They

So, once more I am wide awake late into the night, sleep eludes me again, so why can't they do something about it? The rest of the house are sleeping soundly, if not quietly, but at least the sound of snoring assures me all is well.

They! That is a very big word in today’s modern world, They, so who are they?
Speak to anyone in the street, in the home, in the office or even in a shop and sooner or later the word `They’ with pop up in conversation. Maybe it’s more of a British thing rather than world wide, maybe it’s just we English who insist on blaming someone else, the elusive `they’. So who are `they’? Are they the same as `Somebody’ or `The Council’ or The Government’? Why do we frequently refer to those in charge or those in authority as `they’?

If a person were to trip over a raised paving slab in the street, I guarantee either that person or another will ask, “Why don’t `they’ do something about that”? Or “It’s about time `they’ fixed that. If a favourite landmark was to be demolished a voice would ring out loudly, “Why are `they’ allowing that? When our taxes increase, a multitude of tongues will state “They should not be allowed to do that” or “What are `they’ doing with our money?”

When people talk about authority, the word chosen as a label is `they’, for instance if a young man cannot find a job someone will say “They should help”, when a drain breaks in the road, in will be “They should fix that”. Other statements are also frequently uttered like, “How can `they’ do that? “They should not be allowed to get away with that”, “They didn’t say”, “They don’t know” when talking about the medical profession. Rather than simply name the authority or council or government or world leader or even just the family next door, people always seem to revert to the word `they’.

So why do we use the word `they’ so frequently? Are we just lazy and cannot be bothered to give full title? Maybe it’s often the fact that we just don’t know who `they’ are in certain circumstances, perhaps it has become enjoined into our way of life, our verbal antennary, our method of communication, our lack of deep thought, that we no longer see any problem with `they’? Although in our modern country all persons are acclaimed to have a basic education, a reasonable conception of the English language and certainly a wide range of assorted communication aids, this is sadly not the case.