title
stringlengths 1
149
⌀ | section
stringlengths 1
1.9k
⌀ | text
stringlengths 13
73.5k
|
|---|---|---|
Maxwell Montes
|
General description
|
Located on Ishtar Terra, the more northern of the planet's two major highlands, Maxwell Montes is 11 kilometres (36,000 ft) high. It rises about 6.4 kilometers above and to the east (21,000 ft above, and 4 miles (6.44 km) to the east) of Lakshmi Planum, and is about 853 kilometres (530 mi) long by 700 kilometres (435 mi) wide. The western slopes are very steep, whereas the eastern slopes descend gradually into Fortuna Tessera. Due to its elevation, it is the coolest (about 380 °C or 716 °F) and least pressurised (about 45 bar or 44 atm) location on the surface of Venus.
|
Maxwell Montes
|
Origins and geology
|
The origin of the Lakshmi Planum and the mountain belts such as Maxwell Montes is controversial. One theory suggests they formed over a hot plume of material rising from Venus's interior, while another says the region is being compressed (pushed together) from all sides, resulting in material descending into the planet's interior. Broad ridges and valleys making up Maxwell Montes and Fortuna Tessera suggest that the topography resulted from compression. The parallel ridges and valleys were cut by later extensional faults. The extreme height of Maxwell Montes with other compressional mountain ranges around Lakshmi Planum suggests that its origin is more complex.Most of Maxwell Montes has a bright radar return which is common on Venus at high altitudes. This phenomenon is thought to result from the presence of a mineral, possibly a metallic snow. Early suggestions included pyrite and tellurium; more recently, lead sulfide and bismuth sulfide.
|
Maxwell Montes
|
Radar mapping and naming
|
By using radar to probe through the permanent and thick clouds in the Venusian atmosphere and make observations of the surface, scientists at the American Arecibo Radio Telescope in Puerto Rico discovered the extensive highland on Venus that came to be called Maxwell Montes in 1967. In 1978, the space probe Pioneer Venus 1 went into orbit around Venus for the purpose of making radar observations of the Venusian surface. These observations made possible the creation of the first topographic map of the surface of Venus, and confirmed that a point within Maxwell Montes is the highest point above the average level of the planet's surface.Maxwell Montes is named for James Clerk Maxwell whose work in mathematical physics predicted the existence of radio waves, which made radar, and thus the surface observations of Venus, possible. Maxwell Montes, Alpha Regio, and Beta Regio are the three exceptions to the rule that the surface features of Venus are to be named for females. The name, originally given by Ray Jurgens in 1970 on the urging of Tommy Gold, was approved by the International Astronomical Union's Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (IAU/WGPSN) between 1976 and 1979.
|
Fexaramine
|
Fexaramine
|
Fexaramine is an investigational compound which acts as an agonist of the farnesoid X receptor (FXR), which is a bile acid-activated nuclear receptor that controls bile-acid synthesis, conjugation and transport, as well as lipid metabolism through actions in the liver and intestine.The first publication about fexaramine in 2003 showed it has 100-fold greater affinity for FXR than natural compounds and described the genomic targets and binding site on FXR.When administered orally to mice, fexaramine produced selective actions through FXR receptors in the intestines. Consistent with the effects of other FXR agonist drugs, in a study in mice, oral fexaramine stimulated intestinal fibroblast growth factor 15 (FGF15) production and resulted in metabolic improvements. Intestinal tissue-specific actions of fexaramine were suggested to be a possible new approach for the treatment of obesity and metabolic syndrome. However it cannot be determined from these preliminary results in mice whether FXR agonism with fexaramine will produce weight loss in humans. There are no clinical trials of fexaramine planned in humans and therapy with such FXR agonists for obesity is only a theoretical approach.
|
Medical classification
|
Medical classification
|
A medical classification is used to transform descriptions of medical diagnoses or procedures into standardized statistical code in a process known as clinical coding. Diagnosis classifications list diagnosis codes, which are used to track diseases and other health conditions, inclusive of chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus and heart disease, and infectious diseases such as norovirus, the flu, and athlete's foot. Procedure classifications list procedure code, which are used to capture interventional data. These diagnosis and procedure codes are used by health care providers, government health programs, private health insurance companies, workers' compensation carriers, software developers, and others for a variety of applications in medicine, public health and medical informatics, including: statistical analysis of diseases and therapeutic actions reimbursement (e.g., to process claims in medical billing based on diagnosis-related groups) knowledge-based and decision support systems direct surveillance of epidemic or pandemic outbreaksThere are country specific standards and international classification systems.
|
Medical classification
|
Classification types
|
Many different medical classifications exist, though they occur into two main groupings: Statistical classifications and Nomenclatures.
|
Medical classification
|
Classification types
|
A statistical classification brings together similar clinical concepts and groups them into categories. The number of categories is limited so that the classification does not become too big. An example of this is used by the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (known as ICD). ICD-10 groups diseases of the circulatory system into one "chapter," known as Chapter IX, covering codes I00–I99. One of the codes in this chapter (I47.1) has the code title (rubric) Supraventricular tachycardia. However, there are several other clinical concepts that are also classified here. Among them are paroxysmal atrial tachycardia, paroxysmal junctional tachycardia, auricular tachycardia and nodal tachycardia.
|
Medical classification
|
Classification types
|
Another feature of statistical classifications is the provision of residual categories for "other" and "unspecified" conditions that do not have a specific category in the particular classification.
In a nomenclature there is a separate listing and code for every clinical concept. So, in the previous example, each of the tachycardia listed would have its own code. This makes nomenclatures unwieldy for compiling health statistics.
Types of coding systems specific to health care include: Diagnostic codes Are used to determine diseases, disorders, and symptoms Can be used to measure morbidity and mortality Examples: ICD-9-CM, ICD-10, ICD-11 Procedural codes They are numbers or alphanumeric codes used to identify specific health interventions taken by medical professionals.
Examples: CPT, HCPCS, ICPM, ICHI Pharmaceutical codes Are used to identify medications Examples: ATC, NDC, ICD-11 Topographical codes Are codes that indicate a specific location in the body Examples :ICD-O, SNOMED, ICD-11
|
Medical classification
|
WHO Family of International Classifications
|
The World Health Organization (WHO) maintains several internationally endorsed classifications designed to facilitate the comparison of health related data within and across populations and over time as well as the compilation of nationally consistent data. This "Family of International Classifications" (FIC) include three main (or reference) classifications on basic parameters of health prepared by the organization and approved by the World Health Assembly for international use, as well as a number of derived and related classifications providing additional details. Some of these international standards have been revised and adapted by various countries for national use.
|
Medical classification
|
WHO Family of International Classifications
|
Reference classifications International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD)ICD-10 (10th revision, in use by WHO since 1994) ICD-11 (11th revision) International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) International Classification of Health Interventions (ICHI) Derived classifications Derived classifications are based on the WHO reference classifications (i.e. ICD and ICF). They include the following: International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, Third Edition (ICD-O-3) The ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders – This publication deals exclusively with Chapter V of ICD-10, and is available as two variants; Clinical descriptions and diagnostic guidelines, also known as the blue book.
|
Medical classification
|
WHO Family of International Classifications
|
Diagnostic criteria for research, also known as the green book.
Application of the International Classification of Diseases to Dentistry and Stomatology, 3rd Edition (ICD-DA) Application of the International Classification of Diseases to Neurology (ICD-10-NA) EUROCAT is an extension of the ICD-10 Chapter XVII, which covers congenital disorders.
|
Medical classification
|
WHO Family of International Classifications
|
National versions Several countries have developed their own version of WHO-FIC publications, which go beyond a local language translation. Many of these are based on the ICD: ICD-9-CM was the US' adaptation of ICD-9 and was maintained for use until September 2015. Starting on October 1, 2015, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMMS) granted physicians a one-year grace period to begin using ICD-10-CM, or they would be denied Medicare Part B claims.
|
Medical classification
|
WHO Family of International Classifications
|
ICD-10-CM was developed by the US' Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), and has been in use in the US since October 2015 – replacing ICD-9-CM.
ICD-10-AM was published by Australia's National Centre for Classification in Health in 1998 and has since been adopted by a number of other countries.
|
Medical classification
|
WHO Family of International Classifications
|
Related classifications Related classifications in the WHO-FIC are those that partially refer to the reference classifications, e.g. only at specific levels. They include: International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC)ICPC-2 PLUS Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System with Defined Daily Doses (ATC/DDD) Assistive products — Classification and terminology (ISO 9999:2022). WHO adopted ISO 9999 as a related classification in 2003, however, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) remains responsible for maintaining ISO 9999.
|
Medical classification
|
WHO Family of International Classifications
|
International Classification for Nursing Practice (ICNP) Historic FIC classifications ICD versions before ICD-9 are not in use anywhere. ICD-9 was published in 1977, and superseded by ICD-10 in 1994. The last version of ICD-10 was published in 2019, and it was replaced by ICD-11 on 1 January 2022. As of February 2022, 35 of the 194 member states have made the transition to the latest version of the ICD.The International Classification of Procedures in Medicine (ICPM) is a procedural classification that has not updated since 1989, and will be replaced by ICHI. National adaptions of the ICPM includes OPS-301, which is the official German procedural classification.International Classification of External Causes of Injury (ICECI) was last updated in 2003 and, with the development ICD-11, is no longer maintained. The concepts of ICECI are represented within ICD-11 as extension codes.
