4 ms·

The problem in the usage is that most native speakers use 'data' not as a plural, but instead to identify the continuous stream that is comprised of datum, and

The problem in the usage is that most native speakers use 'data' not as a plural, but instead to identify the continuous stream that is comprised of datum, and therefore as an uncountable.

aasasd 7y ago
Of course they do, as they should. Still too often there are annoying shits around waiting to dump the “it's ‘these data’, not ‘this’.” Have I mentioned that using plural forms from a different language is arbitrary and stupid? All widely-used languages borrow words from others, but they bend the words to their grammar, not the other way around.
- qlm 7y ago
  Treating "data" as plural very often seems like education flexing. There is no need to say "these data"/"this datum" in a normal conversation other than showing off the number of papers you have written or read.
- asveikau 7y ago
  > annoying shits around waiting to dump the “it's ‘these data,’ not ‘this.’” Calm down. They're not hurting you. > All widely-used languages borrow words from others, but they bend the words to their grammar, not the other way around. I don't think that's true. For example I don't speak Maltese but I read that it has completely different grammar for Arabic and Latin derived words. Didn't English even used to have germanic-derived plurals (like "oxen") and Latinate ones (adding -s) coexisting until it took some time to mostly converge on the latter? English is a messy language to claim grammatical purity on, it is the product of some notable clashes of very distinct people.
- grawprog 7y ago
  When I was in school they really hammered it in that data was plural. If you didn't write something like the data are or the data show that'd be a red circle on your report or paper. It was a common source of lost marks for the class. Presentations too. It was a big deal at least to our teachers. It always did and still does sound funny to me though. It also seems to be different in the computer science world compared to the the biology world. I see data used as a singular far more often in the context of computers than I do with other branches of science.

The problem in the usage is that most native speakers use 'data' not as a plural, but instead to identify the continuous stream that is comprised of datum, and therefore as an uncountable.

aasasd 7y ago

Of course they do, as they should. Still too often there are annoying shits around waiting to dump the “it's ‘these data’, not ‘this’.” Have I mentioned that using plural forms from a different language is arbitrary and stupid? All widely-used languages borrow words from others, but they bend the words to their grammar, not the other way around.

qlm 7y ago
Treating "data" as plural very often seems like education flexing. There is no need to say "these data"/"this datum" in a normal conversation other than showing off the number of papers you have written or read.
asveikau 7y ago
> annoying shits around waiting to dump the “it's ‘these data,’ not ‘this.’” Calm down. They're not hurting you. > All widely-used languages borrow words from others, but they bend the words to their grammar, not the other way around. I don't think that's true. For example I don't speak Maltese but I read that it has completely different grammar for Arabic and Latin derived words. Didn't English even used to have germanic-derived plurals (like "oxen") and Latinate ones (adding -s) coexisting until it took some time to mostly converge on the latter? English is a messy language to claim grammatical purity on, it is the product of some notable clashes of very distinct people.
grawprog 7y ago
When I was in school they really hammered it in that data was plural. If you didn't write something like the data are or the data show that'd be a red circle on your report or paper. It was a common source of lost marks for the class. Presentations too. It was a big deal at least to our teachers. It always did and still does sound funny to me though. It also seems to be different in the computer science world compared to the the biology world. I see data used as a singular far more often in the context of computers than I do with other branches of science.