Post by Joey from NYPost by RogerPost by PlegPost by RogerSu ICLIt si sta parlando degli inglesismi al plurale in generale e
dei plurali inglesi irregolari.
Sappiamo che il plurale di topo in inglese è "mice".
Ma questo plurale vale anche per il mouse del pc?
Roger
Si'. Ad esempio sulla mia linux box ho il file /dev/input/mice ,
oltre a /dev/input/mouse0 e /dev/input/mouse1
Ringrazio nuovamente tutti.
Qualcuno però su ICLIt ha segnalato che il Merriam-Webster online
per il mouse del pc ammette il plurale "mouses"
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mouse
Che valore ha questo dizionario-enciclopedia presso i madrelingua
inglesi?
Roger
Not very useful, IMHO. My desktop M-W (dated 1999) only lists "mice" as the
plural, even for computer mice. Somewhere between 1999 and today they decided
to allow the non-standard, geek plural 'mouses.' I don't buy it.
Shouldn't a dictionary include as many words as it can, and "geek
words" too? :-)
Anyway, it's listed as a variant ("also ...").
While "mice" is the usual plural (in the not-so-frequent occasions
where the plural is needed), I read that "...computer mice or mouses
(both are widely accepted as plurals)..." according to this paper of
the American English Institute/Linguistics Department, University of
Oregon.
http://aei.uoregon.edu/de/iraq/lessons/week06/workbook_breakingnewsenglish_computermouse-20090204.pdf
For more points of view...
http://www.antimoon.com/forum/t8107-0.htm
Post by Joey from NYThe web site also lists 'irregardless' as "non-standard," where it's just
outright "wrong."
Still, several dictionaries do list it, often as "nonstandard" or
"informal", or even "used humorously"
http://www.onelook.com/?w=irregardless&ls=a
And the M-W has a usage note
Usage Discussion of IRREGARDLESS
Irregardless originated in dialectal American speech in the early 20th
century. Its fairly widespread use in speech called it to the attention
of usage commentators as early as 1927. The most frequently repeated
remark about it is that “there is no such word.” There is such a word,
however. It is still used primarily in speech, although it can be found
from time to time in edited prose. Its reputation has not risen over
the years, and it is still a long way from general acceptance. Use
regardless instead.
Origin of IRREGARDLESS
probably blend of irrespective and regardless
First Known Use: circa 1912
Post by Joey from NYI would take everything they offer with a grain of salt.
I don't think they are saying "Do use 'irregardless'". They are
explaining how it is sometimes used in speech, and how you can avoid it
("Use regardless instead"). I think that's a useful bit of information.