End of ADS-L Digest - 15 Feb 1996 to 16 Feb 1996

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There are 8 messages totalling 155 lines in this issue.



Topics of the day:



 1. silly rules of grammar (5)

 2. Kirk Douglas' name

 3. New word? mouthfeel

 4. 2 New Words?



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Date:  Sat, 17 Feb 1996 01:23:38 -0500

From:  Robert Swets <bobbo[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]BCFREENET.SEFLIN.LIB.FL.US>

Subject: Re: silly rules of grammar



On Fri, 16 Feb 1996 RonButters[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]AOL.COM wrote:



> Here is one more good example of why it makes sense for speakers of English

> to use "they" as the indefinite pronoun of singular reference (rather "he"or

> "she"):

> >From the *South Florida Sun-Sentinel," 15Feb96, 9B/1-2: "POMPANO

> BEACH--Police are trying to figure out who would want to kill James Maxwell,

> and why. <snip>

>   " 'It was a hit,' King said. 'Whoever killed him waited for him a great

> deal of time and, when he showed up, they emptied their gun.' "

>   " . . . neighbors saw a white man, about 5 feet 8 inches tall with a

> medium build . . . hanging around Maxwell's home Tuesday night."



> If the "police spokeswoman Sandra King" had chosen to say either ". . . he

> emptied his gun" or ". . . she emptied her gun" would have implied that she

> knew more about the shooter's identity than she did. The use of the

> gender-neutral "they . . . their" not only avoids this trap, it also allows

> for the possibility that more than one person was involved in the killing. In

> this case, "they . . . their" also eliminates a potential confusion of "he"

> the victim and "they" the killer(s).

>

> The good sense of ordinary speakers of the language once again triumphs over

> mindless prescriptivism!



When I left work there about an hour ago, it was the Fort Lauderdale

Sun-Sentinel (published by the Sun-Sentinel Company, a Chicago Tribune

company).

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COLOR ME ORANGE         | | | | Voice: 954-782-4582; Fax: 954-782-4535

R. D. Swets (Archbishop Bob)   | | | | Zion Lutheran School:  954-421-3146,

170 N.E. 18th Street    ______| | | |______  Ext. 135;  Fax: 954-421-4250

Pompano Beach, FL 33060 (________) (________) Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel:

bobbo[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]bcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us        954-356-4635; Fax: 954-356-4676

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