On Nov 9, 2006, at 1:32 PM, geni wrote:
On 11/9/06, Michael Snow
<wikipedia(a)earthlink.net> wrote:
Since we started using personal pronouns, whenever
that was. I wasn't
around then, but I suspect it was fairly early on.
--Michael Snow
Agressive use of singular they generaly solves that proble,
And, before anyone complains, it's tacitly endorsed by the Chicago
Manual of Style!
It notes that "it is unacceptable to a great many reasonable readers
to use the generic masculine pronoun," whereas objectors to the
singular they are merely referred to as "a great many readers,"
clearly implying that such objections are unreasonable.
Oxford Style Manual: "Though common in speech it is still substandard
usage, and should be avoided in formal writing: Necessity may in time
establish 'they' as an accepted non-gender-specific singular pronoun in
English, but this has yet to happen."
Your proclamation that opponents of the singular 'they' are unreasonable
is nothing more than blatant sophistry. To be sure the word
'reasonable' does not appear in 5.204 when the author of that passage
speaks of those who "resort to nontraditional gimmicks" or who "use
'they' as a kind of singular pronoun." What conclusion should I draw
from the use of "kind of"? Maybe the author uses the word
"reasonable"
to emphasize that writers on that side of the divide are still
reasonable people despite their aberrant grammar.
I use and will continue to use the generic masculine, and will object
when someone insists on imposing sub-standard grammar for the sake of
political correctness. I find the use of a generic feminine equally
acceptable. I don't really object to phrases like "he or she" but they
can become awkward in some contexts. A usage like "s/he" has the
artificial flavour of a condom over one's pen.
Good writers will avoid imposing one form or the other, and look for
alternatives. Had you read further in paragraph 5.204 you would have
seen, "What is wanted, in short, is a kind of invisible gender
neutrality. There are many ways to achieve such language, but it takes
though and often some hard work"
Ec