who -> that [Was: Seeking a Polish female that ...]

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

On Aug 7, 2007, at 6:44 AM, Joel S. Berson wrote:

> Is my impression correct that there is an increasing tendency to
> refer to people using "that"?

MWDEU (1989:895): It may be that some carryover from the 18th-century
general dislike of _that_ has produced the apparently common, yet
unfounded, notion that _that_ may be used to refer only to things
[with references to Bernstein, Simon, Safire, and others either
reporting or expressing this dislike]

Garner's Modern American Usage (2003:836): _That_, of course, is
permissible when referring to humans... Editors tend, however, to
prefer [_who_]

.....

the observation is that _that_ has been in use for reference to
humans, in writing as well as speech, in formal as well as informal
english, for about two hundred years.  (until the 18th century it was
apparently the norm.)  now, whether _that_ is gaining on _who_ (and,
if so, to what degrees for which speakers/writers and in which
contexts) i don't know, though i'd imagine that the question has been
studied.  i'd start by looking at the Longman grammar.

arnold

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