#data? plural. datum? singular

[trollblivion-ooc]

feeling my creativity be crushed every time i have to work on Statistics

[gnome-de-official]

Hey stats or linguistics nerds!

(Explanation below)

Explanation:

Countable and singular means you hear “data” and think there’s exactly one thing in discussion. You would use it like “this data is an outlier, whereas that one is not.” Examples of this form: a cat, an artwork

Countable and plural means you hear “data” and think there’s more than one thing being talked about. You would use it like “these data show a positive trend, whereas those do not.” When discussing just one, you would use the term “datum”. Examples: cars, planets

Uncountable means you hear “data” and think that there’s some quantity of it, but it’s not necessarily a numbered amount, in a similar way to a fluid. You would use it like “this data doesn’t prove my hypothesis, but some of that data does.” Examples: water, air

Bias alert:

My father is a database engineer and has always used the word “data” as uncountable. I believe the “correct” way to use it is countable plural with the singular form being “datum”, though there’s no real answer because it’s linguistics and languages shift with use. That’s why I’m asking the people, in order to know how the term is used

[animeomelette]

From a descriptivist perspective I cannot tell you that it is "wrong" to say "these data suggest" instead of "this data suggests" outside of some highly-specific formal context where everyone has agreed to make a clear distinction between singular 'datum' and plural 'data'

However I can tell you that if you insist on saying "these data suggest" then all of the people who don't know why you're doing it are going to look at you funny and might start wondering if you're having a stroke whilst most of the people who do know why you're doing it will think that you're doing it in an attempt to feel smarter than other people who "don't know" about Latin plural and singular forms and that you're the sort of person whose fault it is that English spells "debt" with a "b"

(Please note that this only applies to native English speakers, people's responses to a non-native speaker using idiosyncratic grammar are [rightly or wrongly] going to be different)

[fioras-resolve]

fuckin hate when academics say "these data." oh yeah it's a plural? what's its singular? datum? fuck you nobody ever actually says that. do you talk about these water? these music?

[quammi-the-quack]

Aha finally new words (the euphoria), that are not jargon

I can see that quite a few are half evolved Latin words too, even better

Sadly due to the natural evolution of a language and possibly also the simplification of English, I feel as if I do incorporate these words into a piece of writing, your average reader (being honest pretty much everyone) won't understand the meaning and it will just be confusing as fuck.

Life is confusing, why not make it more, I suppose, be like the Mongolians with their own traditional alphabet towards those who don't care about English vocab.

Also btw, today I have found out from the wordle, that the singular version of data is datum. For all pleasantly surprised Latin students after realising cactus and fungus still have Latin plural endings, here is a weirdly common example, again.

Adieu giga chads,

stay spiteful, spirited, and yourself...

a list of "beautiful" words for june

to try to include in your next poem/story

Ambsace - something worthless or unlucky

Boscage - a growth of trees or shrubs; thicket

Callipygian - having shapely buttocks

Deasil - clockwise

Effluvium - an invisible emanation, especially: an offensive exhalation or smell

Floruit - a period of flourishing

Gueridon - a small usually ornately carved and embellished stand or table

Ipseity - individual identity; selfhood

Jorum - a large drinking vessel or its contents

Legerity - alert facile quickness of mind or body

Messaline - a soft lightweight silk dress fabric with a satin weave

Nosegay - a small bunch of flowers

Oblectation - pleasure, satisfaction, delight

Perlustrate - to go through and examine thoroughly

Rupicolous - living among, inhabiting, or growing on rocks

Sacchariferous - producing or containing sugar

Tinctorial - imparting color

Veridical - truthful, veracious

Wakerife - wakeful, alert

Xerarch - developing in a dry place

More: Lists of Beautiful Words ⚜ Word Lists ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[invincible-atlas]

Tips for fucking with pedants:

Using the Secret Third Things

Instead of treating "data" as plural or singular, just don't say "data" at all. Say "datums" instead!

Instead of using the British or American spellings, use your own spelling (not colour or color, but coler) or even better, combine the two (græy)

[o5-10]

I just remembered the absolute bafflement I felt when someone responded "datum?" to my post stating I don't particularly enjoy using that word when the occasion calls for such. I took it as asking for a definition and not someone requesting a specific datum relevant to what I was speaking about. This happens often, but this specific instance was so baffling to me because not only is it very easy to look up any given definition, but with the word datum in particular, it strikes me as very easy to infer that datum is the singular of its more commonly used plural form, data.

[gilesmdavis]

So, over to Guardian style guru David Marsh, who makes the rules in these parts about language use. He says: It's like agenda, a Latin plural that is now almost universally used as a singular. Technically the singular is datum/agendum, but we feel it sounds increasingly hyper-correct, old-fashioned and pompous to say "the data are".

Data are or data is? | Language | The Guardian

I was reading a Tony Blair Institue paper and “data are” really stood out. So much so I was diverted t ocheck whether it was correct. Which, I assume is a massive fail for the pedant community.

