• Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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    25 days ago

    I don’t think language is entirely beholden to democracy. Contrary to the beliefs of pedants English teachers, I think we are each empowered to utilize it how we wish, without concern for any broader consensus.

    For example, I have unilaterally deprecated “its”.

    Following normal grammatical rules, “+s” indicates plurality, not possession. “Its” violates this rule.

    The “+'s” construction is used to indicate both contraction (with “is” or “was”) and possession. “It’s” follows either set of rules, depending on context. There is no significant risk of ambiguity between the two meanings. “It’s” is a perfectly cromulent homonym for both meanings.

    As there is no need for a plural form of an inherently singular word, “its” is no longer a word.