Re: [boost] Gender neutral documentation

From: Martin Bonner (martin.bonner_at_[hidden])
Date: 2005-11-04 07:08:12

----Original Message----
From: Angus Leeming [mailto:angus.leeming_at_[hidden]]
Sent: 04 November 2005 11:13
To: boost_at_[hidden]
Subject: Re: [boost] Gender neutral documentation

> Anthony Williams wrote:
>> The use of "she" implies the person in question is female. Though
>> "he" technically also has the implication that the person is male,
>> it is general usage that "he" is used as a stand in for "he or she".
>> If we really want to be gender neutral, we should write "he or she",
>> which is what we really mean. Sometimes this is abbreviated "s/he",
>> but that's an ugly kludge. Better would be to rewrite the sentence
>> to avoid the issue.
> 
>>> My personal preference is to use "they" as the first person
>>> singular gender-neutral pronoun.  This will be /intensely/
>>> irritating to grammar purists, but does seem to be the way the
>>> language is evolving.
> 
>> I don't like this, but it is preferable to "she".
> 
> We do have a pronoun for just such a usage, albeit one that appears to
> be used today only by the British royal family. Perhaps it sounds
> archaic, but one understands what one is talking about when one uses
> the correct language.

We do.  However what one *meant* to write was:

 One's personal preference is to use "they" as the *THIRD* person singular
gender-neutral pronoun.

As used by the British royal family, "one" is a first person singular
pronoun.

> Regards from yet another Brit,
:-)

-- 
Martin Bonner
Martin.Bonner_at_[hidden]
Pi Technology, Milton Hall, Ely Road, Milton, Cambridge, CB4 6WZ,
ENGLAND Tel: [phone]