TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:He/She/They From:Jason Willebeek-LeMair <jlemair -at- ITEXCHSRV2 -dot- PHX -dot- MCD -dot- MOT -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 12 Aug 1997 15:26:04 -0700
I notice that everyone is referring to "he" as the masculine pronoun.
That is only partially correct. According to my dictionary (1991 -- not
too antiquated), it is also the gender neutral pronoun.
I usually try to avoid that altogether (easy enough now since switching
to hardware doc -- "it" and "its" covers everything 8-)).
I have seen, in several academic papers, the use of "hym" and "hys"
instead of him (her) and his (her) and "they" for the singular. Major
cognitive dissonance.
I vote for a completely new pronoun that does not resemble any of the
other ones. Perhaps "SPLUNGE" --->(That's for Monty Python's fans)
Jason
Tired of sharing my personal pronoun with mixed groups and those without
gender ;-)
My opinion is my own and not that of my company's.
TECHWR-L (Technical Communication) List Information: To send a message
to 2500+ readers, e-mail to TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot- Send commands
to LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU (e.g. HELP or SIGNOFF TECHWR-L).
Search the archives at http://www.documentation.com/ or search and
browse the archives at http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html
