Two kinds of singular they: A usage-based model

This squib proposes a theoretical account of singular they that focuses on its pragmatic conditions, and suggests that there are two broad and different classes of singular they: 1) Underspecified singular they and 2) Personal singular they. Although these forms are similar in their phonological form and their lack of a gender feature, they occur in different discourse contexts. Underspecified singular they (the older type) is typically used in contexts where the discourse representation of the referent is underspecified, either because the referent is unknown, indefinite, quantified, or simply because the representation is not developed in common ground. By contrast, Personal singular they (the newer type) is used specifically when the referent is known to use they/them as their personal pronouns, which tends to co-occur with an elaborated discourse representation. Thus, the two uses have directly opposing pragmatic conditions. This account unifies existing findings and makes predictions for future research.