Wha?  

I no understand.  

Matthew is telling us about something that he finds annoying.  Similar to the way someone may say "you know what I mean" to the end of every sentence or to say "okay" a hundred times in a five minute span.  

Quote from: LaramieHirsch

Wha?  

I no understand.  

Matthew is telling us about something that he finds annoying.  Similar to the way someone may say "you know what I mean" to the end of every sentence or to say "okay" a hundred times in a five minute span.  

Wow.  I had no idea that was what he was doing.  You so smrt.   :shocked:

The user of the "he or she" locution may justly be charged with inelegant expression, but in this age, where true elegance is widely regarded as an anti-Semitic hate crime, it merits no additional abuse. It is, after all, grammatically correct, and what is more, it mirrors the situation it names.

Though "she or he" is equally unexceptionable on grammatical grounds, it may indeed truly brand the user as a timid acquiescer to the Semitic zeitgeist. Still, if this is the only hoop a Trad Catholic has to jump through to get or retain a job that will support his wife and kids in these hostile times, then Heaven be praised! I number among my acquaintances some decent and honorable academics who hold their nose when they write such things because when they do, they are not backed further into the corner where the only choices are resignation or compromise with far graver matters.

Far and away the most objectionable locution of this sort is the very one that even a casual CI browser must notice a score of times a day: the "polite" use of "they," "their," and "them" in the thousands of situations where the syntax requires a singular personal pronoun or adjective. For example, to refer to a topic currently being aired ad nauseam, one would not be surprised to read such a sentence as "Anyone who thinks Pablo is an asset to the Resistance needs to have their head examined."

If I were king, one use of such a repellent construction would bring a heavy fine. Two uses would earn an unappealable firing squad at dawn—or at some rather more reasonable hour if I had an all-volunteer army whose enlistees preferred sleeping in.

I get annoyed when people say "he or she", but do you know what's even worse?

Believe me, there's something worse.

...

...

...

Wait for it...

...

"She or he."

Usually thrown in randomly, so you're not showing preference to the "male patriarchy" or something.

Talk about feminist nonsense!

"She or he" clunks in my ears like an engine that's had ALL the oil removed.

Not nearly as annoying as using "they" or "them" as a singular pronoun!  For example, "There was a person standing in front of me in line, and they paid with a check.  I told them that cash would be faster."

Horror of horrors!

"They" only exists as a singular because most languages, English, Spanish, Portuguese, etc. included, have no concept of singular gender neutrality. It might not exist in any Indo-European language, at least.

The "singular they" is of very recent vintage. The traditional practice in the English language was to employ a generic "he" when referring to an hypothetical person of either sex (i.e. "If anyone wishes to leave the auditorium during the performance, he may do so via one of the rear exits.").

My pet peeve, while were venting, is when someone writes, the "traditional movement" as if being a traditionalist did not really mean the remnant of what is left of the Church Christ founded.  As if being a traditionalist only means something we just started.  No wonder so many good-willed Catholics do not understand it is the majority that left to begin again, not the minority.  

So now someone will come along as say, their rant is people like me, who go off topic.  I get that!  

Claudel said,

Far and away the most objectionable locution of this sort is the very one that even a casual CI browser must notice a score of times a day: the "polite" use of "they," "their," and "them" in the thousands of situations where the syntax requires a singular personal pronoun or adjective. For example, to refer to a topic currently being aired ad nauseam, one would not be surprised to read such a sentence as "Anyone who thinks Pablo is an asset to the Resistance needs to have their head examined."

If one thinks Pablo is an asset to the Resistance, then one needs to have one's head examined.

There you go.