Another one bites the dust?

[James Smith]

Data - datum: who ever says "a datum"; rather, "a
piece of data" or even "a piece of information".
Commonly "This data...", sometimes "these data...",
almost never "this datum...".  The only case I am
familiar with where 'datum' is used regularly is in
reference to elevations: "What is the datum for this
map?", i.e., what is the base or reference elevation.


--- "Cohen, Gerald Leonard" <gcohen at UMR.EDU> wrote:

> I've often heard "a phenomena" and "a criteria,"
> and last night on the news someone spoke of "a
> paparazzi." We deal here with a tendency (not a law,
> though, of course) to shift the plural to the
> singular. I've noticed many more examples over the
> years, but they don't come to mind at the moment.
> Maybe it's time to compile them.
>
> Gerald Cohen
>
> > ----------
> > From:         American Dialect Society on behalf
> of Benjamin Barrett
> > Reply To:     American Dialect Society
> > Sent:         Wednesday, September 5, 2007 11:36
> PM
> > To:   ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > Subject:           Re: Another one bites the dust?
> >
> > My chiropractor says that as well. My real estate
> agent says "an
> > addenda". I know that my real estate agent knows
> the difference; surely
> > my chiropractor does as well. BB
> >
> > Wilson Gray wrote:
> > > Heard on CSI:
> > >
> > > [Holding up a bone]: "Looks like a human
> _vertebrae_."
> > >
> >
> >
>
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> > The American Dialect Society -
> http://www.americandialect.org
> >
> >
>
>
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> The American Dialect Society -
> http://www.americandialect.org
>


James D. SMITH                 |If history teaches anything
South SLC, UT                  |it is that we will be sued
jsmithjamessmith at yahoo.com     |whether we act quickly and decisively
                               |or slowly and cautiously.


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