Manuel F. Pulido

When "they" is singular: The interplay between cognitive and social factors predicts pronoun misinterpretations in bilingual English speakers.

Language change is shaped by cognitive biases as well as by sociolinguistic perceptions of linguistic innovation. Although the use of they as a singular pronoun to refer to a generic referent is not new in English (e.g., "An employee can file a complaint if they need to"), a recent innovation extends this usage to refe...