LINGUIST reacts to NEOPRONOUNS of TikTok

#neopronouns #reaction #tiktok

Let's react to some neopronouns videos from TikTok!

intro: 00:00 – 01:01
Sam Smith & fisher-them: 01:01 – 02:48
dem confuses demonself: 02:48 – 05:42
lemons smile is unnecessary: 05:42 – 08:55

[jorijoestar]

I feel bad for non-native speakers who are trying to figure out what the heck is going on.

[amusedbemused]

You nailed it with “use a nickname”- that’s all this neopronoun gobbledygook is, nicknames with a lot more steps.

[JoeyPsych]

The thing that frustrates me most with these neo pronoun kids, is that they are incredibly gatekeepy about who is and isn't allowed to have pronouns. When they want me to call them "demon" or "lemon", I have to take them serious, even though it's completely absurd. But when I counter them and tell them that I only will call them that if they call me "super god", all of a sudden, they refuse to take me serious. I mean, what the hell makes your insane request more valid than mine? either we both use our requested pronouns, or we use neither, choice is up to you.

[matthewcooke]

I'm not a linguist, but surely the whole point of a pronoun is that it's a short generic way to refer to someone without constantly repeating their name, which is cumbersome and awkward.

So "pronouns" such as lemon, demon, candle, rat, etc, are not actually pronouns (even if they declare them to be)... they're just nicknames.

You wouldn't say "Ellie went to the shop because Ellie wanted to by a croissant for Ellie's-self, but Ellie was disappointed because they'd sold out and there was nothing else Ellie wanted."

Pronouns are used precisely to avoid that sort of sentence. So surely use "lemon" prounouns (for example) are the antithesis of this.

I don't know... like I said, I'm not a linguist.

[PedanticTwit]

"Fisherman" is _already_ gender neutral, because the "man" component in this case means "person", as it did in Old English.

[Dave-uwul]

The fact that anyone has their free right to stipulate ways by which they would like to be referred to does not spill over into any kind of obligation for others to actually comply... Really key point. My main obstacle would be remembering.. again, no obligation to remember. Most people forget a name immediately after being introduced to someone. I've never yet been stressed out by that or felt humiliated by having to repeat my name if it's subsequently needed. It's unexcitingly normal.

[taylorludwig]

"Neopronouns are as intuitive as jumping off a cliff!"

That line right there is where she sold me! 💯🙌🔥🔥🔥🤣

[Dangansona]

You being able to speak on someone using “lemon” as a pronoun, with a straight face while staying educational. Wow. That is *deeply* impressive.

[juliuspleaser]

“Lemons smile” isolated from all this madness is actually an adorable assertion 😅 I wanna believe that lemons smile 🥹

[Hopespringseternal]

I love to hear educated people explain reality.

[thestoriedcoyote]

Wouldn't the point of language be to provide a common and generally agreed upon set of words and grammar so that we can understand each other? People just inventing 100's of their own pronouns, which no one else understands, might make them feel special, but it's a degradation of language and just makes it harder for us all to understand each other. Even They/Them, my brain struggles with because it's poor grammar. So for people that think they need those pronouns, I usually just use their names and avoid the whole thing. Like you said, changes to language should be organic, feel natural, not forced on people. It feels like this attempt to force it will backfire at some point...

[theharbingerofconflation]

As a person working a 9-5 I am continuously amazed at what people have the time to make up. I guess expressive face paint and dressing like an extra from Rocko's Modern Life is not enough for some people

[GeneSysFNLT]

As a non-native English speaker, all these neo-pronouns confuse the entire English language for me. English is already hard enough! 😭

[alcxander]

mad respect to anyone who has deep respect for grammar and what it brings to our society. loved to listen to such a learned explanation of these topics so clearly made. well done

[somni]

Apart from the linguistic validity (or lack thereof) of "preferred" pronouns and "neo-pronouns"-- and my perspective here is as a native English speaker-- I always come back to the idea that pronouns are not something which *belong* to an individual, on an individual level: they are words which mostly *other people* are using to identify/distinguish us-- to distinguish us as either a male human or a female human in ~99% of instances. One can no more have his *own* pronouns than he can have his own adjectives; e.g. "my preferred adjectives are stunning and brave, and to refer to me as either cowardly or hideous is to deny my very EXISTENCE, you BIGOT!!". The only word that belongs to any one person is his or her NAME.

On another, unrelated note: you have really beautiful hair! I love those long, loose curls

[thomasruhm]

At least they make it so complicated that most people won’t use it.

[johnbwill]

These people take the concept of 'self indulgence' to the next level; plus, they provide a wonderful source of amusement, for all of us. Good work Lana.

[stevenalexander]

Plainly said, "neopronouns" are not pronouns. They're either made-up words that don't exist at all in English, or they're just nouns. Ironically, the purpose of pronouns is to make speaking English easier, but this new ideology makes pronoun usage much more difficult and counterintuitive.

[zoebrugg]

I'm a writer and this pronoun crazy is a nightmare.

[themetadaemon]

Ever since I learned of the Duper's Delight, I see it every single time with these people. I can't unsee it. They know they're lying, as all narcissists do.