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Subject:Re: The singular 'they' From:Joanna Sheldon <cjs10 -at- CORNELL -dot- EDU> Date:Fri, 15 Dec 1995 06:07:49 -0500
Paul T. wrote:
>Already widespread in the language (though still rejected as ungrammatica=
>l
>by some) , this use of THEY, THEIR, and THEM is increasing in all but the=
>most conservatively edited American English. This increased use is at lea=
>st
>partly impelled by the desire to avoid the sexist implications of HE as a=
>pronoun of general reference.
Thank you, Paul!
There is a reasonably thoughtful discussion of this and other such issues in
Steven Pinker's book, _The Language Instinct_.
Joanna
C. Joanna Sheldon, PhD
GRAPHTECH Consulting
documentation solutions # information design
PO Box 288, Lansing NY 14882, USA
cjs10 -at- cornell -dot- edu
