Path: news.eternal-september.org!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!fu-berlin.de!uni-berlin.de!not-for-mail From: ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de (Stefan Ram) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written,alt.usage.english Subject: Re: 25 Classic Books That Have Been Banned Date: 31 May 2025 09:59:06 GMT Organization: Stefan Ram Lines: 43 Expires: 1 Jun 2026 11:59:58 GMT Message-ID: References: <100r7an$bnka$1@dont-email.me> <100u0d1$15sv8$1@dont-email.me> <10129t8$21e2l$1@dont-email.me> <5lob3kperj3f91gsmc3dvoln99iodmlgh7@4ax.com> <101828q$3f0bs$5@dont-email.me> <29vg3kpcmr9is7jiqmh5osci7khiadk2dg@4ax.com> <101ampi$2sp0$1@dont-email.me> <1rd58xk.1pvat5wzcmq1uN%nospam@de-ster.demon.nl> <101dkn7$oifi$1@dont-email.me> <101dmsa$ol9e$1@dont-email.me> <101drpe$te52$1@dont-email.me> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Trace: news.uni-berlin.de bWSnQxaTcY8fKFogtb9KKQMO7HOut8IqpV2bCgh4fgyBpw Cancel-Lock: sha1:59JM4pL+cGwOWYrNJ2l3G2g5Oic= sha256:53Ior15nH8pxRo/irS+c1Rwlk326T15OkSIg4EfyFyw= X-Copyright: (C) Copyright 2025 Stefan Ram. All rights reserved. Distribution through any means other than regular usenet channels is forbidden. It is forbidden to publish this article in the Web, to change URIs of this article into links, and to transfer the body without this notice, but quotations of parts in other Usenet posts are allowed. X-No-Archive: Yes Archive: no X-No-Archive-Readme: "X-No-Archive" is set, because this prevents some services to mirror the article in the web. But the article may be kept on a Usenet archive server with only NNTP access. X-No-Html: yes Content-Language: en-US Peter Fairbrother wrote or quoted: >right decision for her. People die, people kill each other - but is a >fetus a people? I don't know. Beloved brethren in the congregation of language, Gather ye round, for today we address a matter of great importance - a matter that has led many astray upon the path of proper English: the use of "a people" to refer to a single human being. The Truth Revealed Verily, I say unto you: in the beginning was the word, and the word for one human was "person". Yes, "person" - singular, unique, and whole. When you see one fellow traveler upon this earth, you say, "There goes a person!" not "There goes a people!" For "people" is the blessed plural, the multitude, the gathering of persons. The Meaning of "A People" But lo! Some may ask, "What of 'a people'"? Take heed, for "a people" is not a single soul, but a collective - a nation, a tribe, a community bound by culture, language, or history. When we speak of "a people", we speak of the French people, the Maasai people, the people of Middle-earth. It is a multitude united as one, not one mistaken for many. The Way Forward Therefore, let us not wander in the wilderness of confusion. Let us remember: - One human: a person - Two or more humans: people - A nation or ethnic group: a people Let this truth be written upon your heart and upon your tongue. Go forth, and spread the good news of correct grammar, that clarity and understanding may abound.