1 post tagged “language”
This is an op-ed piece I wrote for the Argosy on language.
I am about to propose something vastly out of character. I am going to propose that we make a change to the English language.
People who know me know that I am extremely conservative when it comes to English. In my first year I had several friends who only half affectionately called me Mr. English because I constantly corrected their mistakes. Therefore, what I am about to suggest is, for me, a huge deviation from my standard mode of being.
We have all heard teachers tell us, usually in a rightfully world weary voice, that we should not use “they” as a gender-neutral singular pronoun. Nor, we are told, should we use “their” as a gender-neutral singular possessive pronoun. These teachers are correct, of course. To use “they” and “their” that way is completely incorrect according to the laws of English.
These laws were formed at a less enlightened time when the default gender was male. The universal human could be represented as “he.” It was standard, after all, to refer to the race of “man.” This has, of course, changed. Indeed, few would argue that this change is not for the better. However, this change came, it seems to me, without any serious look at the linguistic side of the matter. Now that the masculine can no longer stand in as the universal human, we are left with the awkward situation of being forced to circumvent our clumsy and archaic system of gendered pronouns.
As it stands, in conversation we are perfectly used to and accepting of “they” and “their” as gender-neutral pronouns. However, in official and academic writings, this is frowned upon. Perhaps it is time, then, to give this one up and accept it.
Consider a situation where something must be discussed using hypothetical gender-neutral people. For example: “When a person must tell another person something that makes him or her uncomfortable, he or she will often try to segue it into conversation by bringing up a topic that he or she has in common with the other, hoping that pleasant conversation will...etc.” I'm making it up as I go, but my point is clear and that was not an extremely murky situation to begin with. It only involved two people. There are other ways to go about writing it, but all of them are clumsy and break up the flow of the writing. In short, they make the writing ugly.
A few new words must be created to reflect the current state of our language as related to gender. We could make words up, of course, but why bother? We already have several words we are used to using in every day speech. I am very cautious about letting anything slip in language, desperate to to cling to English As It Is for as long as it can be clung to. This once, however, I think we should embrace change. It will make our language that much more beautiful.
