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The New Vulcan Glee Bar ([info]ms_treesap) wrote in [info]unfunnybusiness,
@ 2008-04-07 16:43:00
Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Pronoun wank
(Disclaimer- I made one comment to the OP, before the wank exploded)

In the [info]sociologists comm, [info]staceycat69 asks about gender neutral pronouns.

[info]garinjwind brings the fail.

(Post a new comment)


[info]miraba
2008-04-07 06:54 pm UTC (link)
Wow. That is some impressive fail.

(Reply to this)


[info]ianthefira
2008-04-07 07:07 pm UTC (link)
Ouch.

Actually, I wonder what is a good term to use, other than 'they' or 'one'. I'm not fond of some of the terms like 'zie', personally, but I also bemoan the lack of a good neuter pronoun.
But I don't really want to derail this with a discussion, either. Hmm.

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]fantine
2008-04-07 07:20 pm UTC (link)
In Swedish him=han and her=hon, so people frequently use the term "hen". I personally don't like it since it reminds me of, well, a hen. But better than nothing.

Anyway, pointless anecdote is pointless. Don't people sometimes use hir? It seems reasonable.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)


[info]ianthefira
2008-04-07 07:31 pm UTC (link)
Hey, that's kind of neat.

Hir bugs me a bit since it'd sound like "her". But I guess you could say it "hire", maybe?
It's just an interest since I sometimes end up with fictional characters in games that have no gender or are androgynous. The best I can do sometimes is "he", but it's still bothersome. I don't ever want to use "it".

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)


[info]risha
2008-04-07 10:35 pm UTC (link)
Yes, I would think that "it" would be pretty offensive (though I'm not involved in the community, so I can't know for sure). Personally, I have no problem with the use of "they".

People who argue for the purity of the English language puzzle me, considering that I know purer $10 whores.

(Reply to this)(Parent)


(Anonymous)
2008-04-24 06:01 pm UTC (link)
I have to admit to going with they mostly because zie and hir look and sound so awkward. And, which is probably a German speaking problem, if I hear 'sie' I expect either a stranger/someone in authority or a group of people.

Not Bulgarian anonymouse

(Reply to this)(Parent)


[info]ladyvorkosigan
2008-04-25 01:54 am UTC (link)
Nothing wrong with "they"! It's been used for hundreds of years.

(Reply to this)(Parent)


[info]mmanurere
2008-04-07 08:30 pm UTC (link)
Gender-awareness fail, "proper English" fail, stupid wanker fail...

Garinjwind: fail triathlete!

(Reply to this)


[info]okalintu
2008-04-07 08:45 pm UTC (link)
Ah, the glory that is Finnish.

We have one personal pronoun and thus no need for questions like that. And even then we tend to refer to each other as "se" (it) rather than "hän" (he or she).

(Reply to this)


[info]atalantapendrag
2008-04-07 09:10 pm UTC (link)
But don't you see that your feelings are irrelevant in the broader scheme of the English language?

Looks like bumper sticker material to me.

(Reply to this)

my teal deer, let me show you it.
[info]negativecosine
2008-04-07 09:58 pm UTC (link)
I just attended a three-hour lecture on how language is used to reinforce hegemonic structures by declaring a particular form of the language the "standard" or "correct" dialect. And, it is really, really hard not to dive into that and share my thoughts on the matter, because the "YOUR GRAMMAR IS WRONG" argument now has the coolest counter-argument ever: "YOUR HEGEMONY CAN SUCK MY SALTY BALLS."

Only, that would be trolling, wouldn't it? I really just think someone should give out extra credit for using hegemony twice in as many sentences. (Nevermind if it's used correctly, though, because remember the Linguistic Oppreshun?)

(Reply to this)(Thread)

Re: my teal deer, let me show you it.
[info]pattypleb
2008-05-04 09:57 am UTC (link)
I vaguely recall a Spanish prof listing the three things that occurred in 1492 to ensure Spain's power: Granada, Columbus hitting Hispaniola... and Nebrija publishing his grammar of the Castillian language.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Re: my teal deer, let me show you it.
[info]pattypleb
2008-05-04 09:58 am UTC (link)
I just realized how old this post is and I apologize to your inbox.

(Reply to this)(Parent)


[info]omega
2008-04-07 10:03 pm UTC (link)
When ever [info]njyoder champions for sanity, I feel so very very dirty.

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]ms_treesap
2008-04-07 10:46 pm UTC (link)
I posted in the same entry as him! D:

(Reply to this)(Parent)


[info]nam_jai
2008-04-07 10:20 pm UTC (link)
Flounce!

I wonder how long that'll stick.

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]risha
2008-04-07 10:28 pm UTC (link)
Ooo, he's only deleting comments so that the "likes of you" can't keep telling him that he's wrong! That's a good passive agressive excuse there.

(Reply to this)(Parent)


[info]spacelogic
2008-04-07 10:45 pm UTC (link)
Can someone tell me why so many people rail against singular "they" because "it's plural" but have no trouble with the infinitely more confusing "you," which can be the second person singular, the second person plural, or a general term used in place of "one"? </pet peeve>

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]hallidae
2008-04-07 11:10 pm UTC (link)
God, I remember being trapped in a freshman composition class where the teacher didn't allow "they" or "you" in any of the twelve papers she assigned. I got so sick of using "one" by the end of the semester that I haven't really used it since.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)


iwanttobeasleep
2008-04-08 05:48 am UTC (link)
Okay, "you" I get, since it's not particularly necessary and can be used way informally and it isn't too bad to teach yourself to write properly, but. . ."They"? How precisely does she expect one to refer to a group of people?

(Reply to this)(Parent)


[info]wonderfish
2008-04-08 03:55 am UTC (link)
This is why we have "yous".

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)


[info]talec
2008-04-09 09:55 pm UTC (link)
Y'all!

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)


[info]wonderfish
2008-04-09 10:00 pm UTC (link)
Also valid, but yous does not get enough love.

Bonus: Yous has a txt form. u's. Can y'all say that?

I like words

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)


[info]house_illrepute
2008-05-05 08:35 pm UTC (link)
:lol:

but u's can mean it belongs to u... you is... you has... which not only fails for clarity, but also forced bad grammar upon interpretation... and changing it to 'us' is, well... a no go.

i do like 'youse', tho; that's why i can't decide on yaw'll or youse... because they're both so fun!!!!!!!!!1

we will have to decide this one day, tho'... i demand it be done!

(Reply to this)(Parent)


[info]sequinedlizard
2008-04-26 01:26 am UTC (link)
Living in Pittsburgh, there's also the option "yinz."

Not being a native to Pittsburgh, I still fall back on "y'all" since the "-inz" thing makes my teeth clench.

-is a very linguistically confused New Yorker-

(Reply to this)(Parent)


[info]aristaea
2008-04-07 10:46 pm UTC (link)
I personally have no problem with people using the masculine at the default gender, just as long at I can keep calling them fucktard asshat bitches when they act like this.

(Reply to this)


[info]house_illrepute
2008-05-05 08:32 pm UTC (link)
as pig-headed as garinjwind is, some of the people trying to call him out are just as stupid; namely, this nice exchange.

You can disagree all you want to. As an English student, I can tell you flat out, you're still wrong.


really? she may be an english major, but she must be failing in her rhetoric coursework. worst. comeback. ever.

(Reply to this)

  
   
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