emjej@uokvax.UUCP (01/16/85)
/***** uokvax:net.nlang / topaz!josh / 4:06 pm Jan 9, 1985 */ There's a precedent for the plural form of a pronoun taking over the singular--the second person, "you". One says "you are" even when speaking of (to) a single person. The original singular form "thou" has largely disappeared. --JoSH /* ---------- */ "You" and corresponding formal pronouns in Romance languages are hangovers from humoring people who use the royal "we" by using plural constructs to refer to them. It's not clear whether that should justify adding ambiguity to English. James Jones (On the other hand, whenever I hear "Everybody should bring his hat," I picture a mob ripping a particular fedora to shreds, all of them trying to grab the same hat...)