Re: Viruses & other bothersome plurals (was: Virus qua word)

[Eric Van Tassel 101233.342@xxxxxxxx]

I have too much respect for rrr to want to join the nitpickers, but maybe I can
pour some oil on these waters.

It seems to me a good general rule to abandon classical (or indeed other
non-English) pluralization once a word has been "naturalized". Naturalization
can take place by virtue of a new definition (virus is a good example) or merely
by the word's being used so often in English that it ceases to seem "foreign".

I have been editing music books for over 20 years, and I keep telling people
(though I generally don't insist -- why make a nuisance of yourself?) that
"leitmotif" isn't a word that Richard Wagner ever used, so the German spelling
(and cap.) "Leitmotiv" is slightly irrational, and the German *plural*
"Leitmotive" just *begs* to be misread.

Referendums and viruses are just too commonplace in English, even if either of
them had a *legitimate* correlative in Latin, to both with making up phony Latin
plurals. Sorry, Rene, but I think the same about censuses (what *is* the plural
if not?), quorums and the rest. If you do have the blessings of a classical
education, use it to congratulate yourself on (or commiserate with yourself for)
being a laudator temporis acti; and let hoi polloi get on with it.

(I hope you know I mean that kindly. If it hadn't been for someone's putting me
in touch with you, I wouldn't have known about this list :)

Cheers,
Eric Van Tassel