"He" started to be used as a generic pronoun by grammarians who were trying to change a long-established tradition of using "they" as a singular pronoun. In 1850 an Act of Parliament gave official sanction(批准)to the recently invented concept of the "generic" he. In the language used in acts of Parliament, the new law said, "words importing the masculine gender shall be deemed and taken to include females." Although similar language in contracts and other legal documents subsequently helped reinforce this grammatical edict in all English-speaking countries, it was often conveniently ignored. In 1879, for example, a move to admit female physicians to the all-male Massachusetts Medical Society was effectively blocked on the grounds 'that the society's by-laws describing membership used the pronoun he。
Just as "man" is not truly generic in the 1990s, "he" is not a true generic pronoun. Studies have confirmed that most people understand "he" to refer to men only. Sentences like "A doctor is a busy person; he must be able to balance a million obligations at once" imply that all doctors are men. As a result of the fact that "he" is read by many as a masculine pronoun, many people, especially women, have come to feel that the generic pronouns excludes women. This means that more and more people find the use of such a pronoun problematic。
Solving the Pronoun Problem
They as a Singular -Most people, when writing and speaking informally, rely on singular they as a matter of course: "If you love someone, set them free" (Sting). If you pay attention to your own speech, you'll probably catch yourself using the same construction yourself. "It's enough to drive anyone out of their senses" (George Bernard Shaw). "I shouldn't like to punish anyone, even ii they'd done me wrong" (George Eliot). Some people are annoyed by the incorrect grammar that this solution necessitates, but this construction is used more and more frequently。
He or She---Despite the charge of clumsiness, double-pronoun constructions have made a comeback: "To be black in this country is simply too pervasive an experience for any writer to omit from her or his work," wrote Samuel R. Delany. Overuse of this solution can be awkward, however。
Pluralizing-A writer can often recast material in the plural. For instance, instead of "As he advances in his program, the medical student has increasing opportunities for clinical work," try "As they advance in their program, medical students have increasing opportunities for clinical work"
Eliminating Pronouns--Avoid having to use pronouns at all; instead of "a first grader can feed and dress himself," you could write, "a first grader can eat find get dressed without assistance."
Further Alternatives--he she or s/he, using one instead of he, or using a new generic pronoun (thon, co, E, try, hash, hit)。
1. "Man" could be used to refer to female human being in the past。
2. In "all men are created equal" in Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson, the word "men" refer to both males and females whether they have vote right or not。
3. In 1879, Massachusetts Medical Society refused to admit more than ten female physicians because the society's by-laws describing membership used the pronoun he。
4. The first grammars of modern English were written in order to help boys from the upper class prepare for the study of Latin。
5. "Man" paralleled the Latin word "homo" 'which means ______。
6. Studies show that even when students are taught the broad definition of "man" and "men", they think of ______。
7. Grammarians started to use "he" as a generic pronoun because they were trying to change a tradition of using "they" as ______。
8. When most people read the word "he", they would understand it to rater to ______。
9. Although some people are annoyed by ______ of singular they, this construction is used more and more frequently to solve the pronoun problem。
10. Another way of solving the pronoun problem is to use ______ instead of the singular。
上一页 [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] 下一页
