Re:An update about Redis developments in 2019
by geofft on Friday February 22, 2019 @07:50PM
(#19230742)
Another example of language evolving: why isn't it "I assure thee, it is not correct" when addressing a single person?
Re:An update about Redis developments in 2019
by pravda on Friday February 22, 2019 @02:46PM
(#19228483)
Well, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
Re:An update about Redis developments in 2019
by nathankunicki on Friday February 22, 2019 @04:16PM
(#19229193)
Yes, and some opinions happen to be plain wrong, and others are similarly entitled to say so. The entitlement to state an opinion does not guarantee its correctness.
Re:An update about Redis developments in 2019
by pravda on Friday February 22, 2019 @04:56PM
(#19229485)
Ok, I guess that joke was a little bit too subtle.
Let me rephrase that reply: Everyone is entitled to his own opinion.
Everyone takes the singular, but in that reply, I paired it with the plural their.
Language evolves, and this means that the rules of grammar do too. The MLA already allows for pronoun usage to match that of the preferred pronoun of whomever you are writing about, and are considering allowing for the singular they in general. Some style guidelines already allow it. Others still proscribe it.
Plenty of news organizations, including the Washington Post, have set their style guidelines to use the singular they.
It's grammatically correct in plenty of places today, and the current trend is for that to increase, not decrease. You're fighting a losing battle here.