’t agree? Or what is it you’re implying?
When you're too open minded, your brain falls out.
@@jakein8r177 “made up”
Spoiler alert: the genders you believe in,namely female and male were in fact made up by humans.
H it takes so little to just respect people ? especially if it makes the other person happy and comfortable ?? like whats your problem ?? you cant disagree on what someones pronouns and gender identity are ?? they are who they are , just be a decent human being and be nice.
Petition to make the n-word to mean nice. Do something for language that actually matters.
It matters, dein Kommentar hat 1000 mal weniger bewegt also joa
Disappointed with the content of this TED 🙄
Disappointed with those of you watching an educational channel and yet remaining to be close minded assholes.
@@sanazlol7433 only can agree
You will be even more disappointed!
Comments are forbidden on the ted official website!
Transgender is a sacred religion whose truth cannot be questioned!
You must believe in singing and applauding! Otherwise, you can only shut up and execute public punishment!
Trying to understand here. This person describes Archie by what Archie is NOT (male or female). Archie is non-binary which acknowledges the existence of a binary to begin with and says, that's not me, and back in the 1600s, language was different. Really Archie?
And Archie and others LIKE Archie, who make up an infinitesimally minute percentage of the population, want everyone else to deny what we see and hear when Archie speaks, so that Archie can answer the question, who am I, and not feeling bad.
Archie is funny. Kinda like the SNL character in the comedy skit, "It's Pat".
It's this kind of insanity which is why I've taken my G out of the LGBTQIA "community", which only exists to advance socialism and social unrest.
I don't know why but your stile of writing really caught my attention. Well structured argument. But not at all inviting for an open discussion.
Genders carry associations, social labels which might feel flat-out wrong, but are likely to arise whenever assumptions are made or certain linguistic indicators (such as gendered pronouns) get used. There is a binary; it’s artificial, but it has real sociological consequences for as long as people keep defining themselves and others on its terms. To be non-binary is to reject placement within an artificial social structure, to ask to not be judged by those terms or associations. To identify others in association with their preferred gender identity, even if it is defined partially by the rejection of identity with a prevailing social structure, is an important way to show respect and compassion, to see them as they want to see themself. It’s basic decency.
Agree 100%
how does this woowoo crap advance socialism? You're not making sense.
Yes but now the language is being compelled an that is unacceptable.
How is it only happening now? How is it unacceptable?
You have no problem when politicians and companies use pretty language to make you do things against your own interest. How is it different when an individual you don't even know, who isn't even targeting you, merely _suggests_ a different worldview?
@@lyrablack8621 the pronoun individuals aren't merely suggesting, they are expecting you to comply with their nonsense.
@@econ2206 How is it nonsense?
@@downsjmmyjones101 Because it is a title, one that not only have they not earned but are trying to enforce. Imagine if an army captain tried to require private citizens to refer to them by their rank, or someone you meet says you will refer to me as sir, it's BS
"We should probably respect people as who they are."
Conservatives :
:|
>:|
Conservatives have it harder than gays, who have the backing of corporations and media
Lmao, gotta love kids who think the world is like twitter
I don't really care about pronounce that they prefered. In my language, we don't really have much gender associate words. But i have problems with how they push people to follow what they want to hear, just to make them feel accepted as whole. If you live long enough, you know the self acceptance is from within. Nothing outside will quench our thirst of acceptance, so they will feel empty inside and depressed. Become one part of big group might make you feel better and accepted,.people call you whatever you want might make you feel better, but at the end, something is already missing inside. No pronounce, hormon blockers, or anything else will make you happy when inside you already feel something missing
No, that’s untrue.
Funny how these people are mostly complete atheists until they start talking about having a male soul in a female body.
Is this a man or a woman?
No
never.....I'll stay with the grammatically correct pronouns
I'm not gonna use made up words there is he or she that's it
Wtf, it's not "made up" of course, someone invented, but that applies to every word
All words are made up brah
This might shock you but *all* words are made up.
Sorry to break it for you but every single word is made up by human beings
they use they/them pronouns respect that , its basic human decency
Natural language transformation speed is 200 - 1000 years. Expecting that language could be force changed in 2-5 years doesn't seem to be realistic expectation. Besides there are many languages which are not using gender related pronouns. So this concept is not making much sense for those languages. But what you could learn from those languages is that you start to describe the situation with context. Also a factor that only approx 4-5% of population is demanding the change.
Thomas Elwood had a point. By switching "you" to address someone in the singular instead of the plural and losing the word "thou" we made language harder and had to then come up with alternatives like "you all" which has been shortened to "y'all" which, even to this day, sounds like slang instead of proper English. Perhaps I'll change one of my pronouns to "thou" since it's not being used anymore anyway.
It's not necessarily the case that languge became more complicated. In linguistics there are many perspectives and when looking at articulation it's way more easy, since "you" is one sound while "thou", which requires way more energy, hence it became easier.
Also language isn't just isolated to words. Context is alos a big part of language. There are markers like body language (for instance pointing towards a certain person) or loudness that can provide enough information about wether or not you talk to just one person or many.
strange flex to want to change your pronoun when you don't have an underlining social issue that eats at the very core of your being, but go for it.
@@infinitivez
How could you possibly know that about me?
@@infinitivez deal with it
... not how it works
Wtf is that supposed to be?
...Who cares, against the wall.
this comment section is horrendous
It’s not that people think grammar rules don’t change. Its that people know that grammar rules should make logical sense. If it doesn’t make logical sense, people will not easily take on the illogical grammar.