|
Medical classification
|
Other medical classifications
|
Diagnosis The categories in a diagnosis classification classify diseases, disorders, symptoms and medical signs. In addition to the ICD and its national variants, they include: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) DSM-IV Codes DSM-5 International Classification of Headache Disorders 2nd Edition (ICHD-II) International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD) Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, database of genetic codes Orchard Sports Injury and Illness Classification System (OSIICS) Read codes SNOMED CT Procedure The categories in a procedure classification classify specific health interventions undertaken by health professionals. In addition to the ICHI and ICPC, they include: Australian Classification of Health Interventions (ACHI) Canadian Classification of Health Interventions (CCI) Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) Health Care Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) ICD-10 Procedure Coding System (ICD-10-PCS) OPCS Classification of Interventions and Procedures (OPCS-4) Drugs Drugs are often grouped into drug classes. Such classifications include: RxNorm Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System Medical Reference Terminology National Pharmaceutical Product Index National Drug File-Reference Terminology (NDF-RT) National Drug File-Reference Terminology was a terminology maintained by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). It groups drug concepts into classes. It was part of RxNorm until March 2018.
|
Medical classification
|
Other medical classifications
|
Medication Reference Terminology (MED-RT) Medication Reference Terminology (MED-RT) is a terminology created and maintained by Veterans Health Administration in the United States. In 2018, it replaced NDF-RT that was used during 2005–2017. Med-RT is not included in RxNorm but is included in National Library of Medicine's UMLS Metathesaurus. Prior 2017, NDF-RT was included in RxNorm. The first release of MED-RT was in the spring of 2018.The United States Food and Drug Administration requires in its Manual of Policies and Procedures (MaPP) 7400.13 dated July 18, 2013 and updated on July 25, 2018, that MED-RT be used for selecting an established pharmacologic class (EPC) for the Highlights of Prescribing Information in drug labeling. Each EPC text phrase is associated with a term known as an EPC concept. EPC concepts use a standardized format derived from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Medication Reference Terminology (MED-RT). Each EPC concept also has a unique standardized alphanumeric identifier code, used as the machine-readable tag for the concept. These codes enable SPL indexing. The exact EPC text phrase used in INDICATIONS AND USAGE in Highlights might not be identical to the wording used to describe the EPC concept, because the standardized language used for the EPC concept might not be considered sufficiently clear to the readers of the labeling. Each active moiety also may be assigned MOA, PE, and CS standardized indexing concepts, which are also linked to unique standardized alphanumeric identifier codes. MOA, PE, and CS standardized indexing concepts may or may not be related to the therapeutic effect of the active moiety for a particular indication, but they should still be scientifically valid and clinically meaningful. Even if the MOA, PE, and CS standardized indexing concepts are not known with certainty to be related to the therapeutic effect, they may still be useful for identifying drug interactions and permitting other safety assessments for a moiety based upon appropriate and relevant considerations, such as enzyme inhibition and enzyme induction. MOA, PE, and CS concepts are maintained in a standardized format as part of the MED-RT hierarchy. https://www.fda.gov/media/86437/download The United States Food and Drug Administration Study Data Technical Conformance Guide dated July 2020 states, "6.5 Pharmacologic Class 6.5.1 Medication Reference Terminology 6.5.1.1 General Considerations The Veterans Administration's Medication Reference Terminology (MED-RT) should be used to identify the pharmacologic class(es) of all active investigational substances that are used in a study (either clinical or nonclinical). This information should be provided in the SDTM TS domain when a full TS is indicated. The information should be provided as one or more records in TS, where TSPARMCD= PCLAS. Pharmacologic class is a complex concept that is made up of one or more component concepts: mechanism of action (MOA), physiologic effect (PE), and chemical structure (CS).51 The established pharmacologic class is generally the MOA, PE, or CS term that is considered the most scientifically valid and clinically meaningful. Sponsors should include in TS (the full TS) the established pharmacologic class of all active moieties of investigational products used in a study. FDA maintains a list of established pharmacologic classes of approved moieties.52 If the established pharmacologic class is not available for an active moiety, then the sponsor should discuss the appropriate MOA, PE, and CS terms with the review division. For unapproved investigational active moieties where the pharmacologic class is unknown, the PCLAS record may not be available." https://www.fda.gov/media/136460/download The United States Food and Drug Administration publishes a Data Standards Catalog that lists the data standards and terminologies that FDA supports for use in regulatory submissions to better enable the evaluation of safety, effectiveness, and quality of FDA-regulated products. In addition, the FDA has the statutory and regulatory authority to require certain standards and terminologies and these are identified in the Catalog with the date the requirement begins and, as needed, the date the requirement ends, and information sources. The submission of data using standards or terminologies not listed in the Catalog should be discussed with the Agency in advance. Where the Catalog expresses support for more than one standard or terminology for a specific use, the sponsor or applicant may select one to use or can discuss, as appropriate, with their review division. Version 7.0 of the FDA Data Standards Catalog dated 03-15-2021, specifies that MED-RT was a required terminology by the White House Consolidated Health Informatics Initiative in various Federal Register Notices beginning as early as May 6, 2004, for NDAs, ANDAs, and certain BLAs beginning on December 17, 2016, and for certain IND's beginning on December 17, 2017. https://www.fda.gov/media/85137/download Medical Devices Global Medical Device Nomenclature (GMDN), the standard international naming system for medical devices.
|
Medical classification
|
Other medical classifications
|
Other Classification of Pharmaco-Therapeutic Referrals (CPR) Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC), standard for identifying medical laboratory observations MEDCIN, point-of-care terminology, intended for use in Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities (MedDRA) Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) List of MeSH codes Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC) Nursing Outcomes Classification (NOC) TIME-ITEM, ontology of topics in medical education TNM Classification of Malignant Tumors Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) Victoria Ambulatory Coding System (VACS) / Queensland Ambulatory Coding System (QACS), Australia Library classification that have medical components Dewey Decimal Classification and Universal Decimal Classification (section 610–620) National Library of Medicine classification
|
Medical classification
|
ICD, SNOMED and Electronic Health Record (EHR)
|
SNOMED The Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine (SNOMED) is the most widely recognised nomenclature in healthcare. Its current version, SNOMED Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT), is intended to provide a set of concepts and relationships that offers a common reference point for comparison and aggregation of data about the health care process. SNOMED CT is often described as a reference terminology. SNOMED CT contains more than 311,000 active concepts with unique meanings and formal logic-based definitions organised into hierarchies. SNOMED CT can be used by anyone with an Affiliate License, 40 low income countries defined by the World Bank or qualifying research, humanitarian and charitable projects. SNOMED CT is designed to be managed by computer, and it is a complex relationship concepts.
|
Medical classification
|
ICD, SNOMED and Electronic Health Record (EHR)
|
ICD The International Classification of Disease (ICD) is the most widely recognized medical classification. Maintained by the World Health Organization (WHO), its primary purpose is to categorise diseases for morbidity and mortality reporting. However the coded data is often used for other purposes too; including reimbursement practices such as medical billing. ICD has a hierarchical structure, and coding in this context, is the term applied when representations are assigned to the words they represent. Coding diagnoses and procedures is the assignment of codes from a code set that follows the rules of the underlying classification or other coding guidelines. The current version of the ICD, ICD-10, was endorsed by WHO in 1990. WHO Member states began using the ICD-10 classification system from 1994 for both morbidity and mortality reporting. The exception was the US, who only began using it for reporting mortality in 1999 whilst continuing to use ICD-9-CM for morbidity reporting. The US only adopted its version of ICD-10 in October 2015. The delay meant it was unable to compare US morbidity data with the rest of the world during this period. The next major version of the ICD, ICD-11, was ratified by the 72nd World Health Assembly on 25 May 2019, and member countries have been able to report data using ICD-11 codes since 1 January 2022.ICD-11 is a fully digital product with integration of clinical terminology and classification. It allows documentation at any level of detail. It includes extension codes, a terminology system, with medicaments, chemicals, infections agents, histopathology, anatomy and mechanisms, objects and animals, and other elements that serve to describe sources of injury or harm.
|
Medical classification
|
ICD, SNOMED and Electronic Health Record (EHR)
|
Comparison SNOMED CT and ICD were originally designed for different purposes and each should be used for the purposes for which they were designed. As a core terminology for the EHR, SNOMED CT and ICD-11 provide a common language that enables a consistent way of capturing, and sharing health data across specialities and sites of care. SNOMED is a highly detailed terminology designed for input not reporting, without a specific use case. ICD-11 and SNOMED, are clinically based, and document whatever is needed for patient care. In contrast to SNOMED, ICD-11 allows full clinical documentation while permitting internationally agreed statistical aggregation for specific use cases. The foundation of ICD-11 together with the WHO Classification of Health Interventions (ICHI) and the WHO Classification for Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), comprising also the WHO lists of anatomy, substances and more, are a complete ecosystem for lossless documentation in digital records and at the same time they address specific usecases for data aggregation in a multilingual, freely usable way. SNOMED CT and ICD are used directly by healthcare providers during the process of care, in addition, ICD can be also used for coding after the episode of care, in lower technology environments. SNOMED CT has multiple hierarchy, whereas there is single primary hierarchy for ICD-11 with alternative multiple hierarchies. SNOMED CT concepts are defined logically by their attributes, as is the case in ICD-11, that in addition has textual rules and definitions.
|
Medical classification
|
ICD, SNOMED and Electronic Health Record (EHR)
|
Data Mapping SNOMED and ICD can be coordinated. The National Library of Medicine (NLM) maps ICD-9-CM, ICD-10-CM, ICD-10-PCS, and other classification systems to SNOMED. Data Mapping is the process of identifying relationships between two distinct data models.
|
Medical classification
|
Veterinary medical coding
|
Veterinary medical codes include the VeNom Coding Group, the U.S. Animal Hospital Codes, and the Veterinary Extension to SNOMED CT (VetSCT).
|
Holiline Reminder
|
Holiline Reminder
|
Holiline Reminder is a free software calendar program for Windows.
|
Holiline Reminder
|
Holiline Reminder
|
Holiline Reminder is characterized by very small space and memory requirements, stability, and an easily customizable user-interface. Holiline Reminder places birthday countdowns, special holidays, and upcoming weddings in a creeping line banner that will stay at the top or bottom of a desktop. It has common functions such as a to-do list and a calendar and unique functions such as a creeping line and adjusting colors to a desktop.
|
Holiline Reminder
|
Holiline Reminder
|
Different event types have a different set of displayed field and a different text of a notification. Each event type can be supplemented with a photo which is displayed in a tooltip. Calendars can also be imported using widespread iCal files.
