There are precedents for gender-neutral pronouns that don’t send the brain into contortions like the “zhee” and “thim” suggested by Alan Fairs (Letters, 9 November). My maternal grandma, of rural Lancashire stock, used to say ’oo, and you never knew, except by context, whether she meant he or she (or, as nowadays, they). ’Oo worked at t’mill, ’oo wed a lass frae Chorley, ’oo wed a lad called Joe. Why not “’oo married his husband”? (I think possessive adjectives stayed the same.) Maybe other old words could be revived that would sound more natural?
Marion Seed
Preston
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