Re: [HACKERS] pgsql: Use gender-neutral language in documentation

On 22 September 2015 at 09:28, Albe Laurenz <laurenz(dot)albe(at)wien(dot)gv(dot)at> wrote:

> Peter Geoghegan wrote:
> > On Mon, Sep 21, 2015 at 9:32 PM, Erik Rijkers <er(at)xs4all(dot)nl> wrote:
> >> I think this compulsive 'he'-avoiding is making the text worse.
> >>
> >>
> >> - environment variable); any user can make such a change for his
> session.
> >> + environment variable); any user can make such a change for their
> session.
> >
> > -1. It seems fine to me.
>
> (Disclaimer: I am not a native speaker.)
>
> Using the pronoun of the third person plural as a replacement for "his or
> her"
> has become widely used, at least in the U.S., and the OED condones that
> use:
> http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/they
>
>
Without wanting to get into a grammar war, ​I'm not so sure I agree that it
"condones" it. Dictionaries reflect the current state of usage, they don't
act as arbiters of correctness. The abuse of "literally" as an emphasiser
(which usage is now listed in the OED) is a prime example.

As an Englishman ​I would prefer "his or her" over "their". Perhaps our
American cousins might disagree though.

WRT the second, it probably doesn't help that "might not be the same as the
database user that is to be connect as" is incorrect anyway - it should
perhaps be "that is to be connect*ed *as" (although I still find the
construction clumsy).

Geoff