On Nov 29, 2011, at 10:01 AM, John wrote: > Raymond E. Feist <[email protected]> writes >> Sometime back years ago a thread touched on the evolution of languages and I >> made the point they tended to change rapidly until the advent of the >> printing press, which pretty much began fixing it in place once more people >> agreed on how things should be spelled (spelt for you Brits) and pronounced. >> But right this very minute, we're witnessing a tiny language shift before >> our very eyes, the product of political correctness. Apparently, it is now >> acceptable in many circles to use the pronoun "they" in place of "him or >> her." As in "When someone comes into that building, they are often confused >> by the signs in the lobby." When I was a kid that would have been a red >> circle and the note in the margin, "Incorrect Antecedent." >> >> Language is pretty fascinating stuff, isn't it? >> >> Best,R.E.F. > > I have been using it that way for decades, though don't blame me for starting > it. > > I wonder if you have seen the item on pizza's where US Congress has ruled > that a pizza is a vegetable because of the amount of tomato paste? > This is an example of premature evolution of language. Not only have we > tomatoes mutating from fruit into vegetables, we now have an anti-health food > becoming 'green' as a vegetable :) > > So its of to the phone to call "Domino's Vegetable", though it sounds a but > of a mouthful to me <g> >
It's one of those usage things that 90% of the population do not care about. Yes, tomato is a vine fruit, but most people think of it as a vegetable. As for Congress, the less said about their logic, the better. Best, R.E.F. ---- www.crydee.com Never attribute to malice what can satisfactorily be explained away by stupidity.
