decot@cwruecmp.UUCP (Dave Decot) (02/10/84)
The genderless third person singular pronouns in common use ("their",
"they", "them") is not always used in an obfuscatory context. I have
never used it in such a context, but I often say things like
If someone calls me, ask them to leave their name and number.
Here I am not trying to "hide" anything, I seriously do not know the gender
of the person I am talking about. Any clear way to say the above without
using the "incorrect" pronouns seems to require many more words.
Dave Decot "Non-Americans are people, too."
decvax!cwruecmp!decot (Decot.Case@rand-relay)