At 03:07 PM 11/02/2003 +1100, you wrote:

>I'm afraid the Oxford English Dictionary disagrees with you

Australian-only edition?
:-))

Collins English Dictionary, Australian and New Zealand edition:

data n.pl. (sing. datum) things known and from which inferences may deduced
[L. data, things given]
....
datum n. a fact given;---pl. data.

heLen

>Alan
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Helen Borrie [mailto:helebor@...]
>Sent: Tuesday, 11 February 2003 2:52 PM
>To: ib-support@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: RE: [ib-support] Metadata
>
>
>At 02:34 PM 11/02/2003 +1100, you wrote:
> >Sorry Helen,
> >But when data is the plural of datum ("a reference from which inference may
> >be drawn") it is a plural noun. When data refers to "facts or information"
> >is is also treated as a singular noun.
>
>But "data" is plural. One datum, many data. I agree people use it as if
>it were a singular noun. But think of this:
>
>a date is a "datum", or a "piece of data" or a "data item". It is not a
>"data" and nobody uses it that way.
>
>Careless speakers/writers (myself included, at times) will say "This data
>is.." when they mean "This piece of data is..." or "These data
>are..." Careless usage doesn't make it right. I write a lot of technical
>documentation and I am always careful to treat "data" and "metadata" as
>plural. American and Australian editors tend to be sloppy about it. New
>Zealand, British and European editors are more particular...
>
>Similarly, "schema" is singular. A database has one schema, two databases
>have two schemata...I said the terms "metadata" and "schema" were often
>used interchangeably. However, they are different styles of noun. In this
>context, "metadata" is used as if it were a group noun, like "electorate"
>or "river catchment". However, you can have multiple electorates, river
>catchments or schemata. You can't have multiple metadatas.
>:-))
>heLen
>
>
>Helen
>
>
>
>
>To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>ib-support-unsubscribe@egroups.com
>
>
>
>Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>
>
>
>To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>ib-support-unsubscribe@egroups.com
>
>
>
>Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/