This has some aspects of GQ but I assume will wonder into IMHO also. If the GQ is answered maybe a mod could then move it there.
IS there a correct pronunciation of s/he? Is it even a word? and where did it come from (yes I know what it is used for but that doesn’t tell me where it came from)?
I would wag that most people would say ‘he slash she’ even though it is the other way around (s before h) just beacuse we’re used to it. Some might say ‘she slash he’ but I would say it would take some self training to do it (again because we are used to it the other way). Some might just might take it as silent ‘s/’. Does anyone say ‘sha,hee’? or ‘ess, slash, hee’?
I’ve never heard anyone pronounce “s/he.” I thought it was only used in writing. Most of the people I know just say “he or she” or, if they don’t care to be grammatically correct, “they.”
I’ve never heard “he slash she” or anything like that. I say either “she-he” or “she or he.” Most people I know say that or “he or she.” IOW, I don’t think there’s an accepted way to say “s/he.”
As for where it came from… I would wager that several people at the same time noticed that you can form a word like (s)he or s/he and be gender-inclusive. I, too, am curious as to the first written record of either of these forms.
My own prediction is that third-person plural forms will become grammatically acceptable third-person singular gender-neutral pronouns. Other than recasting the whole sentence into the plural, this seems to be the least awkward solution to the problem (well, for me at least. There’s plenty room for argument here.)
Well, “he” and its forms have always been used as third-person gender-neutral forms in English, as far as I’m aware. So it’s not a question of Merriam-Webster “already” considering it to be allowable. It always has been.
Also, one must remember that dictionaries are not grammars or usage guides and (in theory, though not totally in practice, I would argue) describe language as it is used. The whole descriptive vs prescriptive argument. If you look up “their” you will see definition number two reads “his, her, or its.” (Though it is tagged “Usage Problem.”)
Interestingly enough, the singular use of they (“Everyone has their own ideas”) is almost as old as the epicene (genderless) use of he (“Everyone has his own idea”). I’m on someone else’s computer so I don’t have my cites with me, but if you Googlesearch on “Everyone loves their Jane Austen” I believe that was the title of a site with extensive information on the singular they.
“S/he” is a written convention, usually not pronounced unless it’s in dictation … just like one would usually pronounce “his/her” as “his or her”. Myself, I try to avoid the slashes and just use “he” or “his”. But then again, I probably only get away with that because I’m a chick.
– Dragonblink, who wrote a whole paper on the epicene use of “he”. How pedantic is that?