Brian, 

I'm very interested in the responses you get to this question.

As a comp-rhet person that focuses on linguistics, I still suggest that my students use the singular personal pronouns if the audience is expecting such. Say a paper in front of English literature people. 

But for informal papers, things like personal essays, I don't mark it at all.

NCTE published a little flyer several years ago that advises that writers may use "their" when it is obvious that "the referent for the pronoun is clearly understood to be plural." The flyer then cites this sentence: "When everyone contributes their own ideas, the discussion will be a success."

When I was in high school, if the referent was unknown, it was assumed to be masculine. As in: Everybody knows his address.

The problem of using "his" in the above sentence is obviously that many interpret its use as sexist.

In composition studies scholarship, often if the gender is unclear, the feminine form is used. As in: Every scholar knows her way around the library. I haven't figured out the rationale for that usage, though.

I found a text from the late 1500's, published in England,that used the plural pronoun with everybody. So the problem has been around for a long time.

Marshall 

-----Original Message-----
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of O'Sullivan, Brian P
Sent: Wednesday, April 08, 2009 7:16 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Any member can give their opinion

I was wondering whether list members find that it is now acceptable (or at least accepted in some circles) to use "they" or "their" as an alternative to constructions like "he or she" or "his or her"--that is, as a gender-neutral third-person pronoun (as in my subject line).

 
Brian 

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