Re: [PATCH v2 0/4] Use singular "they" when appropriate

From: Felipe Contreras <felipe.contreras@gmail.com>
Date: Jun 10, 2021, 03:30 UTC
Message-ID: <60c1874d127af_af76d2084@natae.notmuch>
In-Reply-To: <xmqqsg1qh3wo.fsf@gitster.g>

Junio C Hamano wrote:

Show 10 quoted lines

> Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason <avarab@gmail.com> writes:
> 
> > + When it becomes awkward to stick to this style prefer "you" when
> > + addressing the the hypothetical user, and possibly "we" when
> > + discussing how the program might react to the user.
> 
> Because I still get a funny feeling whenever I see a singular they,
> which I was taught to be ungrammatical in my foreign language
> classes long time ago, I kind of like this approach better, if we
> can pull it off.

Once again; we non-native English speakers shouldn't forgo our instincts. Even professional English linguists agree this isn't OK:

  We thank the anonymous reviewer for their helpful comments

https://ahdictionary.tumblr.com/post/147597257733/updated-usage-note-they

-- 
Felipe Contreras