On 3/5/20 9:54 AM, John Darrington wrote:
Singular they has been denounced by many in the English speaking world for
various reasons.
Here is just one example:
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2016/01/they_is_destroying_the_english_language.html
Do you really think people who write these rants would not disparage use of
"per" even more?
(It is clear the author is a right-wing crank, whose concerns are not ours.)
In fact, singular they has been denounced by many people who use it themselves.
Others, decry it as "not appropriate for formal writing" - which just confirms
that many people find it very natural if they don't stop to obsess over it.
Of course this discussion is bikeshedding. Few will be convinced by the
discussion.
Even if it it wasn't my name, I do not expect to ever use it (non-accidentally)
in my
writing - unless it becomes a lot more popular than it is. In any case, I
don't think
helps GNU to insist on more GNU-specific terminology.
--
--Per Bothner
[email protected] http://per.bothner.com/
