I think familiarity, context, and relevance has a role in using “late” more than time. In speaking about a relative I’m likely to say my late father, if his being deceased is unknown to the listener and relevant to the message.
As for “late,” I think it’s more about the writer’s expectation of how likely the reader is aware that the person is dead. Typically, this arises by a combination of fame and recency, but there are other factors as well (look up the “Abe Vigoda effect”.)
That is a good line, marred only by the fact that E.B. White wrote pieces for the New Yorker. For maximal random disparity, perhaps the third item should be “five issues of Sports Illustrated.”
Question, nothing to do with the subject of this blog: Your second paragraph above begins with this sentence: "I’m paraphrasing them, but their insights are perfect." I assume that with "their" you're conforming to the emerging convention that, at least for now, replaces more definite pronouns, like "he" and "she." But it's confusing. How do you think pronouns will evolve? Will "their" and other such pronoun-less pronouns become more readily understood with each generation? Or do you think it's more likely that "their" etc will be discarded for something easier for everyone? There must be precedents.
I think that 'late' should last only about a year, as people would universally know that the person has died by then. 10 years is a long time, really.
I think familiarity, context, and relevance has a role in using “late” more than time. In speaking about a relative I’m likely to say my late father, if his being deceased is unknown to the listener and relevant to the message.
As for “late,” I think it’s more about the writer’s expectation of how likely the reader is aware that the person is dead. Typically, this arises by a combination of fame and recency, but there are other factors as well (look up the “Abe Vigoda effect”.)
That is a good line, marred only by the fact that E.B. White wrote pieces for the New Yorker. For maximal random disparity, perhaps the third item should be “five issues of Sports Illustrated.”
Question, nothing to do with the subject of this blog: Your second paragraph above begins with this sentence: "I’m paraphrasing them, but their insights are perfect." I assume that with "their" you're conforming to the emerging convention that, at least for now, replaces more definite pronouns, like "he" and "she." But it's confusing. How do you think pronouns will evolve? Will "their" and other such pronoun-less pronouns become more readily understood with each generation? Or do you think it's more likely that "their" etc will be discarded for something easier for everyone? There must be precedents.