Re: OT: language (was: Re: something about rm)
On Thu, May 17, 2012 at 05:33:45PM BST, Tony van der Hoff wrote:
> On 17/05/12 17:23, rjc wrote:
> > On Thu, May 17, 2012 at 04:59:40PM BST, Kelly Clowers wrote:
> >> On Thu, May 17, 2012 at 6:05 AM, Gary Dale <garydale@rogers.com> wrote:
> >>> On 17/05/12 03:48 AM, Panayiotis Karabassis wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>> On 17/05/2012 06:20 πμ, Gary Dale wrote:
> >>>>>
> >>>>> I suspect that file recovery is his current priority.
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>> It's a "she". :-)
> >>>>
> >>> "It's"? Shouldn't that be "He's a she"? ;)
> >>
> >> These days I use singular they and friends when I don't know.
> >>
> >> "I suspect that file recovery is their current priority."
> >
> > You meant *plural* of course ;^)
> >
> I think he meant what he said. There is a nasty usage developing in
> English (in the UK, at least) for "their" singular, to denote "he or
> she". I have resisted it so far.
I know what he meant, hence the ";^)"
> It would be much better to originate a new word, such as "heshe", or
> "shehe", and "hisher", instead of overloading an existing plural.
Personally it doesn't bother me as much as illeism.
--
rjc
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