Re: Proposed Constitution
On Mon, 27 Apr 1998, Bob Hilliard wrote:
> I suggest that Section B. "Use of language and typography" be
> amended to include a statement similar to "Where the context permits,
> the masculine shall include the feminine, and the singular shall
> include the plural". Then all of the clumsy constructions using
> plural pronouns (they, their) to refer to singular entities (Leader,
> Secretary, etc.) should be changed to use singular masculine pronouns
> (him, his).
>
Standard usage in legal documents and the like is "he/she," I think.
Using just "he" would annoy lots of people. Sort of gratuitously
political. "he/she" is neutral. "he" causes flamewars from liberals like
me, and "they" causes flamewars from the grammar police. "he/she"
resolves the issue and most people are mostly happy, since the damage is
purely cosmetic.
The other poster is correct, however, that from a linguistic standpoint
"they" has been in common usage for hundreds of years. If anyone wants to
read more a good article is "Language and the Culture of Gender: At the
Intersection of Structure, Usage, and Ideology," Silverstein, _Semiotic
Mediation_, 1995.
Thanks,
Havoc Pennington
http://pobox.com/~hp
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