[PATCH] More pedantry.

[PATCH] More pedantry.

[David Woodhouse]

Using 'errata' as singular instead of 'erratum' seems to one of the more 
common illiteracies found in the kernel.

I'm not sure what the text for the IA64 CONFIG_ACPI20 option 
("Enable ACPI 2.0 with errata 1.3") is supposed to mean, so I can't tell 
whether that's wrong. It's the only user-visible instance.

As the other instances aren't user-visible, it's probably not worth the 
bother of fixing them. 

However, I think we should make an exception for arch/ppc/kernel/misc.S and
arch/i386/kernel/smp.c, in which which we invent a new plural 'erratas' for
the word 'errata' which was already a plural. That is just such an abuse of
the language that I felt it needed to be fixed even though it isn't
user-visible.

English or C. Pick one. Be incoherent in the other.

Index: arch/ppc/kernel/misc.S
===================================================================
RCS file: /inst/cvs/linux/arch/ppc/kernel/misc.S,v
retrieving revision 1.3.2.25
diff -u -r1.3.2.25 misc.S
--- arch/ppc/kernel/misc.S	2001/07/03 09:34:19	1.3.2.25
+++ arch/ppc/kernel/misc.S	2001/07/12 10:00:24
@@ -813,7 +813,7 @@
 _GLOBAL(_set_HID0)
 	sync
 	mtspr	HID0, r3
-	SYNC		/* Handle erratas in some cases */
+	SYNC		/* Handle errata in some cases */
 	blr
 
 _GLOBAL(_get_ICTC)
Index: arch/i386/kernel/smp.c
===================================================================
RCS file: /inst/cvs/linux/arch/i386/kernel/smp.c,v
retrieving revision 1.6.2.26
diff -u -r1.6.2.26 smp.c
--- arch/i386/kernel/smp.c	2001/02/24 19:12:22	1.6.2.26
+++ arch/i386/kernel/smp.c	2001/07/12 10:00:24
@@ -28,21 +28,21 @@
  *	The Linux implications for SMP are handled as follows:
  *
  *	Pentium III / [Xeon]
- *		None of the E1AP-E3AP erratas are visible to the user.
+ *		None of the E1AP-E3AP errata are visible to the user.
  *
  *	E1AP.	see PII A1AP
  *	E2AP.	see PII A2AP
  *	E3AP.	see PII A3AP
  *
  *	Pentium II / [Xeon]
- *		None of the A1AP-A3AP erratas are visible to the user.
+ *		None of the A1AP-A3AP errata are visible to the user.
  *
  *	A1AP.	see PPro 1AP
  *	A2AP.	see PPro 2AP
  *	A3AP.	see PPro 7AP
  *
  *	Pentium Pro
- *		None of 1AP-9AP erratas are visible to the normal user,
+ *		None of 1AP-9AP errata are visible to the normal user,
  *	except occasional delivery of 'spurious interrupt' as trap #15.
  *	This is very rare and a non-problem.
  *


--
dwmw2

Re: [PATCH] More pedantry.

[Alex Bligh - linux-kernel]

> - *		None of the E1AP-E3AP erratas are visible to the user.
> + *		None of the E1AP-E3AP errata are visible to the user.

If you want real pedantry, I think you mean:

> + *		None of the E1AP-E3AP errata is visible to the user.

('none' is singular - read 'not one')

... several times within this patch.

--
Alex Bligh

Re: [PATCH] More pedantry.

[Mike Harrold]

> 
> > - *		None of the E1AP-E3AP erratas are visible to the user.
> > + *		None of the E1AP-E3AP errata are visible to the user.
> 
> If you want real pedantry, I think you mean:
> 
> > + *		None of the E1AP-E3AP errata is visible to the user.
> 
> ('none' is singular - read 'not one')
> 
> ... several times within this patch.

No, he was right the first time. Errata is plural. Erratum is the
singular.

/Mike

Re: [PATCH] More pedantry.

