Vienna - why not?
#61
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Re: Vienna - why not?
And we need fora for Albania and Moldova. What about Transdniestria and San Marino ?
#63
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Re: Vienna - why not?
But it's an interesting point. OK for maxima, minima, ..., but why not "photo alba", "insurance premia", for example?
#64
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Re: Vienna - why not?
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.
#65
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Re: Vienna - why not?
Gallia omnia in tres partes divisa est
#66
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Re: Vienna - why not?
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.
#67
Re: Vienna - why not?
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'
#69
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Re: Vienna - why not?
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.
In English it seems to exist in plural only = visa. I never heard an English speaker using "visum".
#72
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Re: Vienna - why not?
Or Ieper/Ypres into "Wipers" !