For this reason, some distinguished English writers, among them Joseph Addison, Jane Austen, Henry Fielding, Lord Chesterfield, John Ruskin and Sir Walter Scott, have resolved the problem of gender concord by singular they. Though professional writers have been dissatisfied with the ambiguity of he , most people made do with the unresolved ambivalence until the 1970's when the feminist movement made inclusive language a general issue. These historically unresolved ambiguities in the language explain why native speakers may alternate between inclusive and non-inclusive language. The fact does not indicate inclusive language is simply political but merely that speakers tend to be as exact as the situation requires, and situations vary. One must distinguish between horizontal and vertical inclusive language.
Different criteria apply to the two categories.
Some biblical kinship terms, e.g., brothers , sons , forefathers , must be carefully translated when they refer to men and women. To justify horizontal translation, the bishops invoke the principle of respect for the equal baptismal dignity of men and women in the liturgical assembly. Women as well as men are equally members of God's people and should hear themselves addressed in the assembly. Empirical research on language supports the bishops' principle. But if women are not to exclude themselves from what they read, they must do additional mental processing to transform the initial literal interpretation into one that includes them.