The astute blog reader will have noticed a variation in the spelling
of the plural of Teddy in an earlier blog.
I say the plural of Teddy is Teddys because Teddy is a proper noun
nickname for Theodore, named after President 'Teddy' Roosevelt's comic
bear hunt in 1902 and a famous cartoon in the Washington Post of the
President with a bear.
But Andy says, of course not, the plural of Teddy is Teddies because a
Teddy is just a bear and because y changes to ies in the plural.
But I say that if Teddy is just a bear it's like Pooh bear and Pooh is
his name. And if you had more than one Pooh it wouldn't be Poohies
would it? It would be Poohs. Tiddly pom.
But Andy says that argument doesn't follow because Pooh doesn't end in a y.
Tim is non-committal. Pete and Matt are asleep and Lindy isn't too
sure but thought we should blog it. Ben no doubt would have a strong
opinion.
The comment line is open for your thoughts. Meanwhile Teddy photos will follow soon.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
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7 comments:
Pooh bear is definitely a name - so it would be numerous Poohs. If your 'teddy' had the name 'Teddy' and there were many with the same name, there would be 'Teddys'. If you are referring to a collection of soft toys it has become a common noun and numerous would be 'teddies'. I'm with Andy on this one. It's mostly about the evolution of the English language. What originated as a proper noun has become, in the English language, a common noun and thus when it is modified it will now behave the same way as other common nouns. Perhaps, even aside from the derivative it's about its current use. Linguistics is really a descriptive study - not a prescriptive one. That is, we describe what we see. My name is Penny - lots of me would be a collection of 'Pennys'. Lots of little copper coins would be 'pennies'. So in conclusion, if you are using it as a common noun (as in Lindy's case, unless all her bears go by the name 'Teddy'), it should behave like other similar common nouns - hence, '-ies'! :)
That's my two cents,
or two pennies.
I'm with Andy, purely for the asthetics of it. Teddies looks nicer than teddys. I think Lindy should ask the teddies, surely they have an opinion.
Well, that puts me in my place doesn't it?
A penny for anyone else's thoughts.
I think you're in a minority. I'm on the side of teddies, plural of common noun 'teddy' - as eloquently put by Penelope.
Are you giving 'a penny', or 'pennies' for our thoughts?
I feel well qualified to say something, because we have lots and lots of them. My daughters (2 and 5) actually call them collectively "the teds", hence by-passing any problems. However, we also have many many dollies (not dollys), and with one child who is totally dedicated to logic and consistency in all matters, I will have to come down on the side of teddies!!
Ouch... I admit defeat. Though as I read in "1984" this morning, "Being in a minority, even a minority of one, does not make you mad." I take it Orwell meant 'mad' as in 'insane' and not 'mad' as in 'angry' which I am also not.
Llego medio tarde pero (y espero que mis próximas palabras no me condenen!!) estoy... de acuerdo con... ANDRÉS! (ouch!) jaja
Y lo que alguien dijo antes. Si se llaman todos Teddy, sería Teddys.
Ahora si es usado como un sustantivo sinónimo de oso, el plural sería "teddies". Y porque Pooh no termina en Y no sigue la regla de la conversión al plural.
Saludos!
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