Re: proposed changes to debian-faq
On Sun 29 May 2016 at 17:48:13 +0100, Justin B Rye wrote:
> Beatrice Torracca wrote:
>
> > @@ -387,7 +387,7 @@
> > multimedia applications and
> > dictionaries in Debian and has been introduced since some users might
> > want to access the raw data without installing the program or because
> > -the program can be run without the data itself, making it optional.
> > +the program can be run without the data itself, making them optional.
>
> No; "data" is "it", not "them", at least for English-speakers born
> after about 1950. If you want to avoid the issue, you can say "making
> the package optional".
Avoidance is probabably the best and cleanest option.
I'd like to say I was born after 1950 and see "data" as singular, but I
wasn't. :) I'm still inclined to say "the bacteria are...", "the die
is..." and "the media are...". "datum" and "data" are not the same. What
happened after 1950? Logic dissolved into thin air?
Completelely irrelevant to the matter at hand but we now have "trade
union" (a union of trade) instead of "trades union" (a union of trades).
Recently I've seen "Charity Commission" in print. "Charities Commission"
has a distinctly different meaning. How long before we get "Mother
Union" instead of "Mothers' Union"?
Modern English has a problem with plurals. "Education, education,
education" seems not to have addressed it.
Sorry for the wee rant. Please carry on with the excellent work.
Regards,
Brian.
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