[Vojtech Pavlik]

On Thu, Jul 12, 2001 at 04:58:45PM -0400, Mike Harrold wrote:
> > 
> > > - *		None of the E1AP-E3AP erratas are visible to the user.
> > > + *		None of the E1AP-E3AP errata are visible to the user.
> > 
> > If you want real pedantry, I think you mean:
> > 
> > > + *		None of the E1AP-E3AP errata is visible to the user.
> > 
> > ('none' is singular - read 'not one')
> > 
> > ... several times within this patch.
> 
> No, he was right the first time. Errata is plural. Erratum is the
> singular.

Yes, but the subject of the sentence is 'none'. Thus the verb should be
in singular: None of them *is* visible.

But perhaps my version of english is different from yours. I learned
mine from textbooks.

-- 
Vojtech Pavlik
SuSE Labs

Re: [PATCH] More pedantry.

[lost]

On Thu, 12 Jul 2001, Mike Harrold wrote:

> >
> > > - *		None of the E1AP-E3AP erratas are visible to the user.
> > > + *		None of the E1AP-E3AP errata are visible to the user.
> >
> > If you want real pedantry, I think you mean:
> >
> > > + *		None of the E1AP-E3AP errata is visible to the user.
> >
> > ('none' is singular - read 'not one')
> >
> > ... several times within this patch.
>
> No, he was right the first time. Errata is plural. Erratum is the
> singular.

Except for the fact that "none" is the subject of "be", not "errata" and
that "none" is singular as far as verbs are concerned.

William Astle
finger lost@l-w.net for further information

Geek Code V3.12: GCS/M/S d- s+:+ !a C++ UL++++$ P++ L+++ !E W++ !N w--- !O
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Re: [PATCH] More pedantry.

[Alex Bligh - linux-kernel]

Mike,

>> If you want real pedantry, I think you mean:
>>
>> > + *		None of the E1AP-E3AP errata is visible to the user.
>>
>> ('none' is singular - read 'not one')
>>
>> ... several times within this patch.
>
> No, he was right the first time. Errata is plural. Erratum is the
> singular.

As I just wrote to someone else:

Sure, "Erratum" is singular, "Errata" is plural,
but "none of the errata" is singular, just as "one of
the errata" is singular. So "one of the chairs is blue",
"none of the chairs is blue" (as opposed to "are blue")
despite "chairs" being plural. OED essentially
states (just checked) that the plural usage of none is acceptable
only where one means "not any persons" etc. rather than
"not any one" or "not any person".

Hence "Errata are visible to the user" but "None
of the errata is visible to the user".

This will have a huge effect on kernel performance,
of course... :-)

--
Alex Bligh

Re: [PATCH] More pedantry.

[Mike Harrold]

> 
> On Thu, Jul 12, 2001 at 04:58:45PM -0400, Mike Harrold wrote:
> > > 
> > > > - *		None of the E1AP-E3AP erratas are visible to the user.
> > > > + *		None of the E1AP-E3AP errata are visible to the user.
> > > 
> > > If you want real pedantry, I think you mean:
> > > 
> > > > + *		None of the E1AP-E3AP errata is visible to the user.
> > > 
> > > ('none' is singular - read 'not one')
> > > 
> > > ... several times within this patch.
> > 
> > No, he was right the first time. Errata is plural. Erratum is the
> > singular.
> 
> Yes, but the subject of the sentence is 'none'. Thus the verb should be
> in singular: None of them *is* visible.
> 
> But perhaps my version of english is different from yours. I learned
> mine from textbooks.

I'll partly retract, but the original poster was still correct (see the
Usage note). The note only handles persons, not items however. The same
rules should apply though.

/Mike

 (nn)
  pron. 

      1.No one; not one; nobody: None dared to do it. 
      2.Not any: None of my classmates survived the war. 
      3.No part; not any: none of your business. 


  adv. 

      1.Not at all: He is none too ill. 
      2.In no way: The jeans looked none the better for having been washed. 



  [Middle English, from Old English nn : ne, no, not; see ne in Indo-European Roots + n, one; see oi-no- in
  Indo-European Roots.] 

