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 societys 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, youll probably catch yourself using the same construction yourself. Its enough to drive anyone out of their senses (George Bernard Shaw). I shouldnt like to punish anyone, even ii theyd 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.
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