Yo needs to start reading my blog.
So, according to this article, and several other reliable sources, school children in Baltimore have been using the word “yo” as a gender-neutral third-person pronoun for quite some time now. This basically means they have managed to shorten the phrase “he or she” into a two-letter word.
I realize I have come to this subject rather late in the game, but I have perused the interblag, and I have compiled the following list of pros and cons to expanding this into the general vernacular:
Pros:
- We don’t have to say “he or she” every time we’re unsure about a single third person. This matters more for New Yorkers than the rest of the country, but as a New Yorker, I’m putting it in here.
- Grassroots grammar is cool.
Cons:
- “Yo” is also used as: a) a general exclamation, and b) a shortened version of “your.” This much use of one syllable will give it a serious ego trip.
- “Yo” is already the Spanish first-person pronoun. With America’s Spanish-speaking population growing like a radioactive Chia Pet, this is sure to cause confusion.
- This could just be a regional thing. In Pittsburgh, one uses the word “Yinz” as a plural second-person pronoun (like “y’all”).
In the end, however, I actually think this debate is quite academic only, because the plural “they” seems to have completed the takeover, just as the plural “you” replaced the singular informal “thou” so long ago. So, basically, my first blog post is useless. Welcome abord!
Tags: grammar
March 21, 2008 at 11:27 pm
Why does using “he or she” matter most to us New Yorkers? is it because we’re so overly concerned with being politically correct?
A lot of my teachers have been telling me it’s best to just choose one pronoun (either “he” or “she”) and stick with it for the whole paper, if I’m writing a paper. I’ve chosen that tactic… but a lot of other people seem to think it’s a better idea to use passive voice and avoid the issue entirely. I really don’t like that.
English has some pretty severe weaknesses, and they kind of piss me off… I wish that the grammar nazis would just change their rules so that good stuff like this could be incorporated. As it stands, it will probably be a long time before we see a professionally published book or article that uses “yo” (or even “they” for that matter) as a gender-neutral third=person pronoun.
Oh well.
Good luck with this whole blagoblag thing! I very much approve of the photo on the top.
“Yo, looka that dude pants. Yo is a clown.”