Re: OT: Status, Portable

[John Negus jxz@xxxxxxxx]

Harry Binswanger wrote:

> What are we to say about the avalanche towards "they" and "their" as
> singular neutral pronouns? To each their own?

I use them now and again - aware of the grammatical error. And justify it with a reasoning that no
language is perfect: none provides a perfect set of the words and constructions that its users (or
reality) may want or require.

That imperfection can actually involve us in having to choose between semantics (meaning) and
grammar. "Students wishing to take one of these options should come to the office with their
passports." Semantically, one student one passport - while grammatically students obviously
bring their passports. It would be possible to compose a sentence which reconciled the two - but it
would be needlessly wordy. If we understand, what price grammar?

A fourth element in the equation is style. I find "his or her" noticeably more cumbersome
than "their".

A solution would be words specific to these usages - a gender-neutral version of "her",
another for the mixture between singular and plural. But it would require more discipline on the
part of speakers than even members of this list might be ready to exhibit.

John


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