Holiline Reminder is available as of 2012 in 16 languages.
Alternatives to Holiline Reminder include Google Calendar, Rainlendar and DeskTask.
|
Ne (text editor)
|
Ne (text editor)
|
ne (for "nice editor") is a console text editor for POSIX computer operating systems such as Linux or Mac OS X. It uses the terminfo library, but it can also be compiled using a bundled copy of the GNU termcap implementation. There is also a Cygwin version. It was developed by Sebastiano Vigna of the University of Milan.
|
Ne (text editor)
|
Ne (text editor)
|
ne is intended to provide an alternative to vi that will be more familiar to beginners [1] and modern users and still be portable across all POSIX-compliant operating systems, and remain usable on slow remote connections. It uses GUI-derived keyboard shortcuts such as Ctrl+Q to quit and Ctrl+O to open a file instead of the multi-mode command structure of vi. It supports many features common in advanced text editors, such as syntax highlighting, regular expressions, configurable menus and keybindings and autocomplete. ne can pipe a marked block of text through any command line filter using the Through command bound to Meta+T by default.[2] ne has some support for UTF-8 encoding[3] and is 8-bit clean.
|
Ne (text editor)
|
Ne (text editor)
|
ne was originally developed on an Amiga 3000T[4] using the curses library and was inspired by that platform's TurboText editor, which was written by Martin Taillefer. Development then moved to Linux in order to take advantage of the terminfo library. Todd Lewis joined the development team, donating code he wrote to add features required at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which implemented ne as part of their migration of their research computers from MVS to UNIX.[5]. Daniele Filaretti helped with syntax highlighting using code derived from the Joe editor.[6] Version 2.6 adds narrowing for the file open screen, adds status indicators in the open documents list and improves syntax highlighting. Version 3.1.0 is fully 64-bit: file size and line length are limited only by the core memory and disk space available, as large files are memory mapped transparently.
|
Ne (text editor)
|
Ne (text editor)
|
Linux Voice has rated ne as the third best editor for Linux.
|
Meadery
|
Meadery
|
A meadery is a winery or brewery that produces honey wines or meads, and which sells them commercially. There are craft "meaderies" emerging all over North America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand where each meadery produces various styles of meads, such as fruit meads, traditional meads, session meads, and braggots (mead-beer hybrids).Meaderies are becoming more commonplace around the world as people start to discover their offerings. Meaderies that produce honey wines or meads are becoming more abundant in the US. According to a study by the American Mead Maker Association, the community of mead producers has exploded 130% since 2011, making it the fastest growing alcoholic beverage category in the US.In the United Kingdom, particularly in Cornwall, a meadery can also refer to a type of restaurant that serves mead and food with a medieval ambience. An ancient meadery is thought to be in the style of a banquet hall, having wooden flooring, heavy wooden tables, and lit by candlelight with white-painted granite walls.
|
Landau (automobile)
|
Landau (automobile)
|
Landau is a carriage design with a folding fabric top consisting of two sections supported by external elliptical springs. When used in referencing an automobile, landau generally means a simulated convertible.The Nash Rambler Landau introduced in 1950 is a cabrio coach with a power-operated fabric top.A landau bar is an ornamental feature located on a car's rear quarter panel, mostly used on hearses.
|
Landau (automobile)
|
Origins
|
Carriages that had a fabric top that could be lowered and raised were named "Landau" carriages after the city of Landau in Germany where convertible carriages were first produced.Thus the name "landau", like many other automobile terms, originates from coachbuilding (since coachbuilders began making motor car bodies instead, and because customers were familiar with coachbuilding terms).The "landau" described a carriage that featured a manually folding fabric roof that was supported by elliptical springs. The top was designed with separate folding front and rear sections that raised or lowered independently or locked together in the middle to cover the carriage. To differentiate the landau models, the coachbuilders typically included large sidebars.The automotive equivalent to the horse-drawn landau carriage was not popular, since a forward view was generally insisted upon by passengers. Instead, the more popular body style for automobiles was the landaulet (half-landau), with its covered front seats and open rear seats.
|
Landau (automobile)
|
Origins
|
The 1935 handbook of the Society of Automotive Engineers defines the landau as "a closed-type body with provision for opening or folding the rear quarter, by the use of landau joints" and this usually makes it impossible to include quarter glass.
|
Landau (automobile)
|
Simulated convertible
|
In the 1920s and 1930s, especially in the United States, "landau" became associated with cars where the fixed (eg metal) roof and rear quarter panels were covered with fabric or leather and fitted with S-shaped side landau bars, to make it appear like a convertible roof.Following the 1920s and 1930s, when custom-built bodies were available with a split front and rear roof design, the use of landau changed from a functional feature on limited production cars to that of a decorative feature in some higher market segment production cars.The term landau fell into disuse from the mid-1940s until the late-1950s. It was used to describe fixed-roof cars styled to simulate a two-piece roof or to resemble convertibles, sometimes time using vinyl roofs. An example of a two-piece roof is the 1957 Imperial four-door hardtop with simulated "landau-type" roof design. Some models were called "landaus" by their manufacturers, and many were fitted with landau bars on the rear quarters (faux cabriolet).
|
Landau (automobile)
|
Landau bar
|
A landau bar is an ornamental S-shaped metallic bar installed on the rear quarter panel of a car. Mostly used on hearses, the landau bar represents the folding roof structure on a Landau carriage.Since the mid-1940s, hearses in the United States commonly feature chrome bow-shaped landau bars on the simulated leather covered rear roof sides.
|
Landau (automobile)
|
Nash Rambler Landau
|
In 1950, Nash Motors introduced the Rambler, "the first true compact car of the post-World War II era" in a two-door cabrio coach body style called the "Nash Rambler Landau."This model was described as a "convertible landau" and the roof section from the top of the windscreen could be retracted into the trunk/boot. A "bridge beam" steel structure remained in place at the top of the doors and windows. No other convertible featured anything like the Nash Rambler Landau with the fabric top that slid back to open along the fixed side rails. The fabric top was power-operated with a cover that could be snapped on when the top was open. The Rambler's strong body structure eliminated the internal bracing that was normally needed on other open roof cars.
|
Landau (automobile)
|
Ford Thunderbird Landau
|
Ford marketed versions of the Ford Thunderbird using Landau as a model name. The 1962 Landau was a hardtop that included a padded vinyl roof in white or black with simulated S-bars with a raised wing Thunderbird emblem on the C-pillars. This model was popular and contributed to increased sales.The "Town Landau" model was a model of the 1966 Thunderbird line. It featured a wide rear C-pillar with no rear quarter windows with painted roof or available with a vinyl-covered roof that came in black, white, parchment, or sage gold and included color-coordinated S-bars.The Thunderbird was redesigned for 1967 and included a four-door sedan body design with rear-hinged (suicide) doors. All four-door models included a vinyl roof and landau bars giving them the official name of "Landau Sedan". The C-pillar was visually extended into the rear door window area and covered to match the vinyl top, with the landau bars helping camouflage the cut line. The simulated landau design with overwrought trim on the four-door model has been described as "a one-car funeral procession". The Town Landau two-door version was reintroduced as a mid-1977 model with standard luxury features, and it was continued for several more years.
|
Rover Environmental Monitoring Station
|
Rover Environmental Monitoring Station
|
Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) is a weather station on Mars for Curiosity rover contributed by Spain and Finland. REMS measures humidity, pressure, temperature, wind speeds, and ultraviolet radiation on Mars. This Spanish project is led by the Spanish Astrobiology Center and includes the Finnish Meteorological Institute as a partner, contributing pressure and humidity sensors.
|
Rover Environmental Monitoring Station
|
Overview
|
All sensors are located around three elements: two booms attached to the rover Remote Sensing Mast (RSM), the Ultraviolet Sensor (UVS) assembly located on the rover top deck, and the Instrument Control Unit (ICU) inside the rover. Goals include understanding Martian general circulation, microscale weather systems, local hydrological cycle, destructive potential of UV radiation, and subsurface habitability based on ground-atmosphere interaction.By August 18, 2012, REMS was turned on and its data was being returned to Earth. The temperature at that time: 37 degrees Fahrenheit (2.8 degrees Celsius). On August 21, 2012, one of two anemometers returned data with errors. After testing it was concluded that it was broken, probably hit by a rock on descent. Martian winds can still be detected with the other sensor.Reports are posted on the Center for Astrobiology website and Twitter daily.Parts of REMS Instrument Control Unit Ultraviolet Sensor Boom 1 with: Air Temperature Sensor Wind Sensor Ground Temperature Sensor Boom 2 with: Air Temperature Sensor Wind Sensor Humidity SensorThe pressure sensor can detect pressures from 1 to 1150 Pa (Pascal) (0.000145038 PSI to 0.1667934 PSI). For comparison, 1 atmosphere is 101,325 Pascals or 14.7 PSI.The air temperature, wind speed and direction sensor for InSight Mars lander (planned for 2018 launch) is based on REMS, also contributed by Spain.
|
Quisqualic acid
|
Quisqualic acid
|
Quisqualic acid is an agonist of the AMPA, kainate, and group I metabotropic glutamate receptors. It is one of the most potent AMPA receptor agonists known. It causes excitotoxicity and is used in neuroscience to selectively destroy neurons in the brain or spinal cord. Quisqualic acid occurs naturally in the seeds of Quisqualis species.
