Comments on: Of Fireworks, Yogurt, and Hiati

By: Petellius

Petellius — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:52:44 +0000

Well, you know, one spends a decade and a half studying Latin grammar, and gets so few opportunities to share that knowledge outside of the classroom. So it’s very difficult to resist the temptation at times.

Of course, I realize that it’s a bit unfair for me to be doing this pseudonymously, while you have your actual name up here for all to see….

By: JL Wall

JL Wall — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:26:11 +0000

(Just so we’re clear: I’m far more amused by this exchange than the above comment may imply.)

By: JL Wall

JL Wall — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:25:26 +0000

Well, that’s good. Now the whole world has access to the fact that the fourth declension has always been the one I’ve had the most trouble with/sometimes try to forget exists.

So I’ll amend: I want to treat any word ending in -us like it’s Latin second declension masculine.

By: John Schwenkler

John Schwenkler — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:22:18 +0000

Ah, but pedantic Latinist in me feels compelled to point out that “hiatus” is a fourth declension noun, not a second declension noun, and so the Latin plural ends in -us, not in -i.

NICE!

By: Petellius

Petellius — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:16:41 +0000

Ah, but pedantic Latinist in me feels compelled to point out that “hiatus” is a fourth declension noun, not a second declension noun, and so the Latin plural ends in -us, not in -i.

I’ll drop it now. I’m pretty sure that I’ve gotten it out of my system. :)

By: JL Wall

JL Wall — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:36:57 +0000

The part of my that’s a native English speaker suspected as much — which means it must say something about me (not so complimentary, probably) that I want to treat any word ending in -us like it’s Latin.

By: Petellius

Petellius — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:26:30 +0000

Plural would be “hiatus” or “hiatuses.” Not “hiati.”

Who needs dictionaries when you have online pedants?