Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site ut-sally.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!floyd!harpo!seismo!ut-sally!riddle From: riddle@ut-sally.UUCP (Prentiss Riddle) Newsgroups: net.nlang Subject: Re: Replacement for he/she Message-ID: <984@ut-sally.UUCP> Date: Wed, 22-Feb-84 15:58:20 EST Article-I.D.: ut-sally.984 Posted: Wed Feb 22 15:58:20 1984 Date-Received: Thu, 23-Feb-84 05:48:27 EST References: <141@iuvax.UUCP> Organization: U. of Tx. at Houston-in-the-Hills Lines: 29 Jeff Brennan (iuvax!brennan) defends the collapse of "he" and "she" to "they" and its confusion of plural and singular by pointing out that "you" already confuses them. This is true, but I don't think that it's a convincing defense -- many forms of English feel the need to make the distinction and have invented forms with which to make it: "y'all", "you guys", and the like. Who wants to bet that if the trend to use "they" to indicate third person singular continues, we will soon notice the form "they all" filling the role of third person plural? Personally, I think that our language will probably remain sexist in its pronouns, and, if not, that the change will be an unplanned and largely unconscious one (probably to "they"). But as long as we're playing with linguistic utopias, here is my vote for the new pronoun scheme (with apologies to Ray Holmes and Dave Decot): O-> he him his his O-+ she her her hers O== se sim ser sers I think that these forms are close enough to the corresponding forms of "he" and "she" that they wouldn't confuse anybody for long. (So that they will seem equally familiar whether written or spoken, they should be pronounced like the old sexist pronouns: "ser" rhymes with "her", not with "hair".) --- Prentiss Riddle --- ("Aprendiz de todo, maestro de nada.") --- {ihnp4,seismo,ctvax}!ut-sally!riddle