Research conducted by the USDA Agricultural Research Service, has demonstrated quisqualic acid is also present within the flower petals of zonal geranium (Pelargonium x hortorum) and is responsible for causing rigid paralysis of the Japanese beetle. Quisqualic acid is thought to mimic L-glutamic acid, which is a neurotransmitter in the insect neuromuscular junction and mammalian central nervous system.
|
Quisqualic acid
|
History
|
Combretum indicum (Quisqualis indica var. villosa) is native to tropical Asia but is still doubt whether is indigenous from Africa or was introduced there. Since the amino acid that can be isolated from its fruits can nowadays be made in the lab, the plant is mostly cultivated as an ornamental plant. Its fruits are known for having anthelmintic effect, therefore they are used to treat ascariasis. The dried seeds are used to reduce vomiting and to stop diarrhoea, but an oil extracted from the seeds can have purgative properties. The roots are taken as a vermifuge and leaf juice, softened in oil, are applied to treat ulcers, parasitic skin infections or fever. The plant is used for pain relief, and in the Indian Ocean islands, a decoction of the leaves is used to bath children with eczema. In the Philippines, people chew the fruits to get rid of the cough and the crushed fruits and seeds are applied to ameliorate nephritis. In Vietnam, they use the root of the plant to treat rheumatism. In Papua New Guinea the plants are taken as a contraceptive medicine. However the plant does not have just medicinal use. In west Africa, the long and elastic stems are used for fish weir, fish traps and basketry. The flowers are edible, and they are added in salads to add color. The seed oil contains palmitic, oleic, stearic, linoleic, myristic and arachidonic acid. The flowers are rich in the flavonoid glycosides pelargonidin – 3 – glucoside and rutin. The leaves and stem bark are rich in tannins, while from the leafy stem several diphenylpropanoids were isolated. The active compound (quisqualic acid) resembles the action of the anthelmintic α-santonin, so in some countries the seeds of the plants are used to substitute for the drug. However, the acid has shown excitatory effects on cultured neurons, as well as in a variety of animal models, as it causes several types of limbic seizures and neuronal necrosis.The quisqualic acid can be now commercially synthesized, and it functions as an antagonist for its receptor, found in the mammalian central nervous system.
|
Quisqualic acid
|
Chemistry
|
Structure It is an organic compound, associated with the class of L – alpha – amino acids. These compounds have the L configuration of the alpha carbon atom. Quisqualic acid contains, in its structure a five membered, planar, conjugated, aromatic heterocyclic system, consisting of one oxygen atom and two nitrogen atoms at position 2 and 4 of the oxadiazole ring. The 1,2,4–oxadiazole ring structure is present in many natural products of pharmacological importance. Quisqualic acid, which is extracted from the seeds of Quisqualis indica is a strong antagonist of the α–amino–3–hydroxy–5–methyl–4–isoxazolepropionic acid receptors.
|
Quisqualic acid
|
Chemistry
|
Reactivity and synthesis Biosynthesis L – quisqualic acid is a glutamate receptor agonist, acting at AMPA receptors and metabotropic glutamate receptors positively linked to phosphoinositide hydrolysis. It sensitizes neurons in hippocampus to depolarization by L-AP6.Being a 3, 5 disubstituted oxadiazole, quisqualic acid is a stable compound.One way of synthesizing quisqualic acid is by enzymatic synthesis. Therefore, cysteine synthase is purified from the leaves of Quisqualis indica var. villosa, showing two forms of this enzyme. Both isolated isoenzymes catalyse the formation of cysteine from O-acetyl-L-serine and hydrogen sulphide, but only one of them catalyses the formation of L – quisqualic acid.
|
Quisqualic acid
|
Chemistry
|
Industrial synthesis Another way of synthesizing the product is by having L-serine as starting material. Initial step in synthesis is the conversion of L-serine to its N-t-butoxycarbonyl derivative. Amine group of serine has to be protected, so di-tert-butyldicarbonate in isopropanol and aqueous sodium hydroxide was added, at room temperature. The result of the reaction is the N-t-Boc protected acid. Acylation of this acid with O-benzylhydroxylamine hydrochloride followed. T-Boc protected serine was treated with one equivalent of isobutyl chloroformate and N-methylmorpholine in dry THF, resulting in mixed anhydride. This than reacts with O – benzylhydroxylamine to give the hydroxamate. The hydroxamate proceeds to be converted into β – lactam, which was hydrolyzed to the hydroxylamino acid (77) by treatment with one equivalent of sodium hydroxide. After acidification with saturated aqueous solution of citric acid, the final product, L-quisqualic acid, was isolated.
|
Quisqualic acid
|
Functions
|
Molecular mechanisms of action Quisqualic acid is functionally similar to glutamate, which is an endogenous agonist of glutamate’s receptors. It functions as a neurotransmitter in insect neuromuscular junction and CNS. It passes the blood brain barrier and binds to cell surface receptors AMPA and Kainate receptors in the brain. AMPA receptor is a type of ionotropic glutamate receptor coupled to ion channels and when bound to a ligand, it modulates the excitability by gating the flow of calcium and sodium ions into the intracellular domain. On the other hand, kainate receptors are less understood than AMPA receptors. Although, the function is somewhat similar: the ion channel permeates the flow of sodium and potassium ions, and to a lower extent the Calcium ions.As mentioned, binding of quisqualic acid to these receptors leads to an influx of calcium and sodium ions into the neurons, which triggers downstream signaling cascades. Calcium signaling involves protein effectors such as kinases (CaMK, MAPK/ERKs), CREB-transcription factor and various phosphatases. It regulates gene expression and may modify the properties of the receptors. Sodium and calcium ions together generate an excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) that triggers action potentials. It's worthwhile to mention that overactivation of glutamate receptors and kainate receptors lead to excitotoxicity and neurological damage.A greater dose of quisqualic acid over activates these receptors that can induce seizures, due to prolonged action potentials firing the neurons. Quisqualic acid is also associated with various neurological disorders such as epilepsy and stroke.Metabotropic glutamate receptors, also known as mGluRs are a type of glutamate receptor which are members of the G-protein coupled receptors. These receptors are important in neural communication, memory formation, learning and regulation. Like Glutamate, quisqualic acid binds to this receptor and shows even a higher potency, mainly for mGlu1 and mGlu5 and exert its effects through a complex second messenger system. Activation of these receptors leads to an increase in inositol triphosphate (IP3) and diacylglycerol (DAG) by the activation of phospholipase C (PLC). Eventually, IP3 diffuses to bind to IP3 receptors on the ER, which are calcium channels that eventually increase the Calcium concentration in the cell.
|
Quisqualic acid
|
Functions
|
Modulation of NMDA receptor The effects of quisqualic acid depend on the location and context. These 2 receptors are known to potentiate the activity of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs), a certain type of ion channel that is a neurotoxic. Excessive amounts of NMDA have been found to cause harm to the neurons in the presence of mGlu1 and mGlu5 receptors.
Effects on plasticity Activation of group 1 mGluRs are implicated in synaptic plasticity and contribute to both neurotoxicity and neuroprotection such as protection of the retina against NMDA toxicity, mentioned above. It causes a reduction in ZENK expression, which leads to myopia in chicken.
Role in disease Studies on mice have suggested that mGlu1 may be involved in the development of certain cancers. Knowing that these types of receptors are mostly localized in the thalamus, hypothalamus and caudate nucleus regions of the brain, the overactivation of these receptors by quisqualic acid can suggest a potential role in movement disorders.
|
Quisqualic acid
|
Functions
|
Use/purpose, availability, efficacy, side effects/ adverse effects Quisqualic acid is an excitatory amino acid (EAA) and a potent agonist of metabotropic glutamate receptors, where evidence shows that activation of these receptors may cause a long lasting sensitization of neurons to depolarization, a phenomenon called the “Quis effect ”.The first uses of quisqualic acid in research date back to 1975, where the first description of the acid noted that it had strong excitatory effects in the spinal cords of frogs and rats as well as on the neuromuscular junction in crayfish. Since then, its main use in research has been as template for excitotoxic models of spinal cord injury (SCI) studies. When injected into the spinal cord, quisqualic acid can cause excessive activation of glutamate receptors, leading to neuronal damage and loss. This excitotoxic model has been used to study the mechanisms of SCI and to develop potential treatments for related conditions. Several studies have demonstrated experimentally the similarity between the pathology and symptoms of SCI induced by quisqualic acid injections and those observed in clinical spinal cord injuries.After administration of quis-injection, spinal neurons located close to areas of neuronal degeneration and cavitation exhibit a decrease in mechanical threshold, meaning they become more sensitive to mechanical stimuli. This heightened sensitivity is accompanied by prolonged after discharge responses. These results suggest that excitatory amino acid agonists can induce morphological changes in the spinal cord, which can lead to physiological changes in adjacent neurons, ultimately resulting in altered mechanosensitivity.There is evidence to suggest that excitatory amino acids like quisqualic acid play a significant role in the induction of cell death following stroke, hypoxia-ischemia, and traumatic brain injury .Studies involving the binding of quisqualic acid have indicated that the amino acid does not show selectivity for a singular specific receptor subtype, which was initially identified as the quisqualate receptor. Instead, it demonstrates high affinity for other types of excitatory amino acid receptors, including kainate, AMPA, and metabotropic receptors, as well as some transport sites, such as the chloride-dependent L-AP4-sensitive sites. In addition, it also exhibits affinity for certain enzymes responsible for cleaving dipeptides, including the enzyme responsible for cleaving N-acetyl-aspartylglutamate (NAALADase) .Regarding bioavailability, no database information is present, as there is limited research on its pharmacokinetics. However, even though the bioavailability is not well established, studies in rats suggest that age may play a role in the presence of administered quisqualic acid effects. An experiment which was done on rats within two age groups (20-days-old and 60-days-old) showed that, when given quisqualic acid microinjections, 60-day-old rats had more seizures compared to the younger rats. Additionally, the rats were given the same amount of quisqualic acid, however the immature animals received a higher dosage per body weight, implying that the harm inflicted by the excitatory amino acid may have been comparatively lower in the younger animals.Quisqualic acid has not been used in clinical trials and currently has no medicinal use, therefore no information about adverse or side effects has been reported. There has been a significant decrease in research done on quisqualic acid after the early 2000’s, possibly attributed to a lack of specificity and/or lack of other clinical uses apart from SCI investigations, which have progressed with other methods of research.
