Re: YAEPT: uu/ii (< Quick Latin pronunciation question)

Lars Mathiesen wrote:
> 2008/5/28, Benct Philip Jonsson <bpj@...>:
[snip]

>> Aren't there also a few 2nd declension neuters
>> with nominative in -us and plural in -a?
None that I recall.

>> I can ATM
>> only remember _locus_ which has **both** a neuter
>> plural _loca_ and a masculine plural _loci_, with
>> slightly different meanings.
>
> Yes, but -- locus is a standard 2nd decl. masculine noun (acc. locum, voc.
> loce) that just happens to have an alternative plural loca that construes as
> neuter -- loca haec and so on. L&S: "plur. loci, single places; loca, places
> connected with each other, a region".
Macnabit - I just wrote a reply to BPJ saying much the same! I'll delete
it to avoid repetition   :)


yep - that's quite right.
> Virus and other 2nd decl. neuters in -us (vulgus, others?) follow the neuter
> nom=acc=voc rule, which makes them the only 2nd. decl. nouns with -us in the
> accusative.
No - _uolgus_ (vulgus) 'mob, people' etc., and _pelagus_ 'sea' also
behave exactly the same way; they all have -us in the acc. singular, but
have regular 2nd declension endings for the genitive, dative & ablative.

> And by the way, vira /"vi:RA/ is the normal plural for (species of) virus in
> Danish medical usage. _Pace_ Ray it's not pretentious, just conservative,
Sorry - I'd forgotten Danish _vira_. I was thinking of the English
pseudo-Latin plurals 'viri' and 'virii', especially the latter.


> as the plural is now virusser in other contexts.

--
Ray
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Frustra fit per plura quod potest
fieri per pauciora.
[William of Ockham]

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