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Roger Hayter wrote:
wrote:

Roger Hayter wrote:
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.

In the US satellite antennas are called a dish and everything else is
an antenna.

I have never heard an American use the word "aerial" in reference to
an antenna.

Also, the thing in the front of a car is a hood, and the thing in the
back is the trunk and the round things, whose color is black, are tires
and the steering wheel is always on the left side.


Well, ok, that's more or less what I said; the languages are
different. "Antennae" is an option in the UK, it apparently isn't in
the US. We are in violent agreement!

# When I first started watching UK TV shows on Netflix and Acorn, I spent
# a lot of time looking up the UK meaning of things to understand what
# the hell the characters were talking about.

# Things like:

# jumble - yard sale or rummage sale
# biscuit - cookie
# caravan - trailer
# porkies - lies
# nick - arrest
# and my favorite, toe-rag.

# Yes, the languages ARE different.

Agreed. Just last night had to look up "grafter".

And plurals are a bit different, depending on whether an "it" or "they" is
implied.
Example: Plessey (it) has a good aerial vs Plessey (they) have a good
aerial.
I never get used to that when in the UK.

I think aerial was used more in the US in the past than now, and I generally
see antennas more than antennae, except on insects.