An act of parliament
For centuries the words they and their were allowed to refer to both singular and plural words. Such usage meant that the writer or speaker didn't have to make a gender choice because their didn't refer soecifically men or women.
But the fact that their could be both singular and plural bothered grammarian John Kirby, who
declared in 1746 that the male gender was more universal than the female gender. Kirby made
up a new rule saying that male terms should always be understood to include the female. (In other words, when you want to talk about some one in a mixed-gender group, he and hiss are the words you need)
Enter Parliament the chief law-making body of mighty british empire. in 1850 the parliament passed a law stating that masculine terms were always to be read as including females. Parliament actually enacted an official grammar rule! (If they had time for grammar, I wonder what they were neglecting.) Now if I could just get the misuse of whom declared a felony....
For centuries the words they and their were allowed to refer to both singular and plural words. Such usage meant that the writer or speaker didn't have to make a gender choice because their didn't refer soecifically men or women.
But the fact that their could be both singular and plural bothered grammarian John Kirby, who
declared in 1746 that the male gender was more universal than the female gender. Kirby made
up a new rule saying that male terms should always be understood to include the female. (In other words, when you want to talk about some one in a mixed-gender group, he and hiss are the words you need)
Enter Parliament the chief law-making body of mighty british empire. in 1850 the parliament passed a law stating that masculine terms were always to be read as including females. Parliament actually enacted an official grammar rule! (If they had time for grammar, I wonder what they were neglecting.) Now if I could just get the misuse of whom declared a felony....
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