Re: Epicene pronoun (was: French (was: Optimum number of symbols))

Quoting Nik Taylor <fortytwo@...>:

> Roger Mills wrote:
> > I don't think we're going to start saying "I visited Mary at their (i.e.
> > her) house" etc.
>
> Well, "you" was originally a plural, now it's unspecified for number,
> but default singular.
Is that really the case for you? I know that often when I hear
people up here in Chicago use "you" in the plural, I have to do
a linguistic double-take to make sure that I'm not misunderstanding
my interlocutor.  It is, for the most part, much simpler in the
South, where people speak properly. 8P

Seriously, for me, "you" is only unspecified for number in upper
register discourse.

=====================================================================
Thomas Wier          "...koruphàs hetéras hetére:isi prosápto:n /
Dept. of Linguistics  mú:tho:n mè: teléein atrapòn mían..."
University of Chicago "To join together diverse peaks of thought /
1010 E. 59th Street   and not complete one road that has no turn"
Chicago, IL 60637     Empedocles, _On Nature_, on speculative thinkers

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