[curiousobsession101]

A lot of people don't know what a non-count noun is so this poll is getting a lot of confused responses. I'm sure that's what the "what are you talking about" option is for, but people are assuming that not-plural means singular so they don't know to use that option. So here's what a non-count noun is:

In languages with a plural/singular distinction, a non-count noun is something where the "plural" grammatical construction doesn't apply. A really good way to explain this in English is with the example words "corn" and "peas". "Pea" is a count noun. If you say "pea" it's assumed you're talking about a single seed from a pea plant. If you mean, say, a bowl of peas you use the plural form "peas". Corn is a non-count noun. If you say "corn" people assume you mean multiple corn kernels. If you want to use a plural construction with corn, you add a unit and use the plural form of that. "Three ears of corn" "two bowls of corn" not "corns".

This doesn't just affect the noun itself; it also affects any part of the sentence that is expected to change based on the noun's plural/singular state. So let's take the sentence "the peas/corn is hot". For a count noun you would say "the peas are hot" and for a non-count noun you would say "the corn is hot". Basically the grammar treats the word as singular even though the meaning is plural. That's what this quiz is about.

See, the word "data" is technically the plural form of the word "datum". But people typically use it as a non-count noun. People generally don't say "the data are clear" or "the data show this" they say "the data is clear" or "the data shows this".

This usage probably arose from the fact that what "data" usually means is fairly abstract, so often it just makes more sense to talk about a unit of data rather than an individual "datum". But as you can see with the corn/peas distinction, it can be pretty arbitrary.

So this poll is sort of a "prescriptivist vs usage" debate. Since "data" is plural for "datum", do you say "the data are"? Or, since most people treat "data" as a non-count noun, do you say "the data is"?

[talonwings]

Mythland Language and Culture

here it is, the official followup to my Grimlands post, featuring my second favorite evil empire! (honestly i do love the aesthetic and lore of Mythland even though Sausage is making very questionable choices rn)

-Their names tend to be 'fantasy-esque,' for lack of a better word, reflecting their empire's deep desire to be associated with magic. ex. Alloria, Lystra, Kaedan, Dorian

-Their native language, Mythik, sounds like a cross between Latin and the Celtic language family (Gaelic, Irish, Welsh), with frequent 'y's and hard 'k' sounds for the letter C, as well as Latin-like pluralization (singular 'um' to a vowel, like 'datum' to 'data').

-The higher class, especially sorcerers, can also speak the Rivendell dialect of Elvish, which is often used in magic rituals.

-Mythlanders are obsessed with magic, to a degree that concerns people not from Mythland. They revere anyone who can do magic, and many strive to learn it for themselves. Of course, innate magic (like that of the Crystal Cliffs or the Undergrove) can't be learned, so they have found...other ways of channeling magical energies.

-They are also obsessed with blood sheep--both loving the creatures for the power their sacrifices provide, and hating them because they are creepy as hell with their too-human eyes and their weirdly sharp teeth. There is blood sheep iconography everywhere.

-Mythlanders value power, but also courage, ambition, and decisiveness. They will be the first to rush into battle with swords and staves raised if they have decided it's what they ought to do. Sometimes, however, they can be so quick to decide that it manifests as impulsivity, and they often get themselves involved in things without thinking enough about whether they should.

-They adore King Sausage, but like the blood sheep, they also fear him--his moods, his unpredictability, his chaotic behavior. Things are best and calmest in Mythland when their ruler is happy, so they strive to make it so.

-Their currency is iron coins stamped on one side with Sausage's likeness and on the other with the emblem of a blood sheep.

Let me know if there's anything you'd like me to add, and if you'd like to see another empire next!

[themethodwriter]

The Plurals That Most People (Including Me) Get Wrong

SINGULAR —> PLURAL

diagnosis —> diagnoses

analysis —> analyses

antenna —> antennae (informally “antennas”)

radius —> radii (informally “radiuses”)

shrimp —> shrimp (“shrimps” if referring to multiple species)

trout —> trout (“trouts” if referring to multiple species)

squid —> squid (“squids” if referring to multiple species)

aircraft —> aircraft

spacecraft —> spacecraft

phenomenon —> phenomena

bacterium —> bacteria

millennium —> millennia OR millenniums

criterion —> criteria

datum —> data

index —> indices (informally “indexes”)

vortex —> vortices (informally “vortexes”)

passerby —> passersby

[oberorka]

okay fine. you know how it's datum and bacterium in singular but data and bacteria in plural? yeah

if you think about it screaming is just the plural form of being uncertain

[edupunkn00b]

Self-Care is Not Up for Debate

Rated General Audiences - 644 words - [ AO3 ]

Logan thinks that Virgil's poor sleeping habits reflect an unwillingness to properly care for himself and a disregard for the impacts of that neglect on Thomas.

Virgil worries that Logan just thinks he's hurting Thomas without a care in the world.

They both couldn't be more wrong.

