How do you refer to the generic singular third-person?

by seattleniceguy 26 Replies latest jw friends

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  seattleniceguy

  English really has no satisfying mechanism to do this. I'm talking about sentences in which you're speaking of a hypothetical person and you must identify him with a pronoun. See, right there. There are several options available, all equally unsatisfying:

  You can use the third-person plural:

  When I notice a new poster who has de-lurked, I heartily congratulate them for their courage.

  I've never been fond of this because half the sentence treats the person like a plural and half treats them (correctly) as a singlular.

  You could use the masculine third-person, as is the standard in traditional English:

  The JW apologist must certainly be aware that he is defying orders from the WTS by posting here.

  This, however, is beginning to sound a little backward in the days of sexual enlightenment.

  You could use the expressions "he or she," "him or her", and "his or her":

  The JW apologist must take care that when he or she expresses his or her opinions, he or she does not accidentally expose too much information about him- or herself.

  The problems with this appoach are manifest.

  You could use the feminine third-person:

  A new poster on JWD should feel free to express herself in any way that suits her.

  But simply swapping genders from the traditional English use doesn't actually solve the problem.

  You could take turns using male and female pronouns:

  A new poster on JWD should feel free to express herself in any way that suits her. An established poster may find that he spends considerable time writing about grammar.

  This is the approach I take when writing pieces in which I have multiple generic people who exist for paragraphs at a time. However, in contexts where you have only a single generic person, it is not logical to swap her gender. And even with multiple generic people, sometimes such use is confusing.

  I suppose there are a few other potential solutions, such as using "it," but I don't think many people use them. I wonder what you feel is the most natural. What techniques do you prefer?

  SNG

  P.S. And is there a more correct name for what I'm talking about than "generic singular third-person"?
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  Scully

  I usually use "they" or "their" or "them". There's no gender bias involved (some folks are sensitive to that), and it works equally well in the plural.

  One of my many frustrations with the English language.
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  JamesThomas

  I get around it by mindlessly making such a grammatical mess out of everything that little nuances like you mention don't really matter.
  
  
  j
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  Narkissos

  In French I rarely feel the need to use conspicuously inclusive language as all nouns are either masculine or feminine (no neuter) and the pronouns simply agree with them (although some militant feminists do insist on expressing both genders). Moreover the possessive adjectives agree with the possessed object, not with the possessor.

  In English I sometimes use "s/he" and "his/her" (or "her/his"), but I doubt it is correct...
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  joannadandy

  Speak in generalities..."Everyone stands when peeing"

  Or neuter: "It stands when it pees."

  Sorry I am getting my threads mixed up now...
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  Leolaia

  In linguistic terms, the English language is continually undergoing change, and this is just one development in a thousand-year history which has seen the introduction of "she", the elimination of "her" and "him" as third person plural pronouns, and the generalization of "you" as a second person pronoun for both the singular and plural (eliminating "thou" and "thee" and necessitating the creation of "you all" as a de facto plural form). If "her" originally was used for both the singular and plural, and if "you" originated as a plural form and was extended to the singular, I see no reason why plural "they" and "them" could not be extended to the singular as well.
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  slimboyfat

  I am rather confused on this. Here is a sample from me to demonstrate:

  Your dislike for the organisation to which a fellow human being belongs does not mean that you can steal from that person the right for him/her to make their own choices in relation to ethical matters concerning medical treatment.

  But I think we should go back to using he and him.
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  Buster

  One must make up one's own mind.
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  Preston

  Eh...I usually just use a descriptive metaphor...such as "that jerk" or "some assh*le"...its better than getting all nerdular with the sentance structure...

  - Preston
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  GentlyFeral

  Scully -
  

  I usually use "they" or "their" or "them"

  
  
  "The use of 'they' as a singular generic or gender-neutral pronoun has a long history in English. Examples can be cited in the works of many celebrate authors going back centuries. In the mid-90s, the LINGUIST List organization conducted an informal world-wide survey of English dialects. Linguists from all over the world reported that in all dialects, 'they' is used in normal speech as a gender-neutral pronoun, even when it's referring to a singular noun."
  ELI Grammar Hotline
  

  gently feral