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Generic antecedents are representatives of classes, referred to in ordinary language by another word (most often a pronoun), in a situation in which gender is typically unknown or irrelevant.[1] These mostly arise in generalizations and are particularly common in abstract, theoretical or strategic discourse. Examples (with the antecedent in boldface and the referring pronoun in italics) include "readers of Wikipedia appreciate their encyclopedia", "the customer who spends in this market".
The question of appropriate style for using pronouns to refer to such generic antecedents in the English language became politicized in the 1970s, and remains a matter of substantial dispute.[2]
- ^ Mark Balhorn, 'The Rise of Epicene They', Journal of English Linguistics 32 (2004): 79–104.
- ^ 'Gender', in The American Heritage Book of English Usage: A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English, (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1996).