Plural of "process"

[Jonathan Lighter]

Sitting down ?  Negroponte is pedantically correct ("PC,"as we pedants call it).  The nominative plural of Latin "impetus" (fourth declension) is "impetus."

  But as an English word, "impetuses" is better.

  JL

Beverly Flanigan <flanigan at OHIO.EDU> wrote:
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Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Beverly Flanigan
Subject: Re: Plural of "process"
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Here's one last new plural (maybe): On the BBC this morning John
Negroponte was searching for a plural; after much stammering, he finally
said "one of the impetus for . . . ." At least he didn't say "impeti."

At 07:49 PM 5/22/2006, you wrote:
>I have often heard persons with doctorates say "processeez" seriously in
>ordinary conversation over the past twenty or more years. So often, in
>fact, that I began to think I was the crazy one.
>
> JL
>
>Charles Doyle wrote:
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> -----------------------
>Sender: American Dialect Society
>Poster: Charles Doyle
>Subject: Plural of "process"
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Well, possibly--except (as far as I am aware) no one
>pluralizes "recess" as /ri s@ siz/. Perhaps a significant
>difference from "process" lies in the existence of the
>competing pronounciation of the noun "recess" with the
>second syllable stressed.
>
>Charlie
>
>
>---- Original message ----
>
> >Date: Sat, 20 May 2006 23:34:52 -0400
> >From: "Mark A. Mandel"
> >Subject: Re: Fake Latin plural . . .
> >------------------------------------------------------------
>
> >Charles Doyle writes:
> >
> >And then there's the plural of "process" pronounced
> >/pro s@ siz/ (with secondary stress on the final syllable),
> >which I used to associate with the speech of pretentious
> >pseudo-intellectuals, but now it sounds almost normal (maybe
> >I am becoming one of those!).
> >
> > <<<<<
> >
> >That one at least has something of an excuse: three
>sibilants in a row separated only by lax front vowels tend
>to blur into a barely modulated hiss. Tensing the vowel of
>the last syllable makes it much more pronounceable, in my
>opinion (and mouth).
> >
> >-- Mark
>
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