Re: About the use of epicene "they" in technical documents.
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On Fri, Aug 15, 2008 at 09:20:26AM +0100, MJ Ray wrote:
>However, I think Andreas Tille is right: bodging language to use
>"singular they" does not move us nearer to equality - it is a way of
>hiding the struggle, while making the text less comprehensible.
>I don't believe that language shapes thought, but that's an old
>psycho-linguistic chestnut.
I also do not believe that language alone shapes thought. But I do
believe that language makes a difference. That it matters if I use
dirty words, or if I - by the choice of words - technically imply that
men counts more than women.
If massaging language is all we do, then (and only then!) I agree with
Andreas that it is hillarious. But as a signal of awareness, and as a
techical excercise if it is possible to (elegantly!) express ourselves
without implicit gender oprression, then we should certainly go for it!
- Jonas
- --
* Jonas Smedegaard - idealist og Internet-arkitekt
* Tlf.: +45 40843136 Website: http://dr.jones.dk/
[x] quote me freely [ ] ask before reusing [ ] keep private
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