Re: Origin of the word 'kivismi'

On Thu, 26 Apr 2001, Steg Belsky wrote:

> Well, descriptively speaking, in many dialects now "they" is becoming the
> default animate 3rd sg pronoun... it has even acquired a reflexive form
> different than it's original plural:
>
> subject / object / reflexive
> they ~ them ~ themselves  =  plural
> they ~ them ~ themself  =  singular
I use it that way unless I feel irritated/pedantic, in which case I use
"he, she or it."  In academic writing I tend toward "he" unless the prof
specifies otherwise (I'm female and almost never offended by it).

I applaud the attempt at gender neutrality, but Korean *doesn't*
distinguish *at all* between male and female in pronouns (though there
*is* a significant male-side bias in kinhip terminology), and I don't
know *anyone* who thinks Korea has an egalitarian society vis-a-vis
male-female relationships.

YHL

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