RE: Apple permits "then" to be used as a coord. conjunction in instructions?

Subject: RE: Apple permits "then" to be used as a coord. conjunction in instructions?
From: Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2005 10:40:13 -0700


On Tue, 2005-07-12 at 10:12 -0700, Wilcox, Rose wrote:

> (BTW, I tend to avoid the singular use of "they" in formal writing... so
> I do have prescriptionist tendencies, in spite of some of my radical
> ideas about certain grammar/style decisions. In the above I would
> rewrite to make the subject plural.)


At the risk of taking a wry comment seriously, I have to say that I
don't see this as a prescriptionist tendency. Instead, I see your
preference as a concern for clarity.

While using "they" as an indefinite pronoun has a long history in
English and is perfectly acceptable so far as I am concerned, it can
still cause readers to stumble. That being so, it only makes sense to
avoid any possible confusion by making the subject plural. Making this
change doesn't strike me as prescriptive. Rather, it suggests an
interest in clarity.

As an aside, I've never cared much for a singular indefinite pronoun in
any form. It's meant to refer to more than one person -- (after all,
when you say, "Everyone is entitled to his opinion," you don't usually
mean that only one particular person is entitled). So, to my literal
mind, it should be plural in the first place. Why complicate you writing
with a needless transposition in the sense from the single to the
plural?

--
Bruce Byfield 604-421-7177
http://members.axion.net/~bbyfield

"Inspiration and craft plus time and effort minus fear and doubt
multiplied by purpose equals song."
- Ray Wylie Hubbard.


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RE: Apple permits "then" to be used as a coord. conjunction in instructions?: From: Wilcox, Rose

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