Year: 2008
Type: article
Abstract: Our question, "Was the media understandably confused over the link between breastfeeding and IQ" (24 November, p 1074) brought indignant letters from readers with a grammatical penchant, so we looked for advice on whether "the media is" or "the media are."The word is likely to be singular in a generation or two, say the journalists who write the Grammarphobia blog (www.grammarphobia.com/grammar.html).Technically plural Latin and Greek words that have become thoroughly anglicised include agenda, erotica, insignia, and opera, and data has joined them in many publications.Media seems to be going the same way-journalists are already using "mediums" as the plural.But for now, in the BMJ we'll try to remember that "media are" and "data are."
Source: BMJ
Authors: Linda Williams, Vikram Sharma, Tom Downes
Institution: Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Language: English
Subfield: History and Philosophy of Science
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4232746618