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Re: -s plurals, was [Conlangs-Conf] Conference Overview

From:Benct Philip Jonsson <bpj@...>
Date:Monday, May 8, 2006, 14:46
caeruleancentaur skrev:
>>"David J. Peterson" <dedalvs@...> wrote: > > >>Not to spark a YAEPT, but it seems to me (just a vague impression) >>that "fishes" for the plural of "fish" is making a comeback with >>younger people (12 and below). Perhaps "fish" as a plural will >>disappear in the future... Though I imagine it'd stick around as >>a mass noun (e.g., "I'm eating fish").
It is as a rule not safe to make predictions on the basis of the usage of people below 12. They usually get corrected/succumb to the majority use, but not always, hence language change! :-) My son, who is 8, makes a lot of analogies, turning strong verbs weak and over-applying the commonest Swedish plural patterns (although sometimes he strengthens weak verbs and weirds regular plurals too!) Notably his half-siblings used many of those too, but they don't any longer, and I even remember having used some myself, or still do jocularly. -- /BP 8^)> -- Benct Philip Jonsson -- melroch at melroch dot se "Maybe" is a strange word. When mum or dad says it it means "yes", but when my big brothers say it it means "no"! (Philip Jonsson jr, age 7)