Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site tellab1.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!tellab1!barth
From: barth@tellab1.UUCP (Barth Richards)
Newsgroups: net.bizarre
Subject: re: non-words
Message-ID: <604@tellab1.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 2-Oct-85 10:04:46 EDT
Article-I.D.: tellab1.604
Posted: Wed Oct  2 10:04:46 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 3-Oct-85 06:17:26 EDT
Reply-To: barth@tellab3.UUCP (The Gipper)
Distribution: net
Organization: Tellabs, Inc., Lisle, IL
Lines: 61
Keywords: non-words, lost singulars, communism

In article <460@aero.ARPA> mcguire@aero.UUCP (Rod McGuire) writes:

>>What about the lost singulars?  Perhap there isn't one.

>There are the non existant "semantic" singulars: underpant, tweezer, scissor,
>and glass (1/2 of a pair of eye-glasses).

>One might also be able to make a case for phonetic singulars such as
>a "gee" = one of the members of a flock of geese.

Actually the words goose and geese, and the strange relationship between the
singular and plural forms of this word can be traced back to Anglo-Saxon.

Most Anglo-Saxon nouns were declined* in fairly regular patterns. However, there
were a few troublesome nouns that, being subversive-type words, decided to
follow their own Marxist, pinko-commie, unAmerican paths and declinded
themselves in their own unique ways. This red scurge continues even today, and
can be seen in such words as foot (AS fot), and goose (AS gos).

*Decensions were the endings put on nouns and adjectives which indicated what
 function within the sentence the nonoun performed, or in the case of
 adjectives, to what noun they were attached.

The declension of foot went as follows:

                                  singular               plural

          nominative
	  (subject)                 fot                   fet

	  accusative
	  (direct object)           fot                   fet

	  genative
	  (possessive)              fotes                 fota

	  dative/instrumental
	  (indirect object/
	   means by which 
	   something is done)       fet                   fotum


Similarly declined in the Anglo-Saxon word gos (goose):

				  singular               plural

                          N         gos                   ges

			  A         gos                   ges

			  G         gose                  gosa

                         D/I        ges                   gosum

So, you can see how these commie-liguistic subversive conspiracies get started,
and once they get under way, there's just no stopping them.

Lyndon LaRouche for President!

					 
					 The Gipper