On 29/10/10 08:39, Samuel Penn wrote:
> On Thursday 28 October 2010 22:29:59 Lisi wrote:
>> On Thursday 28 October 2010 17:57:35 Keith Edmunds wrote:
>>> gender neutral
>>> third person singular possessive pronoun. Maybe I should have said,
>>> "that no one in its right mind would want to work for..."
>>
>> I still maintain that the common gender in the case of humanity is
>> the same as the masculine.
>
> Some would disagree. My experience with discussion on the subject
> tends to be around gaming, a hobby which is stereotypically male
> but trying to attract more women. Exclusive use of the masculine
> doesn't help break the stereotype (and the artwork doesn't help
> either).
where 'some' includes me and
1. The Oxford Dictionary
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/their?rskey=VUxQA7&result=1#m_en_gb0856800
2. Dictionary.com
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/their
3. Merriam-webster
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/their
"they", "their" and "them" have been used as singular,
non-gender-specific pronouns for as long as I can remember (iun almost
exactly the same way as you and your, only 3rd person, not 2nd)
Even in books from a century ago or older - see the wikipedia entry for
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they
which has quotes from Shakespeare and Thackeray
In a language with no gender system for nouns (at least, not any more!)
other than fanciful references to ships as 'she', plus a few other
idiosyncrasies, this is a meaningless battle that is long lost.
>> ...
>> think that in 50 to a hundred years "their" will have become
>> singular just as "you" has, but I don't think we are there yet.
it already is (and plural, too!)
> Lots of people use 'their' as singular gender neutral (including
> myself) already. It may not be technically correct, but we're
> working to make it so.
It is technically correct (or at least an acknowledged use)
see references above... :)
Next up, some of my personal bugbears...
fewer vs less (Tesco etc, sort yourselves out)
I vs Me (he vs him, who vs whom etc etc)
what exactly do we teach children in school these days?
Regards,
Stuart
--
Stuart Sears RHCA etc.
"It's today!" said Piglet.
"My favourite day," said Pooh.
