TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: On Avoiding Gender Bias From:AnilaA -at- ibsplc -dot- com To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Fri, 14 Dec 2001 10:06:28 +0530
Anila wrote on gender neutrality:
Which one of the following would you prefer?
Anyone who wishes to avail of this facility should bring his ID
card.......
Anyone who wishes to avail of this facility should bring his/her ID
card.......
All who wish to avail of this facility should bring their ID
cards.......
One who wishes to avail of this facility should bring one's ID
card.......
Richard wrote....
No one has mentioned another problem with all the alternatives Anila
presented: "To avail" is a *transitive* verb, and thus requires an
object,
specifically, the recursive yourself, himself, herself, or themselves.
Thank you all for your responses to the issue I raised. I found many
of them quite useful. Most of you have expressed your displeasure with
the usage of the formal-sounding "avail". And I must agree with you.
"To avail" is definitely a *transitive* verb.
However I believe that
".... wishes to avail of this facility...." is as right as saying
"..... wishes to avail herself of this facility......"
The object in the sentence is 'this facility' and not the reflexive
'herself'.
What says you ?
Thanks
Anila
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Be a published author! iUniverse gives you: a high-quality paperback, a
custom cover design, and distribution to 25,000 retailers. And it's
affordable. Join our almost 10,000 published authors today. http://www.iuniverse.com/media/techwr
Your monthly sponsorship message here reaches more than
5000 technical writers, providing 2,500,000+ monthly impressions.
Contact Eric (ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com) for details and availability.
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
