The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #132499   Message #4057641
Posted By: Steve Shaw
06-Jun-20 - 08:17 AM
Thread Name: BS: Language Pet Peeves
Subject: RE: BS: Language Pet Peeves
Cor, that's a tad touchy considering what I actually said in my post. Lots of foreign words now in common use as adopted English words can take either an anglicised plural (hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, forums) OR it's original-language plural. We should be guided by convention, as in those three, or by practicality. "Cervices" isn't incorrect, but, as it sounds like a word it could be confused with, it's far better to say cervixes. English with all its irregularities and anomalies is complicated enough without adding unnecessary layers of confusion. That's all.