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From: jack@boring.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Re: Pronouns devoid of gender connotations
Message-ID: <6473@boring.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 24-Jun-85 12:36:04 EDT
Article-I.D.: boring.6473
Posted: Mon Jun 24 12:36:04 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 29-Jun-85 01:45:26 EDT
References: <2718@decwrl.UUCP> <337@spar.UUCP>
Reply-To: jack@boring.UUCP (Jack Jansen)
Organization: CWI, Amsterdam
Lines: 31
Apparently-To: rnews@mcvax.LOCAL

>    Subjective: We need a programmer. {S/he,they,one?} must have 5 years' 
>		programming experience in C.
		We need a programmer. Five year programming experience
		in C is required.
>    Possessive: The applicant must know how to tie {his/her,their,one's?} 
>    		shoes.
		Applicants must know how to tie their shoes.
>    Objective:	When you see John's secretary, give {him/her,them,one?} this
>    		memo.
		No problem here, since this is speaking language. The
		person saying this probably knows the gender of John's
		secretary. Otherwise just ask "Could you give this
		to John's secretary?".

What I'm trying to say is the following: We don't have to make up
new words to write gender-less language. In the cases where it is
really important (like advertisments, etc), you can just re-organise
your sentences to circumvene the problem.
In manuals and the like, you can use 'one'.
In cases that aren't covered by this, you pick one of he/she, and
alternate.
This tends to work very well. Ursula Le Guin wrote a book ("The Left
Hand of Darkness"), in which most of the people were genderless.
In the introduction, she said that she refrained from using 'heshe' or
'te', since they sound so unnatural, but used 'he' and 'she' alternately
in stead. The first time you meet the use of 'she' for, for instance,
the king, it looks very funny, but you get used to it very soon, and
tend to forget the gender-specific aspect of he or she (At least, I did).
-- 
	Jack Jansen, jack@mcvax.UUCP
	The shell is my oyster.