Why is “They” a common alternative pronoun to he/she, considering it works for a single individual in some contexts, but in others it sounds like multiple people. “They’re watching a movie” or “they went to a concert” for example.

Question

Why is “They” a common alternative pronoun to he/she, considering it works for a single individual in some contexts, but in others it sounds like multiple people. “They’re watching a movie” or “they went to a concert” for example.

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Answer 1

I live in a country where we invented up a new word and while I prefer that over using singular _they_, people still had a hard time to embrace the new word and it’s usage. There’s always going to be a learning curve and some people are going to be particularly reluctant.