Re: Pronouns (was Re: Proposed Constitution)
On Tue, Apr 28, 1998 at 05:02:57PM +0100, Ian Jackson wrote:
> This discussion is ridiculous.
>
> In my view singular `they' is perfectly correct. If I can use it in
> my PhD thesis (with a footnote[1] and supporting references, and
> without any complaint from the examiners) then we can use it here.
>
> Furthermore, language is defined by use, not by prescription (try
> asking a linguist, rather than a schoolteacher). Singular `they' is
> very well accepted practice in this speech community; in the contexts
> I have used it it is (I believe) clear, clean and unambiguous.
I hope you are well aware of the fact that a lot of people will not
understand it, and probably will ask you about it. I can tell you that most
german readers may be confused. I don't know about other countries, but I
assume the situation is not very different there.
> I will not change the current draft, and blustering here will not make
> me change my mind. If you're so horribly bothered you'll have to
> propose an amendment; I wonder if you could find five sufficiently
> anal (and wrong) supporters.
Ian, I find your attitude arrogant and egocentric. Your constitution is hard
enough to read for non-native speakers, and if you don't want to rule out people
that don't have a Ph.D. in Oxford English, you probably want to reconsider
your position.
I will not make you the favour to propose a change, because I don't have the
time for kid games and name calling. I only ask you to have a footnote
explaining: If you need it in your Ph.D. to warrant this language, you
certainly want it in an internationally used document, too.
Remember that Linux as well as Debian is an international project.
Marcus
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