Hi;
This is a grammar trap I have had to look up several times in my life to
get the correct usage of Latin origin words. My main reference is
"Fowler's Modern English Usage". He has several entries under "plurals",
"latin plurals", etc.
It seems to boil down to this:
The English language uses words of Latin origin in three ways.
* Words that have been taken/borrowed from Latin; either directly
or through french; but have become fully integrated into the
English language as English words.
* Words that have a technical meaning; defined by scientists,
mathematicians and other technical writers or speakers. This is
a holdover from the days when Latin was the 'lingua franca' of
early science. Because of this early international scientific
usage and fixed definition they are still considered Latin
words, not absorbed English words.
* And of course, Latin words that are used in Latin phrases and
quotations by Lawyers and Philosophers. They are Latin words
because their original Latin meaning is intended within the
quotation.
Examples of pluralization:
English words, even if the origin was Latin but are now used in common
English, are made plural by adding an 's' -- as would be expected. E.g.
"I have several different formulas I use to pick up girls". Or,"The
formulas used are just basic rules of thumb".
Technical words (math, physics, chemistry etc) are not English, they are
a "lingua franca" of science and don't change in their very specific
meaning.
"This is a formula: A=Pi r ^2"
"These are formulae: A=Pi r ^2, and, a^2=b^2+c^2"
Of course, If you are using Latin phrases or quotations, they should be
pluralized using proper Latin grammar.
On Thu, 2008-03-13 at 01:31 -0400, SBernheart wrote:
>
> Unless this is a mathematical term I'm not aware of (I really don't
> know much about math), there's a one-letter error on the 'Math'
> sub-category of the OpenOffice.org 'Home' page. The sub-title of the
> titled 'Math' page reads, "Create equations and formulae for your
> documents". Shouldn't it read "Create equations and formulas for your
> documents", where the word 'formulas' is corrected?
> Again, I apologize for 'apologizing' for my lack of math knowledge,
> but you never know when a word is meant to be spelled a certain way
> because of it's speciality. It's a simple fix, if it is indeed
> spelled wrong. I'm a stickler for such small things and obviously, I
> didn't mind writing to tell you so it could be fixed. I wouldn't want
> the next person reading this page wondering about the word as I did.
> Hope you don't mind....
>
> SBernheart [;}]
>
>
>
>
> Unless this is a mathematical term I'm not aware of (I really don't
> know much about math), there's a one-letter error on the 'Math'
> sub-category of the OpenOffice.org 'Home' page. The sub-title of the
> titled 'Math' page reads, "Create equations and formulae for your
> documents". Shouldn't it read "Create equations and formulas for your
> documents", where the word 'formulas' is corrected?
> Again, I apologize for 'apologizing' for my lack of math knowledge,
> but you never know when a word is meant to be spelled a certain way
> because of it's speciality. It's a simple fix, if it is indeed
> spelled wrong. I'm a stickler for such small things and obviously, I
> didn't mind writing to tell you so it could be fixed. I wouldn't want
> the next person reading this page wondering about the word as I did.
> Hope you don't mind....
>
> SBernheart [;}]
>
In the case mentioned above, OOo should use formulae because it is
making reference to using precise mathematical symbols.
--
Regards Bill
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