How was your trip?

[Matterplay1]

That would be me, I'm afraid. I know the correct derivation from Latin is Terragens, but I happen to prefer terragen. The 'gens' ending sounds like a plural noun, when I want to use it as an adjective (the Terragen Sphere).

It is quite common for words created in one language from pieces found in another to suffer a bit of grammatical 'breakage' on the journey, especially if the part that breaks off is something that simply didn't 'fit' well with usage in the new context (like the example Steve gives). This is certainly true of many words that are now part of English, and yes, it makes purists wince unless the adoption is so ancient that everyone has forgotten it. If we want to get into it, we can always suppose that 'Terragen' is not directly from Latin but was imported whole from some Latin-derived language.

What do our linguists think of this?

[Drashner1]

Coming at this from another direction - While the difference is minor, using 'Terragen' as opposed to 'Terragens' does provide some differentiation from Brin's human civilization in his Uplift Universe novels and stories.

Todd

[m.ellis]

That would be me, I'm afraid. I know the correct derivation from Latin is Terragens, but I happen to prefer terragen. The 'gens' ending sounds like a plural noun, when I want to use it as an adjective (the Terragen Sphere).

The genitive form would be Terragentis.

It is quite common for words created in one language from pieces found in another to suffer a bit of grammatical 'breakage' on the journey, especially if the part that breaks off is something that simply didn't 'fit' well with usage in the new context (like the example Steve gives). This is certainly true of many words that are now part of English, and yes, it makes purists wince unless the adoption is so ancient that everyone has forgotten it. If we want to get into it, we can always suppose that 'Terragen' is not directly from Latin but was imported whole from some Latin-derived language.

What do our linguists think of this?

Language borrowing tends to be sloppy. For example, the military ranks Lieutenant General, Major General, and Sergeant-Major were originally, in French and Spanish,
General Lieutenant, General Major Sergeant, and Major Sergeant. We English-speaking types turned nouns into adjectives and adjectives into nouns.

Anyway, I'm fine with using Terragen as long as it's a conscious decision and not just the product of error. (Yeah, I'm feeling magnanimous today.)

[QueElEs]

I've very often also used the term 'Terragen' as an adjective, as well as referred to 'Terragens' as a plural noun, I think. This seems woefully incorrect if we're sticking to the linguistic derivation.

[m.ellis]

I've very often also used the term 'Terragen' as an adjective, as well as referred to 'Terragens' as a plural noun, I think. This seems woefully incorrect if we're sticking to the linguistic derivation.

Which is why I brought up the subject in the first place.

But languages change, languages borrow sloppily, and words are mashed together to articulate a new concept. Motorized cart --> motorcar --> 'car --> wheels.

And thousands of years from now, if told that "Terragen" is an improper form of Latin, a person might well ask, "In which star system lies the Latin polity?"

Someone once said that English doesn't just borrow words. English gets other languages into an alley, hits them over the head, and rifles their pockets looking for vocabulary.