Re: [Fwd: motion 7 NaI]
Vincent Lefevre schrieb:
On 2009-08-24 17:47:12 +0200, Arnold Neumaier wrote:
Vincent Lefevre schrieb:
On 2009-08-24 09:36:59 +0200, Jürgen Wolff v Gudenberg wrote:
revised rationale is attached.
2 editorial corrections:
* datums -> data
datums is better in the present context.
See the following page from the Oxford dictionary (who must know):
http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutgrammar/data
http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutgrammar/data does not
say that "datums" exists,
You are right, it says that in the US, data is no longer considered
to be the plural of datum. By inference, the plural of datum should be
datums, to avoid misunderstanding.
Let me quote another source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data
``In English, the word datum is still used in the general sense of
"something given". In cartography, geography, nuclear magnetic resonance
and technical drawing it is often used to refer to a single specific
reference datum from which distances to all other data are measured. Any
measurement or result is a datum, but data point is more common,[1]
albeit tautological. Both datums (see usage in datum article) and the
originally Latin plural data are used as the plural of datum in English,
but data is more commonly treated as a mass noun and used in the
singular, especially in day-to-day usage.''
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datum_(geodesy)
``A geodetic datum (plural datums, not data) is a reference from which
measurements are made.''
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plural
``In engineering, drafting, surveying, and geodesy, and in weight and
balance calculations for aircraft, a datum (plural datums or data) is a
reference point, surface, or axis on an object or the earth’s surface
against which measurements are made.''
Merriam-Webster's dictionary of English usage
http://books.google.com/books?id=2yJusP0vrdgC&pg=PA317&lpg=PA317&dq=datums+plural+american&source=bl&ots=nYuQjdx5U7&sig=ODu56ufIvW-J-z1CdMsjgGPjQxE&hl=en&ei=4NqTSr78BZPGnAO53LWnAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=13
``in one of its senses it has a plural datums, which is used with a
cardinal number''
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/datums
Although this usage is dominant in the geosciences, the rationale
for why it is used there (two datums) applies in our case, too.
More importantly, IEEE 754 uses "datum" (sing.) / "data" (pl.). So,
it is better to follow the same choice.
I find it better to be as unambiguous as the current language
conventions allow.
Arnold Neumaier