Tumblr Analogical Week Day 1 Prompt: Debate/Anniversary [AO3]

---

Logan's voice was gentle but humorless. "This is not a matter of debate, Virgil. You must start taking better care of yourself." He tilted his head until the purple-clad Side met his eyes. "Your well-being is Thomas' well-being."

Virgil rolled his eyes and sighed. "I'm taking perfectly good care of myself, Teach. I eat breakfast every day - ,"

"A cup of coffee with milk and sugar does not constitute breakfast,"

"I eat lunch with all the rest of you almost every day." Virgil waited, eyebrows raised, to see if Logan would interrupt or otherwise negate that act of self-care. Virgil humphed in satisfaction over that small victory.

"And I almost always eat dinner with at least you and Patton," Virgil finished cockily. "See? Self-care."

Logan was unimpressed. "The same dinners after which you proceed to stay up most of the night. Let me see your phone, please." A few months ago, Logan had insisted that each side install a special sleep tracker app on their I-Phones. (The 'I' stood for Imagination, as Remus would quickly point out whenever the word was mentioned throughout the Mindscape. He was particularly proud of that batch of Creations.)

Virgil unlocked his phone and handed it to Logan. Logan was pleased with the not-quite-literally remarkable level of trust the anxious side had just demonstrated, but he refrained from, well, remarking on it. He opened up Virgil's sleep tracker app. Shall I share with you the data?"

"I don't need a piece of data - ,"

"Datum." The logical Side adjusted his glasses. "Data is plural, datum is the singular," he corrected.

Virgil raised an eyebrow, fighting back a small smile at that little nugget of information. He would be sure to use it against Princey at the next opportunity. "Fine, I don't need a piece of datum to tell me what I already know." Virgil sighed, shoulders slumping. "I haven't gotten eight hours a night this week, I know."

Logan held up the phone, blue and fuchsia data visualization impossible to refute. "You have slept an average of four hours and ten minutes per night this week." He stared at the anxious Side over his eyeglasses. "And that represents and improvement over the past three weeks, during which you have slept an average of three hours and eleven minutes, three hours and twenty-eight minutes, and finally two hours and thirty-one minutes, respectively."

He stared at Virgil, trying unsuccessfully to catch his eyes before putting a soft hand on his shoulder. "Virge, this is not healthy. Not for Thomas, but most especially not for you."

Virgil looked up in surprise at the gentle tone in the logical Side's voice. "You really care about me and not just how me not sleeping will hurt Thomas?"

Logan nodded gently, "Of course I do, Virgil. I care a great deal for you."

He fidgeted with the strings of his hoodie for a few minutes, gnawing at his lip. Finally he sighed, "I ... I try to sleep. I don't want to stay up all night ... it gets - ," Virgil shook his head. "It's not good around here when no-one else is awake, but that just makes it even harder to fall asleep."

Logan tilted his head, filing away his desire for Virgil to elaborate on what "not good" meant in this context and returned his phone. "Is there anything that you can think of that would help you feel more comfortable at night?"

Virgil slouched and raised his hood. "Maybe ... maybe sometimes - ," his eyes darted over to Logan, vigilantly checking for a negative reaction. "Maybe sometimes could I sleep in your room?"'

His voice had grown very quiet at the end of his question, but Logan had a feeling suspicion the sentence would end in a similar question and was listening for it. He smiled gently, lifting Virgil's chin so their eyes would meet. "Of course, Virgil."

Virgil grinned a soft version of his trademark smirk and nodded. "Thanks, Teach."

---

@analogicalweek

[spaghet-dad]

just an fyi for anyone involved in any research writing at all: the word ‘data’ is plural. It’s not “this data is significant because ___”, it’s “these data are significant because___”. I know that’s a point of confusion for a lot of people (especially if English isn’t your first language and you’re submitting some writing in English, but even native English speakers find it weird), so I just thought I’d make a post about it for any fellow science ppl out there. Data is plural, datum is singular!

[el-smacko]

Not into the all caps but there’s some I didn’t see added:

yea: the opposite of nay (they rhyme), a way to vote

yay: an exclamation of excited approval, “yay, we won!”

yeah: an informal way to say yes, pronounced differently than the above two

whoa: an exclamation, the proper spelling as opposed to “woah”

welp: a vocalization of being resigned

whelp: a young form of something, usually of dogs

laid: the past tense of the transitive (a verb with an object) “lie” as in “I laid something down”

lay: the past tense of the intransitive (a verb without an object) “lie” as in “I lay on the couch” but you can also use the transitive form with a reflexive pronoun, “I laid myself down on the couch”

lied: past tense of lie, as in “tell a falsehood”

Also it’s octopuses and cactuses, we don’t decline Latin or Greek words outside of scientific contexts, which is why data is vernacularly singular but plural in scientific papers/articles because it’s the plural of the singular datum, which we normally call a “data point.”

IT’S NOT ‘PEEKED’ MY INTEREST

OR ‘PEAKED’

BUT PIQUED

‘PIQUED MY INTEREST’

THIS HAS BEEN A CAPSLOCK PSA