Phil Sandifer wrote:
On Nov 9, 2006, at 1:32 PM, geni wrote:
On 11/9/06, Michael Snow wikipedia@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