Tuesday, April 15, 2014

leaving the window for the door

It isn't unlike the personal pronoun battle that has been up and down in terms of its violence. Some insist that using personal pronouns is the way to go as it simplifies sentences and expressions. Others argue that avoiding the use of personal pronouns is best as it alleviates even the modicum of confusion. For example, she has her item that he used to keep from him. Or, Sheila has Elizabeth's item that Ben used to keep from Doug. Or, Sheila has Sheila's item that Ben used to keep from Doug. Which was it?

2 comments:

Zhoen said...

This is why we have a male and female cat, and refer to them as such. They are both fixed, do not conform to gender rules, and care not at all what we call them. Being able to use He and She to refer to them clearly does save some confusion on the human front.

Phil Plasma said...

That was very wise of you. I'm reading a book now that has a hermaphrodite in it and the personal pronouns for it/him/her are all over the place. If you oogle Fallom, you'll know who I am talking about.