Fora & Forums

We are an internet language site, so pontificating about language is what we do. I did actually do a bit of Latin at school, but I am, at present, learning Japanese, so I don't have the time to study Latin again. ;-)

Shouldn't the correct word be forae instead of fora?

Funny.

The reason Latin plurals are used in many instances is that English is itself partly derivative of Latin, and our alphabet is Latin. Also, the adoption of proper Latin words into English was widespread from the medieval through enlightenment periods, and predated the wholesale adoption of loan words from many languages that we've seen over the last 150 years or so.

We use "alumnus" and "alumni" because the singular and the plural were both adopted into English a long time ago, but no one objects to casual use of "alum" and "alums". "Fora" is in the same category - anyone who nitpicks over whether "fora" or "forums" is correct is wasting his time. They're both correct.

Surely language definition and structure should be defined by how it is used, and not by any rigid rule regarding the sanctity of the Latin origins of English.

If 'forums' is more used, then fair enough. If 'data' is used as the plural of 'datum', then fair enough as well. If there is genuine ambiguity regarding which is used more (in this case there isn't), then both should be perfectly acceptable.

Dictionaries are adding words in response to usage all the time - 'to google' is working it's way from common usage to dictionaries for example. This way round is the way it should be. The English-speaking public that uses the language has far more authority than stuffy pedants who simply enjoy being right and patronising people for the sake of it.

As a student of Japanese you'll know that Japanese themselves often loan European words and inconsistently apply plurals but usually do not alter the word at all. I would personally prefer if Japanese (and English) did make more of an effort to follow the loan word's original rules consistently, e.g. take the root-nation name either from the language OR the country, not just either.
Sure, most of us won't know how to pluralise Inuit words (or even which words are loaned from Inuit) but maybe in Canada they should have a better idea, for example. Likewise, if you're speaking English adapt the loan word - please don't say indexes, for example, when indices should be reasonably simple to remember. Saying one is 'US English' is not an excuse - 'US English' is a legitimate shout should it be on an issue like the use of 's' vs. 'z' as this wasn't standardised in the 18th century. But use of Latin words generally was. This is just 20th century laziness.
One of the pluralist natures of English has been its reasonably accurate loaning of words (at least since the French influx of the 17th century), let's not go down the other path, or soon we'll be spelling root-Latin words how anyone with internet access likes...

No, fortunately or unfortunately, English does not use very many different forms of the article "the" when the word that follows it is the subject or object. We do have different forms for refering to things indirectly, such as "this", "that", "these", and "those". But not for just the simple "the".

Please, we have too many arguments about pluralizing nouns, can you imagine if we have to decline them, too?!

As to the original question of fora vs. forums, I would say this: fora is correct; forums is acceptable.

If you don't like that answer, you can shop other fora and probably find the opinion you were hoping for.

: )

I am wondering how you feel about "data": is it singular or plural? The argument I have heard for using it as a plural is that it is plural in Latin although often used in the singular in US English. Google hits show a very mixed picture.

English is full of anachronisms and inconsistencies. We seem to choose when and how we apply rules of language. The language also changes due to common usage. Refer to may essays in http://slayageonline.com/ and how much debate there is about the mashing of language.

Forums is a more English term, and is simpler. Yes - it has more letters (congratulations to those who can count), but it is simpler because it complies with the more generic English plural rules.