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From: mauney@ncsu.UUCP (Jon Mauney)
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Re: The singular form of data
Message-ID: <2716@ncsu.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 5-Nov-84 16:04:29 EST
Article-I.D.: ncsu.2716
Posted: Mon Nov  5 16:04:29 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 7-Nov-84 07:40:14 EST
References: <550@rayssd.UUCP>
Organization: N.C. State University, Raleigh
Lines: 19

> Why do people insist on using "datum" even though it sounds terrible?  I
> know what the dictionaries and William Safire say, it's just that it doesn't
> "feel" right.  We don't have a plural form of hair, and nobody wants to
> invent a latinized form, yet to say "My hair is ..." is technically wrong.

There are singular and plurals, and then there are collectives.
I doubt you would say "What a dirty restaurant -- I found three hair in
my soup."

As far as I'm concerned, using 'data' to refer to a single fact sounds
terrible.  A datum is a single piece of data and data is a collection 
of datums.  There is a useful distinction to be made between
"That datum is inaccurate" and "that data is inaccurate".  To say
"Those data are inaccurate" is also ok,  but we Americans tend to consider
collectives as singular.
-- 

_Doctor_                           Jon Mauney,    mcnc!ncsu!mauney
\__Mu__/                           North Carolina State University