Theiling Online    Sitemap    Conlang Mailing List HQ   

Re: Adopting a plural

From:John Cowan <jcowan@...>
Date:Wednesday, October 6, 2004, 19:33
Ray Brown scripsit:

> I wasn't aware that it was equivocal. Of course with the Gen., Dat., & > Able. the neuter & masculine forms are identical. It can be equivocal if > and only if: > - either: a clear example is found found of an accusative *uirum. > - or: a clear example is found of a masculine adjective agreeing with the > nominative case.
Indeed. Of course uirum is so frequent as the gen. pl. of uir that it swamps any hope of using ordinary search to find examples.
> I am not saying that no such examples exist, only that I am not aware of > them. I thought all the extant examples confirmed it was a 2nd decl. > neuter like _uulgus_ and _pelagus_.
I have a dim recollection that says we can't be sure, but no more than that; in short, the evidence that the evidence is equivocal is doubtful!
> Ouch! I assume "hoodla" is intentionally humorous or facetious - > that one's amusing.
Googling confirms that it's used only in jokes and in irrelevant hits.
> But 'agendae' - ach y fi! A plural of a plural! How long > before we meet "datae"?
Well, Google shows about 2000 instances of "agendae", a few of which are in fact "agendaE", i.e. "Agenda E". This is still swamped by the 1.3 million instances of "agendas", thankfully. Of the 3000 hits for "datae", I skimmed the first few screenfuls: there are many of the "data E" type, many irrelevancies, and many legitimate Latin uses as the fem. pl. of the ppt. _datus_ 'given, dated'. But I did find things like "a large number of datae". -- John Cowan www.ccil.org/~cowan www.reutershealth.com jcowan@reutershealth.com "'My young friend, if you do not now, immediately and instantly, pull as hard as ever you can, it is my opinion that your acquaintance in the large-pattern leather ulster' (and by this he meant the Crocodile) 'will jerk you into yonder limpid stream before you can say Jack Robinson.'" --the Bi-Coloured-Python-Rock-Snake