Time is right to treat 'data' as singular

Enough is enough. "The data are shown in Table 1.4.2." Ugly. Clumsy. Too beholden to Latin, which ain't English. It's high time English is allowed to evolve just a little bit and for 'data' to be treated like an uncountable noun.

Originally posted by FMF
Enough is enough. "The data are shown in Table 1.4.2." Ugly. Clumsy. Too beholden to Latin, which ain't English. It's high time English is allowed to evolve just a little bit and for 'data' to be treated like an uncountable noun.

Consider it done.

Google counts for "Data are":
"About 44,300,000 results"

Google counts for "Data is":
"About 120,000,000 results"

Originally posted by ThinkOfOne
Consider it done.

Google counts for "Data are":
"About 44,300,000 results"

Google counts for "Data is":
"About 120,000,000 results"

What data are is am you got for split infinitives?

Originally posted by FMF
What data are is am you got for split infinitives?

I ain't got no data for no split infinitives.

Originally posted by ThinkOfOne
I ain't got no data for no split infinitives.

I had a feeling you were going to disappointingly say that.

My current contract brings me in to contact with lots of medical professionals, and they stick to the data-as-plural thing. Several months in, and it still jars when I read it. Maybe I should ask one whether he ever uses the word datum?

As nothing other than idle curiosity with the singular and plural, has anyone an idea as to why math(S) isn't so ?? It is a noun, is it not, but perhaps a mere foreshortening adopted by the U.S alone and nothing to do with plural...a question for the English expert maybe ?

Originally posted by DrKF
My current contract brings me in to contact with lots of medical professionals, and they stick to the data-as-plural thing. Several months in, and it still jars when I read it. Maybe I should ask one whether he ever uses the word datum?

And how about the Brits, who say things like "It seems that Unilever have come up with a unique solution...".

Originally posted by JS357
And how about the Brits, who say things like "It seems that Unilever have come up with a unique solution...".

I'm from the UK, and I honestly don't know what you think is weird about that sentence!

Originally posted by RevRSleeker
As nothing other than idle curiosity with the singular and plural, has anyone an idea as to why math(S) isn't so ?? It is a noun, is it not, but perhaps a mere foreshortening adopted by the U.S alone and nothing to do with plural...a question for the English expert maybe ?

Here in the UK, it is maths - and it's an Americanism that particularly jars with me... (Written, it's the suffix -ization.)

Originally posted by FMF
I had a feeling you were going to disappointingly say that.

Good one.

Originally posted by ThinkOfOne
Good one.

Or--- since we're all itching to change the flow of English--- good ones.

Howzabout 'data' for the singular and 'datas' for plural... you know, to really throw the monkum some wrenchum.

There is only one Data.

Originally posted by Nordlys
There is only one Data.

Tada!

Originally posted by DrKF
Here in the UK, it is math[b]s - and it's an Americanism that particularly jars with me... (Written, it's the suffix -ization.)[/b]

As the addition of the superfluous S jars with me. (Much like adding a superfluous U to color.)

When you abbreviate, you break the rest of the word off, you don't go back in and add in the S for no reason, especially when talking about a singlular.

And for you neanderthals who think mathematics is plural, then what the heck is a mathematic?

Mathematics is a noun, mathematic is an adjective. It doesn't get any more clear than that. There's NO reason to add the S back on.


Edit: Or you know what? Even better, spell it math's, since the apostrophe represents letters that were taken out. If all you English-abusing Brits wrote it math's, I'd be happy. I'd still use math, though, because most people would assume you were using a possessive or misusing a plural if you wrote it that way.