|
Quisqualic acid
|
Metabolism/Biotransformation
|
Quisqualic acid enters the body through different routes, such as ingestion, inhalation, or injection. The ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion) process has been studied by means of various animal models in the laboratory. Absorption: quisqualic acid is a small and lipophilic molecule , thus is expected to be rapid. It is predicted to be absorbed in the human intestine and from then it circulates to the blood brain barrier. Analysis of amino acid transport systems is complex by the presence of multiple transporters with overlapping specificity. Since glutamate and quisqualic acid are similar, it is predicted that sodium/potassium transport in the gastrointestinal tract is the absorption site of the acid. Distribution: knowing the receptors it binds to, it can be readily predicted where the acid is present such as: hippocampus, basal ganglia, olfactory regions. Metabolism: quisqualic acid is thought to be metabolized in the liver by oxidative metabolism carried out by cytochrome P450 enzymes, Glutathione S-transferase (detoxifying agents). A study showed that the exposure to quisqualic acid revealed that P450, GST were involved. It is also confirmed by using admetSAR tool to evaluate chemical ADMET properties. Its metabolites are thought to be NMDA and quinolinic acid. Excretion: Mostly, as a rule of thumb, amino acids undergo transamination/deamination in the liver. Thus amino acids are converted into ammonia and keto acids, which are eventually excreted via the kidneys. It is worth mentioning that the pharmacokinetics of quisqualic acid has not been extensively studied and there is sparse information available on its ADME process. Therefore, more research is needed to fully understand the metabolism of the acid in the body.
|
Paradiastole
|
Paradiastole
|
Paradiastole (from Greek παραδιαστολή from παρά para "next to, alongside", and διαστολή diastole "separation, distinction") is the reframing of a vice as a virtue, often with the use of euphemism, for example, "Yes, I know it does not work all the time, but that is what makes it interesting." It is often used ironically. Paradiastole has been described as "the rhetorical technique of evaluative redescription -- more popularly known as euphemism and dysphemism -- designed to enlarge or reduce the moral significance of something". Another example is referring to manual labour as a "workout". Perhaps the most familiar usage today comes from the software world: "It's not a bug; it's a feature!" (This is used both euphemistically and literally, as many features in software originated as bugs).
|
Paradiastole
|
Usage to describe a list
|
In studies on classical antiquity, it has come to mean the repetition of disjunctive words in a list.
In biblical studies, paradiastole is a type of anaphora (the repetition of one word at the beginning of successive sentences). Paradiastole uses certain words—either, or, neither, not, and nor—as disjunctions. A disjunction differs from a conjunction in that it separates things, whereas a conjunction joins them.
|
Paradiastole
|
Usage to describe a list
|
An example of this technique can be found in the Gospel of John, clarifying the meaning of τέκνα θεοῦ (God's children): οἳ [πιστεύοντες] οὐκ ἐξ αἱμάτων οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος σαρκὸς οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος ἀνδρὸς ἀλλ' ἐκ θεοῦ ἐγεννήθησαν. (John 1.13).They [the believers], not of blood, nor of the flesh's desire, nor of a man's desire, but of God were born.In this passage, οὐκ and οὐδὲ (here translated not and nor) function as the disjunctions. The paradiastole emphasizes that those who believed (οἳ πιστεύοντες) and became "God's children" were not physically ("of blood", etc.) born again, but divinely.
|
Paradiastole
|
Usage to describe a list
|
The French Enlightenment writer Voltaire remarked sardonically: "This agglomeration which was called and which still calls itself the Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire."
|
Singular they
|
Singular they
|
Singular they, along with its inflected or derivative forms, them, their, theirs and themselves (also themself, and theirself), is a gender-neutral third-person pronoun. It typically occurs with an indeterminate antecedent, in sentences such as: "Somebody left their umbrella in the office. Could you please let them know where they can get it?" "My personal rule is to never trust anyone who says that they had a good time in high school." "The patient should be told at the outset how much they will be required to pay." "But a journalist should not be forced to reveal their sources."This use of singular they had emerged by the 14th century, about a century after the plural they. It has been commonly employed in everyday English ever since and has gained currency in official contexts. Singular they has been criticised since the mid-18th century by prescriptive commentators who consider it an error. Its continued use in modern standard English has become more common and formally accepted with the move toward gender-neutral language. Some early-21st-century style guides described it as colloquial and less appropriate in formal writing. However, by 2020, most style guides accepted the singular they as a personal pronoun.In the early 21st century, use of singular they with known individuals emerged for people who do not identify as male or female, as in, for example, "This is my friend, Jay. I met them at work." They in this context was named Word of the Year for 2015 by the American Dialect Society, and for 2019 by Merriam-Webster. In 2020, the American Dialect Society also selected it as Word of the Decade for the 2010s.
|
Singular they
|
Inflected forms and derivative pronouns
|
Like the "singular you", "singular they" permits a singular antecedent, but is used with the same verb forms as plural they, and has the same inflected forms as plural they (i.e. them, their, and theirs), except that in the reflexive form, themself is sometimes used instead of themselves.
|
Singular they
|
Inflected forms and derivative pronouns
|
Themself is attested from the 14th to 16th centuries. Its use has been increasing since the 1970s or 1980s, though it is sometimes still classified as "a minority form". In 2002, Payne and Huddleston, in The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, called its use in standard dialect "rare and acceptable only to a minority of speakers" but "likely to increase with the growing acceptance of they as a singular pronoun". It is useful when referring to a single person of indeterminate gender, where the plural form themselves might seem incongruous, as in: "It is not an actor pretending to be Reagan or Thatcher, it is, in grotesque form, the person themself." — Ian Hislop (1984); quoted in Fowler's Regional preferences The Canadian government recommends themselves as the reflexive form of singular they for use in Canadian federal legislative texts and advises against using themself.
|
Singular they
|
Usage
|
They with a singular antecedent goes back to the Middle English of the 14th century (slightly younger than they with a plural antecedent, which was borrowed from Old Norse in the 13th century), and has remained in use for centuries in spite of its proscription by traditional grammarians beginning in the mid 18th century.Informal spoken English exhibits universal use of the singular they. An examination by Jürgen Gerner of the British National Corpus published in 1998 found that British speakers, regardless of social status, age, sex, or region, used the singular they more often than the gender-neutral he or other options.
|
Singular they
|
Usage
|
Prescription of generic he Alongside they, it has historically been acceptable to use the pronoun he to refer to an indefinite person of any gender, as in the following: "If any one did not know it, it was his own fault." — George Washington Cable, Old Creole Days (1879); quoted by Baskervill & Sewell.
|
Singular they
|
Usage
|
"Every person who turns this page has his own little diary." — W. M. Thackeray, On Lett's Diary (1869); quoted in Baskervill & Sewell, An English Grammar.The earliest known explicit recommendation by a grammarian to use the generic he rather than they in formal English is Ann Fisher's mid-18th century A New Grammar assertion that "The Masculine Person answers to the general Name, which comprehends both Male and Female; as, any Person who knows what he says." (Ann Fisher as quoted by Ostade) Nineteenth-century grammarians insisted on he as a gender-neutral pronoun on the grounds of number agreement, while rejecting "he or she" as clumsy, and this was widely adopted: e.g. in 1850, the British Parliament passed an act which provided that, when used in acts of Parliament "words importing the masculine gender shall be deemed and taken to include females". Baskervill and Sewell mention the common use of the singular they in their An English Grammar for the Use of High School, Academy and College Class of 1895, but prefer the generic he on the basis of number agreement.
