Note: This is all just a random idea I had a few days ago. I am mostly curious about what others think of it. I know it's not gonna be actually implemented anywhere. I wish it was that easy lol
~~Many people here have probably had someone complain to them that "They/Them pronouns are so confusing" while the same person accepts "you" as singular and plural~~.* Well, I propose a partial fix for both. Not in natural language, but at the very least text, because both of those bug me personally, even if just a little. I know any language that sees any actual use is going to be imperfect, but that doesn't stop me from sharing random ideas on the internet.
* Edit: Irrelevant and off-topic. Just keeping it here for archival(?) purposes.
First some background info:
In German, there's actually a similar problem, at least when spoken. It is, however, fixed in writing.
- "sie" -> "she"
- "Sie" -> "you" (singular, formal)
- "ihnen" -> "them"
- "Ihnen" -> "you" (singular, formal, different grammatical case)
Spot the difference? It's the capital S and I. So, why not take after the British Museum and steal things from a foreign ~~country~~ language?
How to fix this, according to a random person on the internet:
- "They/Them" -> Singular person with neutral pronouns
- "they/them" -> Multiple people
And while we're at it, we can also do
- "You" -> The person you are talking to
- "you" -> A group of people, or often more importantly, a general you
The Problem:
Sentences. The first letter of a sentence is always capitalized, which brings confusion back. This is a glaring weak spot, but since this idea is never going to be used anyways, I can't be bothered to actually find a good workaround. If You have any ideas though, feel free to share them.
So, what do you think? Is this idea fundamentally stupid, because everything is just fine as it is, or could a solution to imprecise pronouns actually be handy, even if this one is far from perfect?