CLASSICAL ENDING. There are in English many nouns whose
SINGULAR/
PLURAL contrasts derive from
LATIN and GREEK, such as
stimulus/stimuli (Latin: masculine),
formula/formulae (Latin: feminine),
memorandum/memoranda (Latin: neuter),
phenomenon/phenomena (Greek: neuter). During the 16–19c, when writing was largely the concern of the classically educated, many such endings were retained as a matter of course. Some are universally used (
radius/radii), some have become restricted to certain registers (
formulae to scientific discourse,
formulas gaining ground generally;
indexes in books,
indices in mathematics), and some have been considerably adapted (the singular
agendum has disappeared and the former plural
agenda has become a singular, with the non-classical plural
agendas). Asymmetry is common:
campus and
ultimatum have the plurals
campuses and
ultimatums, not *
campi and *
ultimata, while
desideratum and
sanctum sanctorum have the plurals
desiderata and
sancta sanctorum, not *
desideratums and
sanctum sanctorums. Many would hesitate when choosing plurals for such words as
arboretum and
thesaurus (both classical and vernacular are possible).
Although contrasts such as Latin
addendum/addenda and Greek
criterion/criteria are maintained in academic and technical writing,
bacterium/bacteria and
datum/data pose problems.
Bacteria is widely assumed to be collective, and
bacterium and
datum are so seldom used that they often raise doubts.
Data is currently both plural (‘The data are available’) and collective (‘How much data do you need?’), and is often therefore a controversial usage issue.
Curriculum and
memorandum have two plural forms:
curricula,
curriculums and
memoranda,
memorandums. The
medium/media contrast is complex and extremely controversial. Among spiritualists, the plural of
medium is
mediums. In linguistics, it is both
media and
mediums. In the media, it is
media, the singular
medium often being overlooked, so that
media is used as both plural (‘the media are…’) and singular (‘the media is …’), with the occasional vernacular plural form
medias; compare French
les médias.
In the late 20c, traditional usage has declined as the number of people involved in technical and academic discourse has increased. Contrasting plurals are common:
cactus,
formula,
referendum often have the technical plurals
cacti,
formulae,
referenda and the popular plurals
cactuses,
formulas,
referendums. Such usages as a
rock strata,
a good criteria,
this phenomena is widespread all occur frequently, with the plurals
stratas,
criterias,
phenomenas. They are disliked (often intensely) not only by purists but by many who consider themselves liberal in matters of usage. Purism, however, also has its barbarisms, such as the quasiclassical plurals
octopi and
syllabi for
octopus and
syllabus, competing with
octopuses and
syllabuses. (The Greek plurals for these words are, respectively,
octṓpoda and
sullabóntes.)
