The singular pronoun "they" has been named the Word of the Decade by the American Dialect Society (ADS).
ADS members have been voting for a Word of the Year for the past 30 years, but this year they chose a Word of the Year and a Word of the Decade.
The two words or phrases chosen by the ADS are inherently connected. The phrase "my (pronouns)", used to convey whether a person uses she/her, they/them, he/him or any other pronoun, was named Word of the Year.
The singular pronoun "they", typically used to express a gender identity that is neither male nor female, non-binary or gender neutral, is its Word of the Decade.
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Oscar-winning singer Sam Smith told fans in September that they now use they/them pronouns, saying: "I understand there will be many mistakes and mis gendering but all I ask is you please please try."
Toryn Glavin of the UK's leading LGBT charity Stonewall said at the time that Smith's public embrace of the singular pronoun "they" would "have a huge impact on many non-binary people".
The ADS said in its Word of the Decade announcement that it has witnessed a "growing recognition" of the singular pronoun "they".
“When a basic part of speech like the pronoun becomes a vital indicator of social trends, linguists pay attention,” said the organisation's chairperson, Ben Zimmer. “The selection of '(my) pronouns' as Word of the Year speaks to how the personal expression of gender identity has become an increasing part of our shared discourse."
Zimmer said the ADS has observed a similar move towards "the use of 'they' for those whose identities don’t conform to the binary of he and she.”
Other words in contention for Word of the Decade included "cancel", "OK boomer" and "Karen", which the ADS defined as the "stereotype of a complaining, self-important white woman, typically a member of Generation X".
Meanwhile, "#BlackLivesMatter", "#MeToo", "meme", "woke" and "emoji" were all in contention for Word of the Decade.