Thursday, May 16, 2013

Yo - Ve, Xe, Ze, Zhe

I don't know about you, but the above attempts at creating gender-neutral, singular pronouns give me the heebee jeebees.


Here are some more of the ridiculous constructs:
.
Ann Curzan, an English professor at the University of Michigan, recently wrote about the subject of singular they at Lingua Franca. Here are some excerpts from her post: 

"I tell students that they are welcome to use singular they in writing for my class, but they should footnote it the first time they use it and in the footnote explain their rationale for using singular they." 

"This footnote accomplishes at least three things: It shows readers that the author is consciously making a choice to use singular they; it informs readers about legitimate reasons for using singular they, even if they disagree with its use in this context; and most importantly, it asks students to be careful, self-conscious writers, reflecting on and explaining their choices in their writing."

Curzan's approach to singular they is commendable. Please pass it on.


Image credit
Chart via Wikipedia

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