        Usage Note: It is widely asserted that none is equivalent to no one, and hence requires a
        singular verb and singular pronoun: None of the prisoners was given his soup. It is true that
        none is etymologically derived from the Old English word n, "one," but the word has been
        used as both a singular and a plural noun from Old English onward. The plural usage appears
        in the King James Bible as well as the works of John Dryden and Edmund Burke and is
        widespread in the works of respectable writers today. Of course, the singular usage is
        perfectly acceptable. The choice between a singular or plural verb depends on the desired
        effect. Both options are acceptable in this sentence: None of the conspirators has (or have)
        been brought to trial. When none is modified by almost, however, it is difficult to avoid
        treating the word as a plural: Almost none of the officials were (not was) interviewed by the
        committee. None can only be plural in its use in sentences such as None but his most loyal
        supporters believe (not believes) his story. See Usage Note at every. See Usage Note at
        neither. See Usage Note at nothing.

Re: [PATCH] More pedantry.

[Vojtech Pavlik]

Hi!

Thanks for a good exhausting explanation.

Vojtech

On Thu, Jul 12, 2001 at 05:26:57PM -0400, Mike Harrold wrote:
> > 
> > On Thu, Jul 12, 2001 at 04:58:45PM -0400, Mike Harrold wrote:
> > > > 
> > > > > - *		None of the E1AP-E3AP erratas are visible to the user.
> > > > > + *		None of the E1AP-E3AP errata are visible to the user.
> > > > 
> > > > If you want real pedantry, I think you mean:
> > > > 
> > > > > + *		None of the E1AP-E3AP errata is visible to the user.
> > > > 
> > > > ('none' is singular - read 'not one')
> > > > 
> > > > ... several times within this patch.
> > > 
> > > No, he was right the first time. Errata is plural. Erratum is the
> > > singular.
> > 
> > Yes, but the subject of the sentence is 'none'. Thus the verb should be
> > in singular: None of them *is* visible.
> > 
> > But perhaps my version of english is different from yours. I learned
> > mine from textbooks.
> 
> I'll partly retract, but the original poster was still correct (see the
> Usage note). The note only handles persons, not items however. The same
> rules should apply though.
> 
> /Mike
> 
>  (nn)
>   pron. 
> 
>       1.No one; not one; nobody: None dared to do it. 
>       2.Not any: None of my classmates survived the war. 
>       3.No part; not any: none of your business. 
> 
> 
>   adv. 
> 
>       1.Not at all: He is none too ill. 
>       2.In no way: The jeans looked none the better for having been washed. 
> 
> 
> 
>   [Middle English, from Old English nn : ne, no, not; see ne in Indo-European Roots + n, one; see oi-no- in
>   Indo-European Roots.] 
> 
>         Usage Note: It is widely asserted that none is equivalent to no one, and hence requires a
>         singular verb and singular pronoun: None of the prisoners was given his soup. It is true that
>         none is etymologically derived from the Old English word n, "one," but the word has been
>         used as both a singular and a plural noun from Old English onward. The plural usage appears
>         in the King James Bible as well as the works of John Dryden and Edmund Burke and is
>         widespread in the works of respectable writers today. Of course, the singular usage is
>         perfectly acceptable. The choice between a singular or plural verb depends on the desired
>         effect. Both options are acceptable in this sentence: None of the conspirators has (or have)
>         been brought to trial. When none is modified by almost, however, it is difficult to avoid
>         treating the word as a plural: Almost none of the officials were (not was) interviewed by the
>         committee. None can only be plural in its use in sentences such as None but his most loyal
>         supporters believe (not believes) his story. See Usage Note at every. See Usage Note at
>         neither. See Usage Note at nothing.

-- 
Vojtech Pavlik
SuSE Labs

Re: [PATCH] More pedantry.

[Jamie Lokier]

"None of my fish is edible" and "none of my fish are edible" mean quite
different things in English.  Both forms are used.

"None of my tomatoes is fresh" does _not_ sound correct to the fluent
English speaker, however.

Errata are like tomatoes.

:-) from none other than...
-- Jamie