Originally Posted by
BEagle
The one aspect of this whole inclusiv-speak bolleaux which particular irks me is the use of a plural pronoun for a singular issue. I was reading an infringement report which kept describing what 'they' had or hadn't done correctly and it was only when looking further that I saw that the aircraft was being flown solo. Which put an entirely different complexion on the whole incident.
There was an item on TV (television) recently in which some androgynous American couple announce that they didn't have a baby - it was a 'theyby'....
The gender specific pronoun in this case would be irrelevant to the situation being described and if incorrect attribution were made could be embarrassing to the author (and perhaps the subject!) it also avoids avoids using "he/she" which is cumbersome.
Consider:
'Each pilot submitted their report to the committee. ( their is plural)
not
Each pilot submitted his or her report to the committee.'
Fortunately neither English grammar nor vocabulary is ossified.
Last edited by beardy; 14th Dec 2021 at 09:23.