4.0511 Words: Plurals and Borrowing; Perfect Weaving (8/115)

Elaine Brennan & Allen Renear (EDITORS@BROWNVM.BITNET)
Thu, 20 Sep 90 00:05:35 EDT

Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 4, No. 0511. Wednesday, 19 Sep 1990.


(1) Date: Wed, 19 Sep 1990 18:05:41 EDT (26 lines)
From: TVICKERY@SUNRISE.ACS.SYR.EDU (Tom Rusk Vickery)
Subject: RE: Pseudo-loanwords

(2) Date: Wed, 19 Sep 90 13:15 EDT (9 lines)
From: "Leslie Z. Morgan" <MORGAN@LOYVAX>
Subject: RE: 4.0503 Words: Plurals; Past Tenses;

(3) Date: Wed, 19 Sep 90 16:32:12 MDT (19 lines)
From: "Stephen R. Reimer" <SREIMER@UALTAVM>
Subject: Plurals

(4) Date: Wed, 19 Sep 90 13:21:17 BST (15 lines)
From: R. Giordano <rich@research1.computer-science.manchester.ac.uk
Subject: Italian plurals to English plurals

(5) Date: Wed, 19 Sep 90 14:12:52 EDT (19 lines)
From: Sheizaf Rafaeli <USERLLHB@UMICHUB.BITNET>
Subject: Words loaned, then mangled

(6) Date: Tue, 18 Sep 90 23:10 CDT (7 lines)
From: Michael Ossar <MLO@KSUVM>
Subject: screwed up borrowings

(7) Date: Wed, 19 Sep 90 17:45 PDT (11 lines)
From: KESSLER <IME9JFK@UCLAMVS.BITNET>
Subject: Re: 4.0503 Words: Plurals; Past Tenses; Pseudo-loanwords

(8) Date: Wed, 19 Sep 90 17:48 PDT (9 lines)
From: KESSLER <IME9JFK@UCLAMVS.BITNET>
Subject: Re: 4.0503 Words: Plurals; Past Tenses; Pseudo-loanwords

(1) --------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 19 Sep 1990 18:05:41 EDT
From: TVICKERY@SUNRISE.ACS.SYR.EDU (Tom Rusk Vickery)
Subject: RE: Pseudo-loanwords

Although Robin Smith's discourse on pseudoclassical endings for English
words is attractive enough, I would wade in on the side of economy of
pronunciation in some cases. "Curricula" is just so much easier to say
that "curriculums." And "Kleenices" is a mite easier than "Kleenixes,"
whether one knows Greek or not. [cf appendix, appendices]. I guess I
am more curious about Roland Hutchinson's word "educationist" than I am
about the demise of "curricula." What a god-awful word "educationist"
is. According to my Webster's New World, 2nd College Edition, the
"-ist" ending would mean (1) someone who does, makes, or practices
education, (2) a person skilled in or occupied with; an expert in
education, and/or (3) an adherent of, believer in education. That would
fit quite a few people, including but certainly not limited to
professors in colleges of education and common school educators.

Roland, what in the world do you mean by that atrocity?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Tom Rusk Vickery, 265 Huntington Hall *
* Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244-2340 *
* 315-443-3450 TVICKERY@SUNRISE.ACS.SYR.EDU *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

(2) --------------------------------------------------------------14----
Date: Wed, 19 Sep 90 13:15 EDT
From: "Leslie Z. Morgan" <MORGAN@LOYVAX>
Subject: RE: 4.0503 Words: Plurals; Past Tenses;


Re: foreign word(s) with English plurals:
How about spaghettis? (spaghetti IS plural, though I must admit that
I've never heard anyone talk of a "spaghetto".)
Leslie Morgan (MORGAN@LOYVAX1.BITNET)
(3) --------------------------------------------------------------26----
Date: Wed, 19 Sep 90 16:32:12 MDT
From: "Stephen R. Reimer" <SREIMER@UALTAVM>
Subject: Plurals

Judy Koren asks for examples of English borrowing foreign words in their
plural forms and then adding on an English plural: I have no doubt that
other Humanists will be happy to swamp her with dozens of common
examples from various medias. But I can do one better: how about an
English plural to which English added a second English plural marker?
The Old English "cildu" has a plural form "cildra" which in the Middle
English period was not recognized as a plural form; so they added the
"-en" plural marker (the one found also in "oxen") to give us
"children": both the "r" and the "en" are (historically, at least)
separate plural morphemes.

Stephen Reimer
English
U of Alberta
Edmonton, Canada
(4) --------------------------------------------------------------29----
Date: Wed, 19 Sep 90 13:21:17 BST
From: Richard Giordano <rich@research1.computer-science.manchester.ac.uk>
Subject: Italian plurals to English plurals

Judy Koren asked if anyone has an example from English of borrowing a
foreign word in the plural and tacking an English plural into it.
My mom, a second generation Italian in Newark, New Jersey (city of
lights and city of music) used to ask me to go to the store "to buy
some macaronis." Hell, until I got to graduate school, I still thought
the plural of macaroni was macaronis.

Richard Giordano
Computer Science Department
University of Manchester M13 9PL
United Kingdom
(5) --------------------------------------------------------------25----
Date: Wed, 19 Sep 90 14:12:52 EDT
From: Sheizaf Rafaeli <USERLLHB@UMICHUB.BITNET>
Subject: Words loaned, then mangled

On the subject of words loaned: then mangled:
Judy Koren has already mentioned the modern Hebrew "Brakesim" for
brakes. In the automotive sphere, my favorites are the "front-
backax and back-backax" (sic), as refering to the two axles in a
car.

Sport is a great domain for this. In basketball, did you
know about the latest developments in how to propel the ball
toward the basket: There are both underarm UKSHAS and overarm
UKSHAS. Upon closer examination, UKSHA is a hebraicised,
mispronounced Hookshot. In soccer, every Israeli male knows about
PENDELs. These are the 11 meter free kicks meted out to the
oponents of violating teams. How many of us were aware that this
is a bastardization of Penalty Shots?

(6) --------------------------------------------------------------15----
Date: Tue, 18 Sep 90 23:10 CDT
From: Michael Ossar <MLO@KSUVM>
Subject: screwed up borrowings

Reply to Judy Koren's inquiry: how about the "Rio Grande River"? A
slightly different phenomena (apologies to Robin Smith) is the German
construction "Busbahnhof."
(7) --------------------------------------------------------------261---
Date: Wed, 19 Sep 90 17:45 PDT
From: KESSLER <IME9JFK@UCLAMVS.BITNET>
Subject: Re: 4.0503 Words: Plurals; Past Tenses; Pseudo-loanwords (4/113)

Dear Lorri Smith: Ireversed those past things on purpose, as a
"delicate spoof. " It was the 8th grade when we were adjured that the
man weaved through thecrow d and dove off the pier. Some of us
preferred wove through the crowd,because ou r socks were interwoven.
There were lots of puzzled expressions on our little B ronx faces. So I
revoise it on occasion, so to speak. Kessler

(8) --------------------------------------------------------------261---
Date: Wed, 19 Sep 90 17:48 PDT
From: KESSLER <IME9JFK@UCLAMVS.BITNET>
Subject: Re: 4.0503 Words: Plurals; Past Tenses; Pseudo-loanwords (4/113)

Dear Lorri Smith, or was it wived through the crowd and dove off the
pier? He w ove his way through traffic? No, that wont do. He dived
into the crowd and so w eaved the last shred of his dignity; no,
shredded the last woven thing he wore? Kessler, not so gloriously
maddened by past perfects, or had woven his doom?