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Book synopsis

If you don't know whether the tailor or the butcher is a man or a woman which pronoun would you use to refer to them? Traditionally your choice would have been restricted to he. Yet there is something that seems a bit strange using a masculine form to refer to people of either sex. Alternatively, you might choose to use they, but then you may feel the wrath of the grammar sticklers. The present study considers the use of they and he for generic reference in post-2000 written British English. The analysis is framed within a consideration of language-internal factors, such as grammatical agreement, and language-external factors, including the rejection of generic masculines based on gender politics. Throughout the book it is clear that, despite any objections to its apparent singularity, they is the pronoun of choice when referring to a generic antecedent. This book will be of great interest to researchers and students of the history of English as well as language and gender courses.

Book details

Book category Books in English Society & social sciences Society & culture: general Social groups

• Full title: British Pronoun Use, Prescription, and Processing
• Subtitle: Linguistic and Social Influences Affecting 'They' and 'He'
• Author: Laura Paterson
• Language: English
• Binding: Hardback
• Number of pages: 192
• EAN: 9781137332721
• ISBN: 1137332727
• ID: 04771135
• Publisher: PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
• Weight: 368 g
• Dimensions: 145 × 222 × 17 mm
• Date of publishing: 25. July 2014

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