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From: wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.women,net.nlang
Subject: Non-sexist language (historical)
Message-ID: <11267@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Date: Tue, 11-Jun-85 12:11:22 EDT
Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.11267
Posted: Tue Jun 11 12:11:22 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 13-Jun-85 23:39:49 EDT
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Organization: USAMC ALMSA
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Xref: watmath net.women:5772 net.nlang:3156

I ran across the following interesting English country dialect in an historical
mystery (fiction), called The Pangersbourne Murders, by J. G. Jeffreys
(pseudonym of Jeremy Sturrock), Walker & Co., 1983. This is supposed to
be taking place in 1814 or thereabouts, and the books (this is one of a series)
appear to be well-researched and well-written, so I have no reason to
believe that the passage of dialect is not correct for the time and place.
(I have no proof it is realistic, though, either! :-)

Page 58, country locals sitting in an inn and discussing the
narrator-character, who is a man:

'...old Aaron. "Be that'n a lawyer, think you? Her've got that wicked
inquisitive look about her, and me and Moses watched her in the churchyard
poking and peering where her shouldn't have no business to peer. 'Tes a 
harnet's nest anyways if her be a lawyer, and fearful trouble for all."'

So, notice the generic use of "her", when the person referred to is male.

This same usage appears at least once elsewhere in the book, though 
there is little more country dialect quoted. So, it appears that 
in at least one area of England, "her" was used instead of "him" or "his"
or "he". The question remains if this is merely a pronunciation anomaly,
not carried over into written English, and if it is for real at all.

It does NOT appear that using this sort of gender-reversed language
had any effect on sexist attitudes, though the society depicted appears
more matriarchal (the women are the only intelligent or sensible individuals
of the lower-class people in the book).

For what its worth...

Will