|
Singular they
|
Usage
|
Baskervill gives a number of examples of recognized authors using the singular they, including: "Every one must judge according to their own feelings." — Lord Byron, Werner (1823), quoted as "Every one must judge of [sic] their own feelings." "Had the Doctor been contented to take my dining tables as any body in their senses would have done ..." — Jane Austen, Mansfield Park (1814);It has been argued that the real motivation for promoting the "generic" he was an androcentric world view, with the default sex of humans being male – and the default gender therefore being masculine. There is some evidence for this: Wilson wrote in 1560: "... let us keepe a naturall order, and set the man before the woman for manners sake". — Wilson, The arte of Rhetorique (1560); "... the worthier is preferred and set before. As a man is set before a woman ..." — Wilson, The arte of Rhetorique (1560);And Poole wrote in 1646: "The Masculine gender is more worthy than the Feminine." — Poole, The English Accidence (1646); cited by BodineIn spite of continuous attempts on the part of educationalists to proscribe singular they in favour of he, this advice was ignored; even writers of the period continued to use they (though the proscription may have been observed more by American writers). Use of the purportedly gender-neutral he remained acceptable until at least the 1960s, though some uses of he were later criticized as being awkward or silly, for instance when referring to: Indeterminate persons of both sexes:"The ideal that every boy and girl should be so equipped that he shall not be handicapped in his struggle for social progress ..." — C. C. Fries, American English Grammar, (1940).Known persons of both sexes:"She and Louis had a game – who could find the ugliest photograph of himself." — Joseph P. Lash, Eleanor and Franklin (1971) Contemporary use of he to refer to a generic or indefinite antecedent He is still sometimes found in contemporary writing when referring to a generic or indeterminate antecedent. In some cases it is clear from the situation that the persons potentially referred to are likely to be male, as in: "The patient should be informed of his therapeutic options." — a text about prostate cancer (2004)In some cases the antecedent may refer to persons who are only probably male or to occupations traditionally thought of as male: "It wouldn't be as if the lone astronaut would be completely by himself." (2008) "Kitchen table issues ... are ones the next president can actually do something about if he actually cares about it. More likely if she cares about it!" — Hillary Rodham Clinton (2008)In other situations, the antecedent may refer to an indeterminate person of either sex: "Now, a writer is entitled to have a Roget on his desk." — Barzun (1985); quoted in Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage "A Member of Parliament should always live in his constituency."In 2010, Choy and Clark still recommend the use of generic he "in formal speech or writing": "... when indefinite pronouns are used as antecedents, they require singular subject, object, and possessive pronouns ...""Everyone did as he pleased"In informal spoken English, plural pronouns are often used with indefinite pronoun antecedents. However, this construction is generally not considered appropriate in formal speech or writing.
|
Singular they
|
Usage
|
Informal: Somebody should let you borrow their book.Formal: Somebody should let you borrow his book."— Choy, Basic Grammar and UsageIn 2015, Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage calls this "the now outmoded use of he to mean 'anyone'", stating: From the earliest times until about the 1960s it was unquestionably acceptable to use the pronoun he (and him, himself, his) with indefinite reference to denote a person of either sex, especially after indefinite pronouns and determiners such as anybody, ... every, etc., after gender-neutral nouns such as person ... [but] alternative devices are now usually resorted to. When a gender-neutral pronoun or determiner ... is needed, the options usually adopted are the plural forms they, their, themselves, etc., or he or she (his or her, etc.) In 2016, Garner's Modern English calls the generic use of masculine pronouns "the traditional view, now widely assailed as sexist".
|
Singular they
|
Usage
|
The rise of gender-neutral language The earliest known attempt to create gender-neutral pronouns dates back to 1792, when Scottish economist James Anderson advocated for an indeterminate pronoun "ou".In 1808, poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge suggested "it" and "which" as neutral pronouns for the word "Person":In the second half of the 20th century, people expressed more widespread concern at the use of male-oriented language. This included criticism of the use of man as a generic term to include men and women and of the use of he to refer to any human, regardless of sex (social gender).It was argued that he could not sensibly be used as a generic pronoun understood to include men and women. William Safire in his On Language column in The New York Times approved of the use of generic he, mentioning the mnemonic phrase "the male embraces the female". C. Badendyck from Brooklyn wrote to the New York Times in a reply: The average American needs the small routines of getting ready for work. As he shaves or blow-dries his hair or pulls on his panty-hose, he is easing himself by small stages into the demands of the day.
|
Singular they
|
Usage
|
By 1980, the movement toward gender-neutral language had gained wide support, and many organizations, including most publishers, had issued guidelines on the use of gender-neutral language, but stopped short of recommending they to be third-person singular with a non-indeterminate, singular antecedent.
Contemporary usage The use of masculine generic nouns and pronouns in written and spoken language has decreased since the 1970s.
|
Singular they
|
Usage
|
In a corpus of spontaneous speech collected in Australia in the 1990s, singular they had become the most frequently used generic pronoun (rather than generic he or he or she). Similarly, a study from 2002 looking at a corpus of American and British newspapers showed a preference for they to be used as a singular epicene pronoun.The increased use of singular they may owe in part to an increasing desire for gender-neutral language. A solution in formal writing has often been to write "he or she", or something similar, but this is often considered awkward or overly politically correct, particularly when used excessively. In 2016, the journal American Speech published a study by Darren K. LaScotte investigating the pronouns used by native English speakers in informal written responses to questions concerning a subject of unspecified gender, finding that 68% of study participants chose singular they to refer to such an antecedent. Some participants noted that they found constructions such as "he or she" inadequate as they do not include people who identify as neither male nor female.They in this context was named Word of the Year for 2019 by Merriam-Webster and for 2015 by the American Dialect Society. On January 4, 2020, the American Dialect Society announced they had crowned they, again in this context, Word of the Decade for the 2010s.
|
Singular they
|
Usage
|
Use with a pronoun antecedent The singular antecedent can be a pronoun such as someone, anybody, or everybody, or an interrogative pronoun such as who: With somebody or someone:"I feel that if someone is not doing their job it should be called to their attention." — an American newspaper (1984); quoted by Fowler.With anybody or anyone:"If anyone tells you that America's best days are behind her, then they're looking the wrong way." President George Bush, 1991 State of the Union Address; quoted by Garner "Anyone can set themselves up as an acupuncturist." — Sarah Lonsdale "Sharp Practice Pricks Reputation of Acupuncture". Observer 15 December 1991, as cited by Garner "If anybody calls, take their name and ask them to call again later." Example given by Swan "It will be illegal for anyone to donate an organ to their wife, husband, adopted child, adopted parent or close friend." With nobody or no one:"No one put their hand up." Example given by Huddleston et al.
|
Singular they
|
Usage
|
"No one felt they had been misled." Example given by Huddleston et al.With an interrogative pronoun as antecedent:"Who thinks they can solve the problem?". Example given by Huddleston et al.; The Cambridge Grammar of the English language.With everybody, everyone, etc.:"Everyone promised to behave themselves." Example given by Huddleston et al.
|
Singular they
|
Usage
|
Notional plurality or pairwise relationships Although the pronouns everybody, everyone, nobody, and no one are singular in form and are used with a singular verb, these pronouns have an "implied plurality" that is somewhat similar to the implied plurality of collective or group nouns such as crowd or team, and in some sentences where the antecedent is one of these "implied plural" pronouns, the word they cannot be replaced by generic he, suggesting a "notional plural" rather than a "bound variable" interpretation (see § Grammatical and logical analysis, below). This is in contrast to sentences that involve multiple pairwise relationships and singular they, such as: "Everyone loves their mother." "'I never did get into that football thing', she said after everyone returned to their seat." "Everyone doubts themselves/themself at one time or another."There are examples where the antecedent pronoun (such as everyone) may refer to a collective, with no necessary implication of pairwise relationships. These are examples of plural they: "At first everyone in the room was singing; then they began to laugh." Example given by Kolln.
|
Singular they
|
Usage
|
"Everybody was crouched behind the furniture to surprise me, and they tried to. But I already knew they were there." Example given by Garner.
"Nobody was late, were they?" Example given by Swan.Which are apparent because they do not work with a generic he or he or she: "At first everyone in the room was singing; then he or she began to laugh." Example given by Kolln.
|
Singular they
|
Usage
|
"Everybody was crouched behind the furniture to surprise me, and he tried to. But I already knew he was there." "Nobody was late, was he?"In addition, for these "notional plural" cases, it would not be appropriate to use themself instead of themselves as in: "Everybody was crouched behind the furniture to surprise me, but they instead surprised themself." Use with a generic noun as antecedent The singular antecedent can also be a noun such as person, patient, or student: With a noun (e.g. person, student, patient) used generically (e.g. in the sense of any member of that class or a specific member unknown to the speaker or writer)"cognitive dissonance: "a concept in psychology [that] describes the condition in which a person's attitudes conflict with their behaviour". — Macmillan Dictionary of Business and Management (1988), as cited by Garner.
|
Singular they
|
Usage
|
"A starting point would be to give more support to the company secretary. They are, or should be, privy to the confidential deliberations and secrets of the board and the company. — Ronald Severn. "Protecting the Secretary Bird". Financial Times, 6 January 1992; quoted by Garner.With representatives of a class previously referred to in the singular"I had to decide: Is this person being irrational or is he right? Of course, they were often right." — Robert Burchfield in U.S. News & World Report 11 August 1986, as cited in Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English UsageEven when referring to a class of persons of known sex, they is sometimes used: "I swear more when I'm talking to a boy, because I'm not afraid of shocking them". From an interview.
|
Singular they
|
Usage
|
"No mother should be forced to testify against their child".They may also be used with antecedents of mixed genders: "Let me know if your father or your mother changes their mind." Example given by Huddleston et al.
