gender-neutral pronouns as epic fails

[Jonathan Lighter]

Now that I think of it, the woman I met last month who consistently referred
to Americans as "Youessers" also frequently said "that person" instead of
colloquial singluar "they."

JL
On Mon, Aug 2, 2010 at 2:57 AM, Dan Goodman <dsgood at iphouse.com> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Dan Goodman <dsgood at IPHOUSE.COM>
> Subject:      Re: gender-neutral pronouns as epic fails
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Dennis Baron wrote:
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> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Dennis Baron <debaron at ILLINOIS.EDU>
> > Subject:      gender-neutral pronouns as epic fails
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Some useful historical info updated on the gender-neutral pronoun as a
> > word that fails:
> >
> > http://illinois.edu/db/view/25/31097?count=1&ACTION=DIALOG
> One singular pronoun I've encountered is a two-word phrase:   "That
> person."    I've heard it mostly from people in 12-step programs;  I've
> also heard it over the phone from a cop in London, Ontario.
>
> Singular "they" -- I've never understood why it's worse in principle
> than singular "you."   Then again, I've never understood why the people
> who want to preserve a pure French vocabulary haven't called for
> banishing "biftek" and "redingote" from French.
>
> --
> Dan Goodman
> "I have always depended on the kindness of stranglers."
> Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Expire
> Journal dsgood.dreamwidth.org (livejournal.com, insanejournal.com)
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