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Languages and Linguistics

geardaddy

(25,392 posts)

6. Welsh has a lot of examples of irregular plurals

Reply to Dead_Parrot (Reply #5)

Wed Apr 11, 2012, 04:21 PM

Apr 2012

cath, cathod cat. cats
ci, cwn dog, dogs
plentyn, plant child, children
bachgen, bechgyn boy, boys
merch, merched girl, girls

and when counting something it's common to use the singular unless using the conjuction "o" (of):

three dogs
tri chi ("three" causes aspirate mutation)
or
tri o gwn ("of" causes soft mutation)

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Does anybody know how come English retained some irregular plurals (feet, mice, oxen, children, [View all] raccoon Feb 2012 OP

Irregularities are most likely to be retained in very common words Lydia Leftcoast Feb 2012 #1

There was a U of Rochester dissertation a decade or so back that looked at this. Igel Feb 2012 #2

I'm guessing most "irregular" plurals are Germanic in origin geardaddy Feb 2012 #3

The French "s" is the regular plural Starboard Tack Mar 2012 #4

Late to the party, but... Dead_Parrot Apr 2012 #5

Welsh has a lot of examples of irregular plurals geardaddy Apr 2012 #6

"went" is a regular past tense. Speck Tater Dec 2012 #7

Here's another example: fero, ferre, tuli, latum Lionel Mandrake Aug 2014 #8