Actually PostScript did last, I was just too stupid to realize that one needs to press <enter> for every new page in gv.
Anyway: here is the pdf made by ps2pdf: https://juhani.xn--mkel-load.net/public/oodbif.pdf
Anyway: here is the pdf made by ps2pdf: https://juhani.xn--mkel-load.net/public/oodbif.pdf
Normally ‘he’ would be used, or maybe at that time. Just something interesting I saw.
Very interesting to see the files are still there!
Even then I routinely used 'they' when writing about people in general, authors I had not met, etc. as there was a good chance they weren't male.
Wikipedia reinforces my understanding .. it's been in common use for centuries and only relatively recently have a few dipshits declared it to be "wrong"
Singular they has been criticised since the mid-18th century by prescriptive commentators who consider it an error.
FWiW the Oxford English Dictionary is descriptive and not prescriptive.
All Hail the OED.
This is a minor nitpick, as I suspect that third person personal pronouns where in a state of flux during the middle english period, replacing some inherited pronouns with pronouns borrowed from old norse. More so, language isn't defined by it's history but from how it is used presently!
I myself wouldn't use singular they, it goes against my “language intuition ” (probably formed by my native language which wouldn't allow that construction), others feel free!
Not caring about your gender is baked into the language.