Checking assumptions at the door? (Take II)

Subject: Checking assumptions at the door? (Take II)
From: "Hart, Geoff" <Geoff-H -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Mon, 4 Jun 2001 12:23:25 -0400

Bruce Byfield wonders: <<If people are questioning the masculine personal
pronoun and trying to avoid using it, then obviously it's not considered
universally inclusive or the default.>>

While you're right that a growing number of people question the use of "he"
as a universal pronoun, usage is defined by what you see and hear most often
in the media (print and electronic), not by what editors and writers would
like to see. And the simple fact is that despite the increasingly common
advice to use gender-neutral writing that you'll see in most modern style
guides, you'll still see "he" more often than "they" in a wide variety of
publication types. This may have changed by the time we both retire, but as
of now, it's still the status quo in the vast majority of what I read.
Please note that I do _not_ defend this status quo; I simply report it.

<<In fact, simply to say that it's become the default sounds as if language
just happens, without any agency whatsoever.>>

With the exception of France, where the Academie Francaise strives in vain
to exert its monopolistic control over the French language, that's _exactly_
how language works. There is no agency involved, unless by "agency" you mean
"a means of transmission of change". If that's the case, then the agency for
change is using a style so successfully that other authors begin to take it
up and eventually it becomes the default on which all new writers pattern
their own styles.

<<In fact, language always reflects the concerns and the assumptions of
whoever is using it.>>

Which is why those of us who care about this issue can affect change simply
by changing the way we write--and for those of us with influence, by
changing the style guides that other writers consult when they write.

<<In this case, "he" is probably used for no better reason than the fact
that, in the 18th century, when the usage became officially sanctioned,
writing and publishing was generally a male area (Austen and Radcliffe
notwithstanding), and to be male was considered the norm.>>

I'd be surprisd if the use of "he" dates back only to the 18th century, but
that's picking nits; I don't have an OED handy to confirm this. What's
important is that you've described why "he" is still the default for most
writers: enough of the older writing style remains in broad use (and
particularly in schools that still teach "the classics") that new writers
see it as the standard they should use. Widespread replacement of a
serviceable, traditional, widely used style such as the use of "he" takes
generations, and given that any widespread move to gender-neutral writing is
still young on that scale, we're not there yet. Just look at the problems we
have with trying to get rid of _inappropriately_ used passive voice, and
particularly so in the sciences!

<<Personally, I don't see any reason to preserve this bit of history, any
more than bloodletting or public hangings.>>

Nor do I, as I hope 8 years of messages to techwr-l have amply demonstrated.
We don't disagree about the need for change, but rather about whether the
change has occurred across society. It hasn't.

--Geoff Hart, FERIC, Pointe-Claire, Quebec
geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
"User's advocate" online monthly at
www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/usersadvocate.html

"The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that
English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words;
on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them
unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary."-- James D. Nicoll

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