On Tue, 20 May 2014 14:49:02 -0400 Ken Heard <kensli...@teksavvy.com> wrote:
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > Hash: SHA1 > > On 2014-05-20 12:16, Filip wrote: > > > On Tue, 20 May 2014 17:03:16 +0100 Lisi Reisz > > <lisi.re...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > >> (Sorry, Ken. re-sending correctly to list.) > >> > >> On Tuesday 20 May 2014 16:00:42 Ken Heard wrote: > >>> Please note everybody that the word "data" is plural. The > >>> beginning of the last line quoted above should consequently > >>> read "all the scientific data *are* backed up." Other posts in > >>> this thread make the same error. The singular of data is > >>> datum. > >> > >> This is of course, grammatically correct. But I would argue > >> that, although in formal writing it should certainly be treated > >> as a plural, in colloquial speech it no longer is. I would also > >> argue that emails are colloquial speech not formal writing. > >> > >> This does not apply in the same way to all of your "group". > >> Where it is needful to have both a singular and a plural, as in > >> bacterium/bacteria and criterion/criteria it would be perverse > >> to make a plural by putting an s on the plural! (Though some > >> people do.) > >> > >> Language changes, whether one wishes it or not. We no longer > >> speak the English of Shakespeare or the King James' Bible. I > >> still sometimes catch myself using the present subjunctive in > >> speech. I do not think that I am correct to do so. For this > >> usage it is dead. Indeed, for all intents and purposes, the > >> imperfect subjunctive is dead. > >> > >> Lisi > >> > >> > > > > The dictionary agrees with you. > > > > http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/data > > > > "Both constructions are standard. The plural construction is more > > common in print, evidently because the house style of several > > publishers mandates it." > > The Oxford English Dictionary however agrees with me. > > Regards, Ken > > No it doesn't. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/data?q=data "In modern non-scientific use, however, it is generally not treated as a plural. Instead, it is treated as a mass noun, similar to a word like information, which takes a singular verb." -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: https://lists.debian.org/20140520210248.367c2...@orac.fil
