Plural of "forum" (lighthearted!)

[eurgain]

This may be a trivial point, but I believe that there is a strong feeling of "let's do this right" within the philosophy behind the Ubuntu Linux project.

I think that the plural of "forum" is "fora", and not "forums". The Ubuntu webmasters either disagree or have not thought about it.

Sometimes, it is no more difficult to be right than to be wrong; in which cases, why not be right?

Of course, I may be wrong!

A

PS Why is Ubuntu flagged as a spelling error in the dictionaries supplied to me with Ubuntu Linux (but Linux is not flagged as an error)?

[~LoKe]

Fora and Forums are both correct uses of the plural form of "forum". Neither are wrong.

As for Ubuntu not being in the dictionary, well, it's not a word.

EDIT: And for clarification for those who are also interested, the work "forum" is of Latin origin. In the Latin language, "fora" would be correct. Modern English has changed things to make our words easier to spell, pronounce and learn. Adding an "s" to the end of words to make them plural is now considered acceptable, but if we were to follow Latin rule, "fora" would be the plural form of "forum", and not "forums".

Seeing as how this is a primarily English forum, it's acceptable, even correct, to use the modern adaptation that is "forums".

[GStubbs43]

1. I've never heard of the term "fora" But I doubt Ubuntu-Geek would change Everything to UbuntuFora and UbuntuFora.org, although you could be right.

2. The spell checkers have nothing to do with Ubuntu, but OO.o and Firefox:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=308082

[Brunellus]

Fora and Forums are both correct uses of the plural form of "forum". Neither are wrong.

As for Ubuntu not being in the dictionary, well, it's not a word.
in English, anyway. I believe it is a word in isiZulu, though.

As far as "fora," well, we'll have to pass the suggestion along to the Ubuntu-Latin Localization Team, if such a thing exists.

[.t.]

Fora is the correct Latin term, yes. However, in modern English this has been dropped, and "Forums" the the plural used.

[chickengirl]

Forum is Latin in origin, but we speak English, and the normal way to form plurals on English is to add an S. Therefore, the plural of forum is forums. QED.

[Engnome]

Never heard of fora, but if you want to rename ubuntuforums then why is it called ubuntuforums at all? It's just one big forum anyway?

[Dual Cortex]

Even though following the proper rules it should be fora, the word forums is also accepted.
There is no way the name is going to be changed though, hah! (besides, it's acceptable)

[Peyton]

Either one can be used, but I think that most people would find fora a bit awkward.

[beercz]

fori? (pronounced four-eye)

[Shatrat]

Foren, just like boxen.

[Sef]

Forums is the main way to make a plural of forum now. If you are in academia, you may use fora, but otherwise it would be rare.

[fuscia]

this is a big joke on another forum i belong to, to the point where we now refer to the beatles as 'the beatla'.