Another one bites the dust?

[Baker, John]

        I think the avoidance of the masc./fem./plural issue is quite
conscious.  I recall that at my own alma mater there was a certain
amount of chagrin that the respective Latin and English pronunciations
of alumni and alumnae are homophones, as are their respective English
and Latin pronunciations.  It sounds confusing even to describe the
problem.


John Baker


-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
Of Beverly Flanigan
Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2007 1:12 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: Another one bites the dust?

The growing favorite seems to be "alum," with the plural "alums."  This
avoids the masc./fem./plural issue, though probably not consciously.

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