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From: dsn@umcp-cs.UUCP (Dana S. Nau)
Newsgroups: net.singles,net.nlang
Subject: Re: Grammar and Spelling on the Net
Message-ID: <3341@umcp-cs.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 23-Feb-86 17:18:52 EST
Article-I.D.: umcp-cs.3341
Posted: Sun Feb 23 17:18:52 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 26-Feb-86 05:08:05 EST
References: <235@pttesac.UUCP> <33100034@ISM780.UUCP> <658@frog.UUCP> <11949@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> <407@utastro.UUCP>
Reply-To: dsn@maryland.UUCP (Dana S. Nau)
Organization: U of Maryland, Computer Science Dept., College Park, MD
Lines: 24
Xref: linus net.singles:9398 net.nlang:3894

In article <407@utastro.UUCP> nather@utastro.UUCP writes:
>In article <11949@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>, albert@kim.berkeley.edu.BERKELEY.EDU (Anthony &) writes:
>> >In article <33100034@ISM780.UUCP> dianeh@ISM780.UUCP writes:
>> >>any validity their statements might otherwise have. I suppose one of the
>>                ^^^^^ ?!?
>> >>one another. If a person can't take the time to learn their own language,
>>                                                         ^^^^^
>> I am reminded of a parable which mentions stones and glass houses.
>> 				Anthony Albert
>
>The marked words are perfectly correct as used.  Would you perhaps have
>preferred "they're" [they are] or "there" [where?] ...

The basic problem is that although English has a non-gendered plural
possessive ("their"), it doesn't have a non-gendered singular possessive.
The use of "their" for singular as well as plural is becoming more and more
common--but strictly speaking, it's not correct.

Correct usage would have been "If a person can't take the time to learn
his/her own language ..."
-- 

Dana S. Nau,  Comp Sci Dept,  U of Maryland,  College Park,  MD 20742
dsn@maryland		seismo!umcp-cs!dsn		(301) 454-7932