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From: Peter Hullah <Peter.Hullah@eurocontrol.fr>
Subject: Re: endings: "thierselves" vs. "themselves" etc.
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Date: Mon, 12 Feb 1996 11:36:01 GMT
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John David Chao wrote:
> 
> [Set followup as you feel to be appropriate]
> 
> I'm trying to decide which is the more logical ending for some pronouns.
> Specifically:
> 
> himself/hisself
> theirselves/themselves
> and the gender-free singulars  eirself/emself
> 
> I am not wondering which is "correct", just which is the most logical,
> so that i can decide which of the gender-free words would be most
> logical.

Logically, given that we have "myself", "herself", "ourselves" etc. they should be
"hisself" and "theirselves". Logically.

Fortunately, English is a language, not an exercise in logic and
the pronouns actually used are "himself" and "themselves".

"emself" is in the same realms of rubbish speak as "personhole-cover" and Esperanto.
A language is defined by its grammar and its vocabulary, and these are defined by
the people who speak it, not by those who think they know better. There is not yet,
thank God, an Acamedie Anglaise.

Pete

-- 

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