User blog comment:Gr8asb8/Word for curse?/@comment-2227002-20100903045229/@comment-1861513-20100903160744

"Are" is actually of native Old English origin ('earun/aron'), although it was popularized by the influence of the Norse 'er-' forms. "They" is of Norse origin (albeit akin to the English article), but even if we make an exception to keep this pronoun, I think that in general Norse words should be avoided, since they often displaced native Anglo-Saxon words just as French did.