decot@cwruecmp.UUCP (Dave Decot) (10/07/83)
Why, oh, why can't we use the pronouns them, they, their as possibly singular, possibly plural, possibly male, possibly female? Several million people (alas, "wrongly") already use these words in the absence of more convenient ones when the person or group in question is not predictable in advance: If anybody calls, tell them I'm in the shower. And why do I get complaints for using a perfectly reasonable contrivance: You-all (Y'all) meaning "you collective beings"? A French speaker has "vous" too, but at least they have "tu", too. Dave ..!decvax!cwruecmp!decot