When did ignorance overcome education, for the correct plural is, "antennae"?
Roger Hayter wrote:
AndyW wrote:
On 20/05/2016 13:50, Roger Hayter wrote:
AndyW wrote:
Bottom line: English evolves constantly and Antennas and Antennae are
both correct but one is in the ascendancy and the other is on the wane.
Neither can be said to be the correct one and neither can be said to be
wrong.
Andy
I would like to endorse that last sentence! In the UK both are
acceptable, and the time when we could dictate what is 'correct' to the
rest of the English-speaking world is long past.
If we want a 'correct' usage then we need an English equivalent of the
Academie Francais.
Andy
Absolutely. But what I was getting at here is that, while both are
acceptable in the UK, I believe the Americans who tell us that
"antennae" for radio aerials is plain wrong in the US.
PS someone correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't "antenna" the ordinary
peoples' word for a satellite or television aerial in America? Whereas
everyone except radio specialists uses 'aerial' in the UK. If so it is
not surprising that there is a much more established plural usage in the
US.
--
Roger Hayter
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