The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1908-04-30
A PRONOUN We LACK.
One Of the Grammatical Difficult
ties Of Our Language.
A RATHER PRETTY PROBLEM.
And One, by tho Way Whose Salts,
factory Solution Probably Never
Will 30 Found--P6rasss That Illus.
trate the Difficult Point at Issue.

: We have number OF words al
n phrases In our tongue which requll
a the employment OF a pronoun thu
does not exist, AS representatives {
this class can be taken each and ever,
with the com blnation into which the
enter. The peculiarly about them
that as regards form they are slngula
as regards meaning they are plura
Consequently the construction, accort
Ing to sense, Is always coming Int
conflict with the construction accoriln
to strict grammar, One OF these OF
pressicns- s--everybody, for instance
may be used to bring out the poin
distinctly. II is desired, for example
to make statement to the effect tina
at some specific gathering all person
present had seen there those whom
they knew WELL With the employ
ment Of the word just selected gram
matical difficulties at once arise anC
the troubles of the writer begin,
Three ways are open to him In which
he can overcome them after fashion
But not one of them answers fully all
the conditions existing In the frsl
the masculine form can be made 4
represent both itself and the feminine
Consequently such sentence MS the
following could be framed. There
everybody met his friends Women
rs we'll as men would be included un.
der his. Though never really satlsfac-
tory, this was once the preferred usage,
For time X served the purpose fairly
well, and 1t still does so occasionally
and perhaps frequently. But there
has been for L good while past dis.
tinct dislike % this construction. One
result Of tbn increasingly important
part that thr female sex plays In life
and literature is the growth OF repug.
nance ON the part Of the feminine ele-
ment to have its identity merged In
the mascr'l''e Subc0nsclousness OF
the injustice of II has now passed
over into full consciousness that under
this form OF expression its claims are
not really recognized: hence, while wo.
men may usa II. they do not Ike II,
and men haze come TO share largely
In the same feeling.
Another wsF out Of the difficulty
was devised TO satisfy the claims of
both sexes resort was had to two rep
resentative pron0uns. The sentence
previously given would accordingly mp
pear In the following shape: There
everybody mst his or her friends. But
such form cf expression pleased no
one. II was fe.t to be formal, to suffer
from that Stiffness which Is always
sure TO manifest itself when natural
ness OF expression Is sacrificed TO mere
precision of statement. Besides being
Objectionable on the score Of clumsl
ness 1t was subject TO exception on
other grOund>. In words with feminine
examinations. like heIress or heroine.
the fact Of Sex Is indicated, indeed, but
II Is not made obtruslve When, how.
ever, We have distinct contrasted
forms, as in his or her." Ii Is lifted
into an unGue and almost aggres
slre prominence, where there IN mel,
ther desire nor occasion to make if
prominent; hence this particular usage,
while serviceable in certain documents
and acceptable always to the devotees
Of strict grammar, is usually detested
by everybody else.
A third way out Of the difficulty
there is, and II was long ago taken by
The bolder spirits. This was the con
struction according to the sense. The
plural pronominal forms were used to
correspond to the idea Of plurality ey
isting in the singular subject; hence
men said In tae sentence quoted: There
everybody met their friends. Exam.
pies of this usage can be found abun-
dainty In works Of high reputation, but
those given here for the purpose of H.
lustrating it viii be taken from sin
gle one. This writer Is Jane austen
She is chosen not for her emlnence
but for her rex, for as Il general rule
highly cultivated women speak and
write the language not only with more
n2turalness, but with greater scrupu.
Iousness and purity than the CORE
spending class Of men. Examples from
their works are In consequence more
Here are two or fhrec
taken out of many. ut il very un.
fair, says Miss Austen in Emma" "tu "
Judge of anylodys conduct without an
intimate knowledge Of their charac.
en-" Again IN the same work the re.
mark is made that they say every.
)ody is In love once in their lives" In
Mansfield Park" she observes that
coulG command attention when
hey spoke" These examples, which
night be multiplied from numerous
,ther authors. nre sufficient to indicate
he attitude Of those who adopt the
bird course. Every one can see that
he problem is very pretty one as it
tands and that the interest in It will
leyer die because no satisfactory solu.
lon Of 1t will ever be found. .-Thomag
I. Lounsbury, Professor of English.
Fala TIpfvnPSifu In IInnna,,a ~.