"Either the husband or the wife has perjured themself." Here themself might be acceptable to some, themselves seems less acceptable, and himself is unacceptable. Example given by Huddleston et al.Even for a definite known person of known sex, they may be used in order to ignore or conceal the sex.
|
Singular they
|
Usage
|
"I had a friend in Paris, and they had to go to hospital for a month." (definite person, not identified)The word themself is also sometimes used when the antecedent is known or believed to be a single person: "Someone has apparently locked themself in the office."[acceptability questionable] Use for specific, known people, including non-binary people Known individuals may be referred to as they if the individual's gender is unknown to the speaker.A known individual may also be referred to as they if the individual is non-binary or genderqueer and considers they and derivatives as appropriate pronouns. Several social media applications permit account holders to choose to identify their gender using one of a variety of non-binary or genderqueer options, such as genderfluid, agender, or bigender, and to designate pronouns, including they/them, which they wish to be used when referring to them. Explicitly designating one's pronouns as they/them increases the chance that people will interpret "they" as singular. Though "singular they" has long been used with antecedents such as everybody or generic persons of unknown gender, this use, which may be chosen by an individual, is recent. The earliest recorded usage of this sense documented by the Oxford English Dictionary is in a tweet from 2009; the journal American Speech documents an example from 2008 in an article in the journal Women's Studies Quarterly. As of 2020, singular they is the most popular pronoun set used by non-binary people. Approximately 80% consider it appropriate for themselves.The singular they in the meaning "gender-neutral singular pronoun for a known person, as a non-binary identifier" was chosen by the American Dialect Society as their "Word of the Year" for 2015. In 2016, the American Dialect Society wrote: "While editors have increasingly moved to accepting singular they when used in a generic fashion, voters in the Word of the Year proceedings singled out its newer usage as an identifier for someone who may identify as non-binary in gender terms." The vote followed the previous year's approval of this use by The Washington Post style guide, when Bill Walsh, the Post's copy editor, said that the singular they is "the only sensible solution to English's lack of a gender-neutral third-person singular personal pronoun".In 2019, the non-binary they was added to Merriam-Webster's dictionary.The first non-binary main character on North American television appeared on the Showtime drama series Billions in 2017, with Asia Kate Dillon playing Taylor Mason. Both actor and character use singular they.
|
Singular they
|
Acceptability and prescriptive guidance
|
Though both generic he and generic they have long histories of use, and both are still used, both are also systematically avoided by particular groups.Style guides that avoid expressing a preference for either approach sometimes recommend recasting a problem sentence, for instance replacing generic expressions with plurals to avoid the criticisms of either party.
Sources differ about whether singular they is more accepted in British or American English, with Garner's Modern English Usage stating British English and A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language stating American English.
Usage guidance in American style guides Garner's Modern American Usage Garner's Modern American Usage (4th ed., 2016) recommends cautious use of singular they, and avoidance where possible because its use is stigmatized.
|
Singular they
|
Acceptability and prescriptive guidance
|
"Where noun–pronoun disagreement can be avoided, avoid it. Where it can't be avoided, resort to it cautiously because some people may doubt your literacy".Garner suggests that use of singular they is more acceptable in British English: "Speakers of AmE resist this development more than speakers of BrE, in which the indeterminate they is already more or less standard."and apparently regrets the resistance by the American language community: "That it sets many literate Americans' teeth on edge is an unfortunate obstacle to what promises to be the ultimate solution to the problem."He regards the trend toward using singular they with antecedents like everybody, anyone and somebody as inevitable: "Disturbing though these developments may be to purists, they're irreversible. And nothing that a grammarian says will change them."Garner also notes that "resistance to the singular they is fast receding" in all national varieties of English.
|
Singular they
|
Acceptability and prescriptive guidance
|
The Chicago Manual of Style In the 14th edition (1993) of The Chicago Manual of Style, the University of Chicago Press explicitly recommended using singular they and their, noting a "revival" of this usage and citing "its venerable use by such writers as Addison, Austen, Chesterfield, Fielding, Ruskin, Scott, and Shakespeare." From the 15th edition (2003), this was changed. In Chapter 5 of the 17th edition (2017), now written by Bryan A. Garner, the recommendations are: Normally, a singular antecedent requires a singular pronoun. But because he is no longer universally accepted as a generic pronoun referring to a person of unspecified gender, people commonly (in speech and in informal writing) substitute the third-person-plural pronouns they, them, their, and themselves (or the nonstandard singular themself). While this usage is accepted in those spheres, it is only lately showing signs of gaining acceptance in formal writing, where Chicago recommends avoiding its use. When referring specifically to a person who does not identify with a gender-specific pronoun, however, they and its forms are often preferred.
|
Singular they
|
Acceptability and prescriptive guidance
|
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association The 7th edition of the American Psychological Association's Publication Manual, released in October 2019, advises using singular "they" when gender is unknown or irrelevant, and gives the following example: For instance, rather than writing "I don't know who wrote this note, but he or she has good handwriting," you might write something like "I don't know who wrote this note, but they have good handwriting." APA style also endorses using they/them if it is someone's (for example, a non-binary person's) preferred pronoun set.
|
Singular they
|
Acceptability and prescriptive guidance
|
Strunk & White's The Elements of Style William Strunk Jr. & E. B. White, the original authors of The Elements of Style, found use of they with a singular antecedent unacceptable and advised use of the singular pronoun (he). In the 3rd edition (1979), the recommendation was still: They. Not to be used when the antecedent is a distributive expression, such as each, each one. everybody, every one, many a man. Use the singular pronoun. ... A similar fault is the use of the plural pronoun with the antecedent anybody, anyone, somebody, someone ....
|
Singular they
|
Acceptability and prescriptive guidance
|
The assessment, in 1979, was: The use of he as pronoun for nouns embracing both genders is a simple, practical convention rooted in the beginnings of the English language. He has lost all suggestion of maleness in these circumstances. ... It has no pejorative connotation; it is never incorrect.
In the 4th edition (2000), use of singular they was still proscribed against, but use of generic he was no longer recommended.
|
Singular they
|
Acceptability and prescriptive guidance
|
Joseph M. Williams's The Basics of Clarity and Grace (2009) Joseph M. Williams, who wrote a number of books on writing with "clarity and grace", discusses the advantages and disadvantages of various solutions when faced with the problem of referring to an antecedent such as someone, everyone, no one or a noun that does not indicate gender and suggests that this will continue to be a problem for some time. He "suspect[s] that eventually we will accept the plural they as a correct singular" but states that currently "formal usage requires a singular pronoun".
|
Singular they
|
Acceptability and prescriptive guidance
|
Purdue Online Writing Lab The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) states that "grammar shifts and changes over time", that the use of singular they is acceptable, and that singular "they" as a replacement for "he" or "she" is more inclusive: When individuals whose gender is neither male nor female (e.g. nonbinary, agender, genderfluid, etc.) use the singular they to refer to themselves, they are using the language to express their identities. Adopting this language is one way writers can be inclusive of a range of people and identities.
|
Singular they
|
Acceptability and prescriptive guidance
|
The Washington Post The Washington Post's stylebook, as of 2015, recommends trying to "write around the problem, perhaps by changing singulars to plurals, before using the singular they as a last resort" and specifically permits use of they for a "gender-nonconforming person".
|
Singular they
|
Acceptability and prescriptive guidance
|
Associated Press Stylebook The Associated Press Stylebook, as of 2017, recommends: "They/them/their is acceptable in limited cases as a singular and-or gender-neutral pronoun, when alternative wording is overly awkward or clumsy. However, rewording usually is possible and always is preferable." The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing In The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing, Casey Miller and Kate Swift accept or recommend singular uses of they in cases where there is an element of semantic plurality expressed by a word such as "everyone" or where an indeterminate person is referred to, citing examples of such usage in formal speech. They also suggest rewriting sentences to use a plural they, eliminating pronouns, or recasting sentences to use "one" or (for babies) "it".
|
Singular they
|
Acceptability and prescriptive guidance
|
Usage guidance in British style guides In the first edition of A Dictionary of Modern English Usage (published in 1926) use of the generic he is recommended. It is stated that singular they is disapproved of by grammarians. Numerous examples of its use by eminent writers in the past are given, but it is stated that "few good modern writers would flout [grammarians] so conspicuously as Fielding and Thackeray", whose sentences are described as having an "old-fashioned sound".The second edition, Fowler's Modern English Usage (edited by Sir Ernest Gowers and published in 1965) continues to recommend use of the generic he; use of the singular they is called "the popular solution", which "sets the literary man's teeth on edge". It is stated that singular they is still disapproved of by grammarians but common in colloquial speech.According to the third edition, The New Fowler's Modern English Usage (edited by Robert Burchfield and published in 1996) singular they has not only been widely used by good writers for centuries, but is now generally accepted, except by some conservative grammarians, including the Fowler of 1926, who, it is argued, ignored the evidence: Over the centuries, writers of standing have used they, their, and them with anaphoric reference to a singular noun or pronoun, and the practice has continued in the 20C. to the point that, traditional grammarians aside, such constructions are hardly noticed any more or are not widely felt to lie in a prohibited zone. Fowler (1926) disliked the practice ... and gave a number of unattributed "faulty' examples ... The evidence presented in the OED points in another direction altogether.
|
Singular they
|
Acceptability and prescriptive guidance
|
The Complete Plain Words was originally written in 1948 by Ernest Gowers, a civil servant, in an attempt by the British civil service to improve "official English". A second edition, edited by Sir Bruce Fraser, was published in 1973. It refers to they or them as the "equivalent of a singular pronoun of common sex" as "common in speech and not unknown in serious writing " but "stigmatized by grammarians as usage grammatically indefensible. The book's advice for "official writers" (civil servants) is to avoid its use and not to be tempted by its "greater convenience", though "necessity may eventually force it into the category of accepted idiom".A new edition of Plain Words, revised and updated by Gowers's great-granddaughter, Rebecca Gowers, was published in 2014.
|
Singular they
|
Acceptability and prescriptive guidance
|
It notes that singular they and them have become much more widespread since Gowers' original comments, but still finds it "safer" to treat a sentence like 'The reader may toss their book aside' as incorrect "in formal English", while rejecting even more strongly sentences like "There must be opportunity for the individual boy or girl to go as far as his keenness and ability will take him."The Times Style and Usage Guide (first published in 2003 by The Times of London) recommends avoiding sentences like "If someone loves animals, they should protect them."by using a plural construction: "If people love animals, they should protect them."The Cambridge Guide to English Usage (2004, Cambridge University Press) finds singular they "unremarkable": For those listening or reading, it has become unremarkable – an element of common usage.
