• Deconceptualist@lemm.eeEnglish
          21·
          3 months ago

          Sure we do, on occasion anyway. Cacti, fungi, alumni, syllabi, loci, foci, radii, moduli, stimuli, uteri, papyri, nuclei, termini.

          Language isn’t about being “correct”, as there’s no truly objective standard. Rather, it’s about being understood. But I guess you didn’t watch that video.

            • Deconceptualist@lemm.eeEnglish
              11·
              3 months ago

              The “i” as a plural is only for words taken straight from Latin.

              Sure, but we use it. We adopted those words without altering that form. You said we don’t use it in English, full stop, so I gave 13 counterexamples.

              I don’t place any value on youtube videos made by people speaking outside their expertise.

              I don’t think my eyes can roll any harder.

                • Deconceptualist@lemm.eeEnglish
                  11·
                  3 months ago

                  We don’t use it in English. We just retain the latin plural for Latin words.

                  The English plural of alumnus is alumni. Yes of course it’s retained from Latin. But it’s also become a word in the English dictionary. We actively use that form in English written and spoken communication. It’s been absorbed into the language. I’ve never once heard “alumnuses”.

                  No, we generally don’t use the “i” ending on new words, but we could. There’s no rule against it.

                  You made an appeal to authority when you provided the Steven Fry video

                  I never claimed he was an English professor, though he’s certainly an expert when it comes to usage. I shared it because I like his point, and I think you’re a bozo for ignoring it, since it makes a strong case against proscriptivism.

                  But ok, if you like authority, here’s a similar point made by a PhD sociolinguist.