While we're on the subject of gender and information-gathering...

[featherynscale]

[Poll #650071]

Comments

[zylch.livejournal.com]

I assume that this is for spoken English, not written -- spoken I tend to use singular "they," written I tend to use s/he.

Also, you got my thought-about answers rather than my instant reactions, because after years at a women's college I've grown accustomed to sentences about students using the feminine pronoun exclusively.

[triadruid.livejournal.com]

I also assumed it was about spoken English, because you can be a little more specific without sacrificing clarity in written text.

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

I was actually thinking of written forms, but I am interested in the spoken forms as well. When I write, I do sometimes use s/he, which of course is stupid when you say it.

[celticwhistlin.livejournal.com]

I interpreted this as spoken not written. In written form I tend to use he/she. In spoken form, I use they.

Write as I say, not as I do?

[niveus-tigris.livejournal.com]

I tend more towards what I would consider proper english in both my spoken and written communication. Writing s/he is just as awkward as writing priest/ess or bachelor/ette. While they might be fun to use in certain situations, they are less than proper and impossible to say if you don't want to sound like you're stuttering. Analytically, I am always conscious of how well people understand what I am trying to say. So, I use they.