Date:  Wed, 20 Sep 1995 01:22:43 EDT

From:  Terry Lynn Irons <t.irons[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]MOREHEAD-ST.EDU>

Subject: Mouse/Mice=House/Hice



We are just becoming too technological. The Kluge people can't keep

up with the Wired people and the Provincial people offer job opportunities

at cut rates.



Unfortunately, the Kluge people are the bureacracies around government and

education jobs (an entrenched crowd--is tenure REALLY a good thing?); the

Provincial people are providing 5 buck an hour jobs to people who don't

realize that the exchange value of their labor is greater.



Now exactly where does our concern about what is happening to the

mouse/mice irregular plural, the result of a Germanic vowel harmony

reduction rule (Yes, I'm practising for my spring HEL course!), place

us?



There is a change in progress here. It could be a regularisation

process, a function of a Wired crowd that does not abide anomalies.



Or it could be the result of semantic disambiguation.

"Mice" is the plural of "mouse1," the rodent.

"Mouses" is the plural of "mouse2," the whateveritisthing.



Works for me. The plural of "mouse2" in the computernerdcrowdi'vecometoknow

set is "mouses."



My question is, has anyone heard of "house" being pluralised as "hice"?



I've heard, without citation, that the British are doing this.



Can anyone verify?



Terry



--

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Terry Lynn Irons    t.irons[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]msuacad.morehead-st.edu

Voice Mail:       (606) 783-5164

Snail Mail:       UPO 604 Morehead, KY 40351

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