This is in fact an interesting question. I am totally in favor of using they/them/their as genderless singular third-person pronouns, despite a lot of complaints, and I would cite evidence from 1687 to back up my case.
On the other hand, I abhor the use of "infer" to mean "imply," even though that can be attested way the hell back. And I think this use of "literally" to mean "not literally" is also no good.
I'd have to collect more data, but I think it has to do with whether the usage degrades the quality of communication. It's useful to have different words for implication and inference, and blurring the distinction just makes it harder to communicate accurately. Similarly, using "literally" to mean "figuratively but a lot" seems to me to blur a useful distinction and make it harder to actually communicate.
OTOH, we totally need third-person singular genderless pronouns, and the potential confusion with the plural strikes me as so much less significant that it's easily a worthwhile "change".
What I really need is a Merriam-Webster Dictionary of English Usage.
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winterfish
no subject
Date: 2009-09-20 10:41 pm (UTC)This is in fact an interesting question. I am totally in favor of using they/them/their as genderless singular third-person pronouns, despite a lot of complaints, and I would cite evidence from 1687 to back up my case.
On the other hand, I abhor the use of "infer" to mean "imply," even though that can be attested way the hell back. And I think this use of "literally" to mean "not literally" is also no good.
I'd have to collect more data, but I think it has to do with whether the usage degrades the quality of communication. It's useful to have different words for implication and inference, and blurring the distinction just makes it harder to communicate accurately. Similarly, using "literally" to mean "figuratively but a lot" seems to me to blur a useful distinction and make it harder to actually communicate.
OTOH, we totally need third-person singular genderless pronouns, and the potential confusion with the plural strikes me as so much less significant that it's easily a worthwhile "change".
What I really need is a Merriam-Webster Dictionary of English Usage.