Forums or Fora?

[CraigD]

Forums or Fora

 

Math/Science types tend to be sticklers nearly to the point of snobbery about correctly pluralizing Latin borrow nouns. Therefore, I find it amusing that Science Forums, and many other similar sites, are called _______ Forums, not _______ Fora.

 

Has the tyranny of the spellchecker pounded the final stake in the unliving chest of Latin?

[Chacmool]

Forums or Fora

 

Math/Science types tend to be sticklers nearly to the point of snobbery about correctly pluralizing Latin borrow nouns. Therefore, I find it amusing that Science Forums, and many other similar sites, are called _______ Forums, not _______ Fora.

 

Has the tyranny of the spellchecker pounded the final stake in the unliving chest of Latin?

According to the Oxford Concise Dictionary, a forum (plural: forums) is a "meeting or medium for an exchange of views." The ancient Roman forum (plural: fora) is a "public square or marketplace used for judicial and other business."

 

Therefore, I would say that the plural form used for Science Forums is exactly correct.

[CraigD]

According to the Oxford Concise Dictionary, a forum (plural: forums) is a "meeting or medium for an exchange of views." The ancient Roman forum (plural: fora) is a "public square or marketplace used for judicial and other business."

 

Therefore, I would say that the plural form used for Science Forums is exactly correct.

You’re making, I’m sure you’re aware, an argument by appeal to authority. Of course, with word usage, this is common and not to be faulted, but it does tend to stop a discussion in its tracks.

 

The Oxford dictionary takes (by the expressed admission of its authors) the descriptive philosophical position of what a dictionary is, meaning it tries to capture how the speakers of English actually use the language, not, at the prescriptive position holds, how they should use it, base on any grammatical theory. Thus, for example if most people were to begin considering the word “data” to be singular, with plural “datas”, instead of the currently more common “datum” with plural “data”, the OED would document this shift, perhaps even noting that “datum” and “data” are archaic synonyms for “data” and “datas”.

 

My point is that “forum” is a word borrowed by English from Latin, referring to precisely the same thing (a “public square” is simply a specific case of “a medium for an exchange of views”) so a prescriptive argument can be made that it should retain the Latin rule for pluralizing.

 

Most dictionaries give both “data” and “datums” as valid spelling for the plural of “data” (although my spell checker doesn’t like “datums”). :) What I am curious about is why Latin borrow words like “datum” have kept the same plurals in common English usage they had in Latin, while words like “forum” have not? (at least in the opinion of common spell checker software)