|
Singular they
|
Acceptability and prescriptive guidance
|
"Generic/universal their provides a gender-free pronoun, avoiding the exclusive his and the clumsy his/her. It avoids gratuitous sexism and gives the statement broadest reference ... They, them, their are now freely used in agreement with singular indefinite pronouns and determiners, those with universal implications such as any(one), every(one), no(one), as well as each and some(one), whose reference is often more individual ..."The Economist Style Guide refers to the use of they in sentences like "We can't afford to squander anyone's talents, whatever colour their skin is."as "scrambled syntax that people adopt because they cannot bring themselves to use a singular pronoun".New Hart's Rules (Oxford University Press, 2012) is aimed at those engaged in copy editing, and the emphasis is on the formal elements of presentation including punctuation and typeface, rather than on linguistic style, although – like The Chicago Manual of Style – it makes occasional forays into matters of usage. It advises against use of the purportedly gender-neutral he, and suggests cautious use of they where he or she presents problems.
|
Singular they
|
Acceptability and prescriptive guidance
|
... it is now regarded ... as old-fashioned or sexist to use he in reference to a person of unspecified sex, as in every child needs to know that he is loved. The alternative he or she is often preferred, and in formal contexts probably the best solution, but can become tiresome or long-winded when used frequently. Use of they in this sense (everyone needs to feel that they matter) is becoming generally accepted both in speech and in writing, especially where it occurs after an indefinite pronoun such as everyone or someone, but should not be imposed by an editor if an author has used he or she consistently.
|
Singular they
|
Acceptability and prescriptive guidance
|
The 2011 edition of the New International Version Bible uses singular they instead of the traditional he when translating pronouns that apply to both genders in the original Greek or Hebrew. This decision was based on research by a commission that studied modern English usage and determined that singular they (them/their) was by far the most common way that English-language speakers and writers today refer back to singular antecedents such as whoever, anyone, somebody, a person, no one, and the like."The British edition of The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing, modified in some respects from the original US edition to conform to differences in culture and vocabulary, preserved the same recommendations, allowing singular they with semantically plural terms like "everyone" and indeterminate ones like "person", but recommending a rewrite to avoid.
|
Singular they
|
Acceptability and prescriptive guidance
|
Australian usage guidance The Australian Federation Press Style Guide for Use in Preparation of Book Manuscripts recommends "gender-neutral language should be used", stating that use of they and their as singular pronouns is acceptable.
|
Singular they
|
Acceptability and prescriptive guidance
|
Usage guidance in English grammars The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language discusses the prescriptivist argument that they is a plural pronoun and that the use of they with a singular "antecedent" therefore violates the rule of agreement between antecedent and pronoun, but takes the view that they, though primarily plural, can also be singular in a secondary extended sense, comparable to the purportedly extended sense of he to include female gender.Use of singular they is stated to be "particularly common", even "stylistically neutral" with antecedents such as everyone, someone, and no one, but more restricted when referring to common nouns as antecedents, as in "The patient should be told at the outset how much they will be required to pay." "A friend of mine has asked me to go over and help them ..."Use of the pronoun themself is described as being "rare" and "acceptable only to a minority of speakers", while use of the morphologically plural themselves is considered problematic when referring to someone rather than everyone (since only the latter implies a plural set).There are also issues of grammatical acceptability when reflexive pronouns refer to singular noun phrases joined by or, the following all being problematic: "Either the husband or the wife has perjured himself." [ungrammatical] "Either the husband or the wife has perjured themselves." [of questionable grammaticality] "Either the husband or the wife has perjured themself." [typically used by only some speakers of Standard English].On the motivation for using singular they, A Student's Introduction to English Grammar states: this avoidance of he can't be dismissed just as a matter of political correctness. The real problem with using he is that it unquestionably colours the interpretation, sometimes inappropriately ... he doesn't have a genuinely sex-neutral sense.
|
Singular they
|
Acceptability and prescriptive guidance
|
The alternative he or she can be "far too cumbersome", as in: "Everyone agreed that he or she would bring his or her lunch with him or her.or even "flatly ungrammatical", as in "Everyone's here, isn't he or she?"Among younger speakers", use of singular they even with definite noun-phrase antecedents finds increasing acceptance, "sidestepping any presumption about the sex of the person referred to", as in: "You should ask your partner what they think." "The person I was with said they hated the film." Example given by Huddleston et al.
|
Singular they
|
Acceptability and prescriptive guidance
|
Older style guides (not newly published after 2000) According to A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language (1985): The pronoun they is commonly used as a 3rd person singular pronoun that is neutral between masculine and feminine ... At one time restricted to informal usage. it is now increasingly accepted in formal usage, especially in [American English].
|
Singular they
|
Acceptability and prescriptive guidance
|
The Little, Brown Handbook (1992) According to The Little, Brown Handbook, most experts – and some teachers and employers – find use of singular they unacceptable: Although some experts accept they, them, and their with singular indefinite words, most do not, and many teachers and employers regard the plural as incorrect. To be safe, work for agreement between singular indefinite words and the pronouns that refer to them ....
|
Singular they
|
Acceptability and prescriptive guidance
|
It recommends using he or she or avoiding the problem by rewriting the sentence to use a plural or omit the pronoun.
|
Singular they
|
Acceptability and prescriptive guidance
|
The American Heritage Book of English Usage (1996) According to The American Heritage Book of English Usage and its usage panel of selected writers, journalism professors, linguists, and other experts, many Americans avoid use of they to refer to a singular antecedent out of respect for a "traditional" grammatical rule, despite use of singular they by modern writers of note and mainstream publications: Most of the Usage Panel rejects the use of they with singular antecedents as ungrammatical, even in informal speech. Eighty-two percent find the sentence The typical student in the program takes about six years to complete their course work unacceptable ... panel members seem to make a distinction between singular nouns, such as the typical student and a person, and pronouns that are grammatically singular but semantically plural, such as anyone, everyone and no one. Sixty-four percent of panel members accept the sentence No one is willing to work for those wages anymore, are they?
|
Singular they
|
Grammatical and logical analysis
|
Notional agreement Notional agreement is the idea that some uses of they might refer to a grammatically singular antecedent seen as semantically plural: "'Tis meet that some more audience than a mother, since nature makes them partial, should o'erhear the speech." — Shakespeare, Hamlet (1599); quoted in Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage.
|
Singular they
|
Grammatical and logical analysis
|
"No man goes to battle to be killed." ... "But they do get killed." — George Bernard Shaw, quoted in Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English UsageAccording to notional agreement, in the Shakespeare quotation a mother is syntactically singular, but stands for all mothers; and in the Shaw quotation no man is syntactically singular (taking the singular form goes), but is semantically plural (all go [to kill] not to be killed), hence idiomatically requiring they. Such use, which goes back a long way, includes examples where the sex is known, as in the above examples.
|
Singular they
|
Grammatical and logical analysis
|
Distribution Distributive constructions apply a single idea to multiple members of a group.
|
Singular they
|
Grammatical and logical analysis
|
They are typically marked in English by words like each, every and any. The simplest examples are applied to groups of two, and use words like either and or – "Would you like tea or coffee?". Since distributive constructions apply an idea relevant to each individual in the group, rather than to the group as a whole, they are most often conceived of as singular, and a singular pronoun is used: "England expects that every man will do his duty." — Nelson (1805, referring to a fleet crewed by male sailors) "Every dog hath his day." — John Ray, A Collection of English Proverbs (1670), originally from Plutarch, Moralia, c. 95 AD, regarding the death of Euripides.However, many languages, including English, show ambivalence in this regard. Because distribution also requires a group with more than one member, plural forms are sometimes used.
|
Singular they
|
Grammatical and logical analysis
|
Referential and non-referential anaphors The singular they, which uses the same verb form that plurals do, is typically used to refer to an indeterminate antecedent, for example: "The person you mentioned, are they coming?"In some sentences, typically those including words like every or any, the morphologically singular antecedent does not refer to a single entity but is "anaphorically linked" to the associated pronoun to indicate a set of pairwise relationships, as in the sentence: "Everyone returned to their seats." (where each person is associated with one seat)Linguists like Steven Pinker and Rodney Huddleston explain sentences like this (and others) in terms of bound variables, a term borrowed from logic. Pinker prefers the terms quantifier and bound variable to antecedent and pronoun. He suggests that pronouns used as "variables" in this way are more appropriately regarded as homonyms of the equivalent referential pronouns.The following shows different types of anaphoric reference, using various pronouns, including they: Coreferential, with a definite antecedent (the antecedent and the anaphoric pronoun both refer to the same real-world entity):"Your wife phoned but she didn't leave a message."Coreferential with an indefinite antecedent:"One of your girlfriends phoned, but she didn't leave a message." "One of your boyfriends phoned, but he didn't leave a message." "One of your friends phoned, but they didn't leave a message."Reference to a hypothetical, indefinite entity"If you had an unemployed daughter, what would you think if she wanted to accept work as a mercenary?" "If you had an unemployed child, what would you think if they wanted to accept work as a mercenary?"A bound variable pronoun is anaphorically linked to a quantifier (no single real-world or hypothetical entity is referenced; examples and explanations from Huddleston and Pullum, The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language):"No one put their hand up." [approximately: "There is no person x such that x put x's hand up."] "Every car had its windscreen broken." [approximately: "For every car x, x had x's windscreen broken."]
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.