Shrimp(s) and prawns

[Laurence Horn]

At 7:23 AM -0700 3/11/09, Dave Wilton wrote:
>Re: plural of octopus. I'm fairly certain that the most common plural is
>"octopuses"--at least all the dictionaries give that as the preferred term.
>In the long run, this is the form that will probably win out as it uses the
>standard English plural inflection.
>
>I would call "octopi" acceptable since so many people use it, but it's an
>etymologically unsound hypercorrection. "Octopus" is Greek and we shouldn't
>be slapping a Latin inflection on a Greek word after it has been borrowed
>into English.
>
>The OED also lists "octopodes" as a rare plural form. I've never seen this
>in the wild.

I have, but only in metalinguistic contexts like: "The classical
plural of 'octopus' wouldn't have been 'octopi', because it was a
Greek word, not a Latin one, so if you want to show off, it should be
with 'octopodes'."

LH

>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of
>Jocelyn Limpert
>Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 9:13 PM
>To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>Subject: Re: Shrimp(s) and prawns
>
>Oh, I just had to comment, because my mother, who in addition to saying "But
>I was Phi Beta Kappa" all my life, as to indicate how smart she was, was an
>English major with a French minor, very aware of proper usage. However, she
>used to insist on calling shrimp "shrimps" -- and I would argue with her
>about this. She would insist that it was "shrimps," never giving an inch.
>Now, her other speech was fine and she was very well read -- but "shrimps"?
>I did look it up in various dictionaries and found that it was a second
>choice for the plural of shrimp, but I never believed that anyone said
>"shrimps" except my mother, even if it was technically correct. And to me,
>the plural of shrimp is shrimp -- and when my mother died, I left her Phi
>Beta Kappa key with her -- I didn't want to be further reminded of that or
>"shrimps."
>
>And further, what does this group think should be the proper plural if
>discussing more than one octopus? Someone told me that there are several
>acceptable plurals, ranging from "octopi" to "octopussys."
>
>Being a vegetarian would allow one to avoid discussing such food choices!
>
>
>On 3/10/09, Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>  -----------------------
>>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>  Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
>>  Subject:      Shrimp(s) and prawns
>>
>>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>---
>>
>>  I've just heard the character, "di Noso"(sp?), of NCIS say that
>>  "prawns" is the Australian word for "shrimps." I've long been under
>>  the impression that "shrimp" is the standard word for _shrimp_ and
>>  that "prawn" is the standard word for _prawn_ throughout the
>>  English-speaking world. And there exists an Australian movie whose
>>  title is The *Shrimp* On The Barbie and *not* The *Prawn* On The
>>  Barbie.
>>
>>  I seem to remember a time when the plural of "shrimp" was *shrimp*,
>>  like unto "sheep, sheep." But maybe it was just a BE thing. Or maybe
>>  the problem is with my memory. I won't bet money on this.
>>
>>  -Wilson
>>  ---
>>  All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
>>  come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
>>  -----
>>  -Mark Twain
>>
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