TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Keith Cronin responded to my comment that it's easy to write
nongender-specific text "with a little practice" reports: <<I do NOT find it
easy. In trying to avoid the grammatically incorrect practice of using
"their" as a pronoun referring to a single user (which sounds okay in
conversation, but makes most editors cringe),>>
First off, it's emphatically not grammatically incorrect, as even a basic
dictionary will show. For example, the second definition of "their" in
Webster's New Collegiate is as follows: "his or her: his her its-- used with
an indefinite third person singular antecedent". The fact that many editors
and most writers don't know this always surprises me.
<<I frequently find myself having to write very awkward phrases to remain
politically correct on this issue, particularly when dealing with possessive
pronouns. Do you have any tips and tricks?>>
Many of them, in fact. For example:
- eliminate the pronoun: The editor must maintain good relations with
[delete "his"] authors.
- repeat the noun or refocus the meaning: The editor must maintain good
relations with authors. The editor's success [or refocusing: the success of
the editing] depends on it.
- use plural forms: Editors [not: the Editor] must... with their...
- use neutral forms: Editors must account for the reader's [not: his or her]
needs
- use the imperative where possible: Use your initiative [not: the reader
should use his own initiative]
When I said this is easy, I did note that it took practice--and that means
it's not going to happen without some work on your part. Pick one of these
approaches that's relevant to your current work, and spend a day
concentrating on using the approach. By the end of the day, using it will
become something of a habit. After a few days, you'll do it without thinking
about it. Then you can pick a second approach and start using it. Worked for
me!
<<(I'm hoping you're not an advocate of s/he or he/she, etc.)>>
Nope. They're ugly, ill-formed, and generally unnecessary. I'll use s/he
occasionally in informal situations, but not formally.
--Geoff Hart, FERIC, Pointe-Claire, Quebec
geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
"User's advocate" online monthly at
www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/usersadvocate.html
"The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that
English is about as pure as a cribhouse [Woman Happily Overcoming Repulsive
E-mailfiltering]. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has
pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle
their pockets for new vocabulary."-- James D. Nicoll
*** Deva(tm) Tools for Dreamweaver and Deva(tm) Search ***
Build Contents, Indexes, and Search for Web Sites and Help Systems
Available now at http://www.devahelp.com or info -at- devahelp -dot- com
TECH*COMM 2001 Conference, July 15-18 in Washington, DC
The Help Technology Conference, August 21-24 in Boston, MA
Details and online registration at http://www.SolutionsEvents.com
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
