actually, I think we're WINNING.

[lotesse]

So I was sure when I got a snotty email in my inbox, sent from one of my professors to the entire class, banging on about the use of "they" as a generic pronoun rather than "he," and calling the entire thing a grammatical error - the best part was when he lamented that soon the war would be "lost," and we wouldn't be able to enforce patriarchy on our own students - that if I was not the main target I was at least included. I'm the most vocal feminist in the class, certainly. And so I was sure that I'd be marked down, and I was sort of bracing myself to write letters and possibly contest the grade if that bit of sexist pedantry was my only sin - and then I opened my grades, and the bastard gave me an A. He never gives As! Sir, I'm confused.

Comments

[senmut]

Had a prof that was going to give me an 'I' for a semester due to my failure to turn in a 50 point (out of the total 1000 possible that sem) assignment. It was about library research methods and using library resources. I passed, as ethically speaking, I WORKED THERE, and I was the darling of the library, and how could anyone expect me to not get a perfect score by wheedling coworkers? (I didn't.)

I told him point blank what I thought, why, took the assignment, dashed it off in an half hour, PERFECTLY because I know libraries inside and out (back then, not now. I miss the physical card catalog) and turned it in.

I was tracking for a c+/B- in his class anyway. Ideological differences had set my back up against this guy.

50 points should not have done more than maybe get me a solid B.

I walked out of that sem with an A-, for sticking to my guns, explaining myself rationally and coolly, and having a prof who decided guts mattered as much as ethics.

[princessofgeeks]

winning indeed.

are you seeing a move to use "they" with singular verbs? Cuz in the texts I use I'm not seeing that. I like "they" as a shorter solution to "he or she", but I haven't seen a move to make it singular in written English yet.

In spoken English, of course, we do it all the time!

[rydra_wong]

AFAIK, it's a move that's been going on since the 1300s *g*:

http://www.crossmyt.com/hc/linghebr/austheir.html

[princessofgeeks]

wow; fascinating links. I had no idea.

I have occasion to use or refer to six or seven different English textbooks and writing textbooks in the course of a typical semester, and none of them have ruled it correct.

I guess the authors of those texts are part of the No It's Wrong movement that the article refers to, LOL.

[legionseagle]

Languagelog have links on "singular they" and how the proscription of it is plain wrong

[princessofgeeks]

thank you! maybe we need some different textbooks where I teach.

[msilverstar]

Yay for you for standing up for yourself and non-sexist usage!

I remember the day I decided that I'd never write another tech doc with the word "he" for "the user" -- it was quite a feeling of liberation.

Using they for generic pronoun is one thing that makes me fond of English, I think I'd be a seething mass of resentment in a gendered language.

[msilverstar]

I have a feeling that Texas textbooks may be "traditional" while the rest of us have pretty much moved on.

[princessofgeeks]

that's probably true. I teach at the college level, and not in Texas.

[amelia-petkova.livejournal.com]

Oh for the love of... *headdesk* Your professor needs to get over himself.

I had an older, male professor in undergrad who was strict about not using "they" as a singular but his reasons were entirely to do with grammar--his pov was use "he", "she", or "he and she" and just stick with it. I can't contribute any answers as to whether "they" is considered correct now, but yeah.

[idleleaves]

*facedesk* Gah. I'm also an advocate of the singular 'they', not only because using things like 'he or she' or 's/he' is unnecessarily binary but because they're awkward constructions. Also awkward are the 'new' gender-neutral pronouns (zie, etc.) that I've been seeing around. Teachers and grammatically-inclined friends tell me again and again that this is 'wrong', but... well, screw that. If there were a better gender-neutral alternative, one that sounded smoother and wasn't awkward like the other choices, then I'd use that, but there really isn't, not in English.

And, even if your professor disagrees, there's no real reason to send e-mails to the entire class harping on about pronouns. Sheesh.

[laughingrat]

Haha, wow, he sounds like a creep. And yet, yay A!