Monday, November 24, 2014

He, She, It

The giggles of my elementary aged classmates still resonate in my head as I recall the introduction of pronouns in English grammar when we came to the third person singular "he, she, it." There was hilarity, for some, in slurring "she" and "it" together to sound out a certain four letter word. There's some irony to that for me now. I am aware that the combination of she and it is what we often find ourselves in when pronouns are used frequently.

Oh that we could avoid the confusion of she, he, they, them. Who are all these people? We may think we know, but have we lost track of the thread of reference, for example, when she told her that they didn't want to do what he had suggested to them?

Rhonda's advice? Just watch out. Repeat names when necessary, no matter how cumbersome and ineloquent the repetition may seem.

After working for many years as an English speaking link to our community within a church congregation where the native language barely includes any pronouns at all,

I think they're on to something. Or should Rhonda say, Rhonda thinks languages that include virtually no pronouns are on to something.