Warning! This Post Contains a Startling Confession
I enjoy Facebook memes, particularly those featuring a cute or grumpy animal. Lately I’ve noticed several memes about book hoarding. Reading enthusiasts are portrayed as proud owners of towering bookshelves groaning under the pressure of hundreds, if not thousands, of epic tomes. As a writer, I am also an enthusiastic reader because there is absolutely no way to be a writer without also being a reader. Well, I have a deep, dark secret to confess: I don’t hoard books. In fact, other than a small stack of reference books I use professionally and a few novels that have been autographed to me by the authors, I don’t keep books at all! Several years ago I had a sizable collection of both fiction and non-fiction. But, when my husband and I downsized...
Read MoreThe Slow Evolution of Pronouns, Part 2
I’m sure the anticipation has been killing you (humor me), so without further ado, part two: Last week’s post discussed the slow evolution of pronouns, particularly gendered personal pronouns. As mentioned, past English speakers used he and his to represent a subject of unknown gender; however, as times change, so do our perceptions of politically correct language. Today, style guides and language handbooks frown upon the use of male pronouns when referencing a potentially female subject. In fact, my favorite style guide, The Chicago Manual of Style, and my favorite handbook, Hodges’ Harbrace Handbook, are both quite clear on the matter: If the subject’s gender is unknown, use he and she or his and her. Or, rewrite the sentence from a...
Read MoreThe Slow Evolution of Pronouns, Part 1
As I move into my second year of blogging, I decided to review my site statistics from the last twelve months. The review showed that my two most-read posts both involve pronouns: Keep It Clean–Avoid the Undefined “It” Pronoun Compound Possessive Pronoun Strings, or Who Owns that Dog, Anyway? Despite the relative success of these two posts over my other entries, I don’t think pronouns are particularly intriguing to the average person. (Shocking, I know!) Rather, I think these posts are the most-read because pronouns are confusing. And one of the drivers of this confusion is the fact that personal pronouns have generated gender-based conflict for a long, long time. Although gender-based pronouns have been an occasional concern among academics and social...
Read MoreHappy National Grammar Day, Casimir Pulaski Day, and …
Did you think today was just another Monday? No way! Today is National Grammar Day, the day when grammarians nationwide dress up as the famous lexicographer Samuel Johnson, author of the first widely-accepted comprehensive English dictionary published in 1755. Okay, so maybe we don’t actually dress up as Samuel Johnson…some of us prefer to don costumes of the fifteenth century printing press inventor, Johannes Gutenberg. Okay, okay, so that’s not true either. Most of us just celebrate by telling unsuspecting bystanders that today is National Grammar Day. And then we crack open a fresh pack of red pens. To make the day even more memorable, Illinoisans (or at least Illinois children) are celebrating Casimir Pulaski Day. Pulaski was a...
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