LL-L "Currency" 2002.02.03 (06) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 03.FEB.2002 (06) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: Sandy Fleming [sandy at scotstext.org]
Subject: "Currency"

> From: "Andy Eagle" <andy at scots-online.org>
> Subject: The Euro [E]
>
> Sandy recently asked (jokingly) What's that in Euros?
>
> I recently read something about whether the plural of Euro is Euros.
> According to the folk at the ECB its Euro in both the singular an
> plural.
> Euros is of course a natural English plural formation. In Scots I would
> expect Euro as both singular and plural as is usual with nouns of
> measurement.

My prediction is that people will apply the natural morphology
of their language whatever some organisation says is right.

Plus there may be some unexpected developments! I remember
particularly that "pence" managed to replace "pennies"
everywhere when the UK moved over to decimal currency.
On the other hand "pennies" was retained when not talking
about prices. Eg "It costs fifty pence" but still "I'm
collecting pennies".

Who could have predicted, though, that decades later people
would still be saying something as bizarre as "fifty pee" -
a habit that I assume was begun on seeing price tags written
"50p"?

The government and teachers tried very hard to get people to
say, for example "ten pounds fifty", but the habit of saying
"ten pounds fifty pee" or "ten pounds fifty pence" never really
died out.

Maybe I should set up a manufacturing plant for those clever
little plastic and cardboard widgets for doing currency
conversions that proliferated after the introduction of
decimal money, and become a euro millionaire! But then,
decimal money was before hand-held calculators, wasn't it?

Shame we can never get back to those really huge pre-decimal
pennies that ripped the seams out of your pockets if you had
more than about a shilling's worth - but at least looked like
they were worth something!

Sandy
http://scotstext.org
A dinna dout him, for he says that he
On nae accoont wad ever tell a lee.
                          - C.W.Wade,
                    'The Adventures o McNab'
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From: "Ian James Parsley (Laptop)" <parsleyij at ukonline.co.uk>
Subject: LL-L "Currency" 2002.02.03 (04) [E]

Interesting stuff, Andy,

There were several humorous articles in Irish newspapers about the ECB
not
only setting interest rates, but also plural formations! A football
phone-in
programme for the whole British Isles altered its tagline to note that
calls
from the Republic of Ireland would cost '73 cents per minute', but after
a
barrage of emails from Wexford changed this to the 'correct' '73 *cent*
per
minute'.

The issue caused mass controversy in Irish Gaelic, which had already
altered
the words 'euro' and 'cent' to Gaelic spelling (as is the case with
nearly
all foreign loans). However there was a directive that a) the words
'euro'
and 'cent' were to be used in all eurozone countries (a directive that
Irish, as a semi-official EU language, could not ignore); and b) the
plural
would be the same as the singular to avoid confusion. Irish speakers
were
left with the hassle of deciding how to lenite or eclipse the initial
consonant of 'cent' (would it be 'chent' or 'shent' - oh dear!)

You are correct, most Scots speakers follow the common regional English
dialect usage with 'pound' being the plural of 'pound' and, therefore,
'euro' being the plural of 'euro' (although it doesn't necessarily
follow:
the Scots plural of 'metre' is generally 'metres', for example, so it
could
depend on whether 'euro' is seen as a foreign currency).

I actually agree with the directive - for consistency's sake, the
singular
and the plural should be the same. But in the end, speakers will decide.
I
believe that, in English at least, the plural forms 'euro' and 'cent'
will
be seen as the 'standard', 'correct', even 'uppity' form with 'euros'
and
'cents' being more common actual usage - an interesting reversal from
the
situation with 'pound/pounds'.

I am fascinated by the idea of currency terms being taken over - one
wonders
if 'duro' will become a Spanish term for 'five cent', or if even direct
comparisons will come in (could 'mark' be used for '50 cent' in the same
way
'Pfund' is used for half a litre?)

What will the ECB have to say about all those??!!

Ian James Parsley,
Co Down, Northern Ireland

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From: "Aviad Stier" <aviad2001 at hotmail.com>
Subject: LL-L "Currency" 2002.02.03 (04) [E]

Andy Eagle wrote:
>
>In Germany in the after the first weeks after the intro duction of the
>Euro
>folk said a price followed by the word Euro. This now seems to be
>dwindling
>with folk simply saying the price.
>
>On saturday I was asked for a 'Groschen' 10c previously 10 Pfennig.
>
>Any observations?
>
>Andy Eagle

Here in Brussels lots of francophones call eurocents "centimes", even
though
the Belgian centime was practically worthless and hardly ever used. I
think
it probably has something to do with the fact thet the word "cent" is a
bit
awkward in French: it looks like "cent" (one hundred, pronounced sa~),
but
you're supposed to pronounce it as in English. I don't think there are
too
many other French words that end with this cluster (-nt) without a
nasalisation of the vowel before.
Aviad Stier
Brussels

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