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<DIV>Until schools bring back Latin, I think we're going to have to live with the "ear pain." </DIV>
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<DIV>Data and phenomena have an -a on their plural forms because of influence from Latin words.</DIV>
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<DIV>e.g.</DIV>
<DIV>Datum, Data</DIV>
<DIV>Phenomenon, Phenomena</DIV>
<DIV>Medium, Media</DIV>
<DIV>etc.</DIV>
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<DIV>These come from Latin rather than Greek (perhaps Greek, too, but I don't know Greek too much, but Latin, yes).</DIV>
<DIV>Wendy Austin</DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>On Wednesday, October 15, 2008 6:34 PM, Hayim Sheynin wrote: <BR><BR><B>Date:</B> Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:34:15 -0400<BR><B>From:</B> Hayim Sheynin<BR><B>To:</B> lexicographylist@yahoogroups.com<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Lexicog] Law of Synonyms<BR><BR></DIV></FONT>
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<P>Dear Scott,<BR><BR>About phenomenon/phenomen<WBR>a I guess the best guide to follow the<BR>original use like in Greek:<BR><BR>singular - phenomenon<BR><BR>plural - phenomena<BR><BR>Most frequent use of this word is in singular.<BR><BR>Hayim Sheynin<BR><BR>On Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 11:45 AM, bolstar1 <<A href="mailto:bolstar1%40yahoo.com">bolstar1@yahoo.<WBR>com</A>> wrote:<BR>> Law of Synonyms<BR>> There must be a law of synonyms somewhere (of phrasal synomyms<BR>> in particular). Dictionaries and thesauruses (thesauri) seem too<BR>> arbitrary & random too trust for this purpose. Of course, corpora<BR>> listings are easy for words. I've been wondering for years what the<BR>> world would gravitate toward -- "laptop" or "notebook"<BR>> computer. "Portable computer" seems quaint, but... The reason I'm<BR>> fishing in this pond is that I would hate wading through<BR>> dissertations or theses looking for synonym principles (must be lazy<BR>> or something). The only simple, quick source for finding phrasal<BR>> frequency comparisons seems to be google-counting. "Laptop" (computer<BR>> (s)) wins on this one, generally by 22%-30%. But we're dealing with<BR>> the `phrase' "notebook computer" and "laptop computer."<BR>> Googling "notebook" alone skews the results.<BR>> Has anyone done, or seen, research about how one term (or<BR>> phrase) tends to predominate over others -- when two or more<BR>> expressions begin at about the same time? Is is there a phonetic<BR>> (e.g. reduplicative, length, ease-of-pronunciati<WBR>on) influence? Is<BR>> there a "great-man" influence, according to coiner? First come, first<BR>> served? Regional? Or is it truly unpredicable?<BR>> This is an open-ended question.... Any ideas?<BR>><BR>> SIDE BAR: I've given up counting how often people misuse the<BR>> term "phenomenon" vs. "phenomena." I cringe when I hear someone (esp.<BR>> a scholar) say something like, "Now this is an infrequent phenomena."<BR>> How
can we cure this ear-pain?<BR>><BR>> Scott Nelson<BR>><BR>> <BR></P></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE><!--End group email -->
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Dr. Wendy Warren Austin<BR>
English and Theatre Arts Dept.<BR>
Centennial 234<BR>
295 Meadville St.<BR>
Edinboro, PA 16444<BR>
814-732-2257<BR>
warren@edinboro.edu or wendywarrenaustin@hotmail.com<BR>
http://users.edinboro.edu/warren<BR>
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