Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!columbia!rutgers!ll-xn!husc6!psuvax1!vu-vlsi!ge-mc3i!sterritt
From: sterritt@ge-mc3i.UUCP (Chris Sterritt)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: pronouns for Bryce
Message-ID: <336@ge-mc3i.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 25-Aug-87 19:40:43 EDT
Article-I.D.: ge-mc3i.336
Posted: Tue Aug 25 19:40:43 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 27-Aug-87 06:22:55 EDT
References: <8708191546.AA07324@cogsci.berkeley.edu> <2793@hoptoad.uucp> <8708200011.AA09857@cogsci.berkeley.edu> <2214@xanth.UUCP>
Reply-To: sterritt@ge-mc3i.UUCP (Chris Sterritt)
Organization: General Electric Astro Space Div.
Lines: 25
Xref: mnetor comp.sys.mac:6009 comp.sys.amiga:7797

>In article <2214@xanth.UUCP> kent@xanth.UUCP (Kent Paul Dolan) writes:
>>In article <8708200011.AA09857@cogsci.berkeley.edu> bryce@COGSCI.BERKELEY.EDU (Bryce Nesbitt) writes:
>>>~~ Some linguist should come up with a neuter personal pronoun and eliminate
>>>this sexist "he" or "she" stuff from modern literature.
>>possessive case, with the vowel sound a little shorter and less structured
>>Actually, one pretty good attempt I've seen uses "ser", which sounds like a
>Kent, the man from xanth.

NO NO A MILLION TIMES NO!!!!! Linguists DO NOT DICTATE LANGUAGE!!!! NO ONE
HAS EVER EVER EVER SUGGESTED SUCH A "FIX" FOR ANY HUMAN LANGUAGE AND HAD IT
STICK (except in France).

THIS IS JUST INCREDIBLY BOGUS.  You are absolutely confused on the role of
people in language: No doubt you read William Safire.  Language is invented,
changed, and updated by the PEOPLE, not the Academicians. 

As an example:  There was a non-sexist pronoun recommended a while back, but
it just 'never caught on'; it was 'thon' (really!);  Want to know when this
awesomely farsighted and incredibly desirable idea (:-) was put forth?  IN
THE LATE 1800's!!!  IT WAS NEVER HEARD OF AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Read "Word Play" by Peter Farb, a very fun to read book on linguistics by
a real expert who can speak my language, and probably yours.  It'll straighten
out this fallacy and a million others (at least :-) that you may have,  without
even knowing it.