A Lesson In English

[00:00:03][music] >> Hi, I'm Neil Cicierega. There are many subjects that people choose to be willfully ignorant on, but one that irks me the most is the English language, all for the sake of bigotry.

[00:00:21]We'll start with the one that irritates me the most, singular they.

[00:00:25]Singular they dates back to the 14th century, first used in the poem William and the Werewolf. Despite the Middle English, the use of singular they for an unnamed character is very modern.

[00:00:38]For example, I have a new friend. Their pronouns are they, them. I'll let them explain it when they introduce themself.

[00:00:46]You can also say themselves. It depends on what sounds better to you. Language is fluid.

[00:00:52]Next is the issue of cis versus trans.

[00:00:55]Cis and trans are prefixes and adjectives used in chemistry, biology, genetics, and even geography. Cis means on the same side of, and trans means on the opposite side of. When used to refer to gender, if you are cis, you align with the gender you were assigned at birth. If you don't, you're trans. The only reason you would think cis was insulting is if you used trans like a slur.

[00:01:21]And last, but certainly not least, pronouns. Everyone uses pronouns. They come free with the [ __ ] speaking of language.

[00:01:31]Using someone's pronouns costs you nothing. It doesn't harm you or negatively affect you in the slightest.

[00:01:38]If you aren't sure how to properly use someone's pronouns, you can either ask them or Google it. We live in the age of information. You have a wealth of knowledge at your fingertips. There's no excuse.

[00:01:51]Anyway, happy fly fun. Wear blue on June 30th for our frog reprocess awareness Anyway, stay in drugs, don't do school.

[00:02:01]Bye.

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