scot47

And we need fora for Albania and Moldova. What about Transdniestria and San Marino ?

Thairetired2016

Nice to see "fora" instead of "forums".
This is what kids in "dumbed down Britain" will no longer learn.

dmu

Without wishing to split hairs, both are correct.
But it's an interesting point. OK for maxima, minima, ..., but why not "photo alba", "insurance premia", for example?

Thairetired2016

Premia would be the correct form. But common usage tortured it into "premiums". Same with "forums".
The old Romans didn't have photos to stick into an album. "album" means "white, blank, pale". It is an adjective. Depending on the gender, case of the nounsingular/plural, it describes it may become alba.
Album can also be the genitive plural of "alba" meaning sunday dress.
My Latin is rusty. May be scot47 will come along to give his comment.

scot47

Gallia omnia in tres partes divisa est

Gordon Barlow

It used to be - maybe it still is - that the plural depended on whether the word was considered English (when -s is the usual plural suffix, or -es for words ending in vowels) or foreign. Mosquitos or mosquitoes, forums or fora... I've always considered mosquito and forum to be anglicised enough to be treated as English words. To me, "fora" sounds very affected, unless used by a Latin speaker! I'll have to take a look in my Fowler's Modern English and see what the master says.

spouse of scouse

Language evolves. Its evolution may seem to some of us a retrograde step, but we can't stop it. Look on the bright side, at least we're not still saying 'thee' and 'thou'

Thairetired2016

or
Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres....

Thairetired2016

Another such "mangled" word is "visum".
In English it seems to exist in plural only = visa. I never heard an English speaker using "visum".

Thairetired2016

Just like vin blanc evolved into plonk😂

spouse of scouse

Hahahaa, exactly!

scot47

Or Ieper/Ypres into "Wipers" !