Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Pretentious Lunacy!

I've had it with people pluralizing latin words. You know the type: fungus to fungi, medium to media (or rather the opposite; Yes, I'm looking at you Marshall McLuhan), forum to forii...

The problem is that its not like mouse and mice here. The function of the word determines its suffix. So if you're going to advertise your intellectual insecurities by pluralizing a latin word, you're going to have be consistent and change the suffix each time it changes function. Fungus is fine for a singular subject, but if you're going to use it as a direct complement (or whatever C.O.D. is in English) its fungum, I think. You see, I don't know, because I do not speak latin.


Next time you're confronted by someone insisting you pluralize your latin word, be careful! This person is displaying a sign of pretension bordering on insanity. The pretension comes from their need to show off their knowledge of latin; the insanity comes from the inherent contradiction in their behaviour. By pluralizing the latin word in a so-called latin way, they are both demonstrating their perceived understanding and their factual ignorance of latin rules.

Essentially, they might as well be yelling: "LOOK AT ME! I'M SMART! I KNOW LATIN!" Then proceed to prove the opposite. You could call them liars, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and put them in the category of those of who don't know they don't know.

It reminds of that time I was watching a movie with a girl when a cityscape comes up on screen. I go: "Look, its Toronto", moments before Vancouver appears underneath said cityscape.

Or that time I'm in a bar with another girl and while talking about beer I tell her that lagers only come in a blonde colour. The waitress appears almost instantly to tell us about the special on the black lager.

No comments: