“THEY” has been named word of the decade — for its popularity among the gender-neutral.
The pronoun is often used by those who do not identify as “he” or “she”.
Members of the American Dialect Society voted for it as the top word of the 2010s at its annual meeting in New Orleans.
Other words or phrases considered included “meme”, “climate”, “#BlackLivesMatter” and “woke”.
Ben Zimmer, chair of the society’s new words committee, said: “When a basic part of speech like the pronoun becomes a vital indicator of social trends, linguists pay attention.”
Words of the year were the so-called “(my) pronouns”, when someone introduces themselves by how they prefer to be called — such as “she/her, he/him or they/them”.
Mr Zimmer said their selection “speaks to how the personal expression of gender identity has become an increasing part of our shared discourse”.
Singer Sam Smith last year announced they were changing their pronouns to “they/them”.
Sam said: “After a lifetime of being at war with my gender I’ve decided to embrace myself for who I am, inside and out.”
Another phrase up for the 2019 title was “OK Boomer” — said to be a “retort to someone older expressing out-of-touch or condescending views”.
“Karen”, described as a “stereotype of a complaining, self-important white woman”, was also considered.
