Dead Men Walking

center / centre - another US / UK disagreement. But then there's also centered / centred. Now I use centre but I also use centered as I find the way centred is spelt a bit weird. How do you spell it?


Secondly the word data. It is plural for the latin datum, but it seems to often be used in the singular as in "The data was recorded using this meter" rather than "Confirmable data were difficult to find on the numbers of illegal immegrants". Maybe those are bad example sentences but you get the idea. How do you use it?

edit: you can vote for multiple entries or none etc depending which you feel strongly enough about to think you are correct :)

Centre / Centred / Data  is singular in the same that company's are.

PEN

Quoteâ€"Usage note: Data is a plural of datum, which is originally a Latin noun meaning “something given.” Today, data is used in English both as a plural noun meaning “facts or pieces of information” (These data are described more fully elsewhere) and as a singular mass noun meaning “information”: Not much data is available on flood control in Brazil. It is almost always treated as a plural in scientific and academic writing. In other types of writing it is either singular or plural. The singular datum meaning “a piece of information” is now rare in all types of writing. In surveying and civil engineering, where datum has specialized* senses, the plural form is datums.

Centre
Centred
Lose
Their
Too
*Specialised

:learn:

Quote from: Blunt's quoteIt is almost always treated as a plural in scientific and academic writing.

http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutgrammar/data

QuoteIs 'data' singular or plural?
   
Strictly speaking, data is the plural of datum, and should be used with a plural verb (like facts). However, there has been a growing tendency to use it as an equivalent to the uncountable noun information, followed by a singular verb. This is now regarded as generally acceptable in American use, and in the context of information technology. The traditional usage is still preferable, at least in Britain, but it may soon become a lost cause. Compare with agenda.

contradiction abounds! :)




I am using it in academic/scientific writing that is centred (I give in!)  arounf information technology and we do use data as a singular on a daily basis. Usually referring to [a set of] data I guess.

Centre
Centred
Data
Forums

Immigrants :narnar:

I sort of expected centre to win over center, but I'm intrigued by the data as a singular results though - The traditional and typically British way of using the word data is as a plural. It's Americans (and certain scientific bodies...) that use data as a single thing. Shocking :) edit: and the Danes apparently :D


I'm an immigrant :( ...though given another 6 months I should be permanently resident, and a year after that Naturalis[?eep?]ed British :D
I was supposedly educated at a "proper British" type high school (proper not being the same as "comprehensive") though.

Lol, what a tie.

And I am the only one that considers data to be plural, which, after doing some research is in fact wrong. It is singular. It is so, because it implicitly referred to as a (one) collection of data. Even though data is plural of datum :g: My source is ordbogen.com - the best English-Danish dictionary in Denmark.

Edit: I stick to center and centered. And fora.

Edit: Soz SM, just saw your post above :blush:

Centre
Centred
Data (plural)

(http://uk.geocities.com/bluntphilly@btopenworld.com/spell.jpg)

QuoteThe data ARE correct" ...data is always or should always be used in the plural

made me confused.. :blink:

I must say that I really like the English language and especially the various forms how you guys phrase sentences sometimes.
 
Just voted 1 thing though...

It's our bloody language and so whatever we say is right. Sidewalk my arse.

Now that this thread has come up I wanted to point out that I've noticed many of you people saying "ore" in scenarios like "what do you like more, pie or cake?"
Now my question is, do british people say "ore" instead of "or", or is it just a very common typo 'round here?

.....or

must be a typo ... the r and e keys are quite close. Fat finger syndrome :D
that ore they're from the west country m'luv