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  #1  
Unread 09-11-2016, 06:49 AM
Michael Juster Michael Juster is offline
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Default Divided by a common language?

Dr. Grammarfuss would like to know whether you would say "The media defends..." or "The media defend...".

There will be appropriate recognition for insightful answers in The Harvard Journal of Grammatical Principles.
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  #2  
Unread 09-11-2016, 08:18 AM
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Ann Drysdale Ann Drysdale is online now
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Defend. Definitely.

I speak as one who once had the phrase "the only criterion" changed by an editor to "the only criteria". I still cringe at the memory, although I did get a half-decent poem out of it.
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Unread 09-11-2016, 08:57 AM
Roger Slater Roger Slater is offline
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I think most Americans find it more natural to use the singular. And it is at least somewhat defensible if you think of it as a term for a single thing, the same way as you would use the singular for "fish and chips" or "spaghetti and meatballs." "Spaghetti and Meatballs is on the menu."

The Brits are more punctilious about the plural origins of the word "media," but in so many other contexts the Americans are more punctilious about number. Don't the Brits say "the team are" when Americans would say "the team is"?

And, of course, Americans tend to say "the data shows" rather than "show."
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Unread 09-11-2016, 09:10 AM
Charlie Southerland Charlie Southerland is offline
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OK. So do you say; One media outlet, or media outlets?

Is one media outlet singular or plural? Where does it stop?
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  #5  
Unread 09-11-2016, 09:41 AM
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Allen Tice Allen Tice is offline
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"One media outlet" is singular by virtue of the "one" that controls the numerosity of outlet. One tree branch vs tree branches. "Media" is plural when we say "the media Do nothing to correct a rumor," but singular if we say "The New York Times is a media" -- which is wrong! So, "media" is plural, as it should be. We must resolutely distinguish the singular "a happy medium" from the plural "electronic media". "Media" functions well as an adjective; "medium" can too: just avoid saying "steak media rare".

PS: maybe the confusion began with the now less common usage "a medium of communication" -- "the ancient Swiss used yodeling as a medium (means) of communicating. Alpenhorns were another such medium. These media made the Swiss impenetrable."

Last edited by Allen Tice; 09-11-2016 at 09:53 AM.
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  #6  
Unread 09-11-2016, 09:43 AM
Susan McLean Susan McLean is offline
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I'm with Ann: defend. The singular of media is medium. On the other hand, it depends on whether you are writing as yourself or as a character. Most of my students don't know that media is plural. If I were writing in someone else's voice in a poem, I might well use defends as part of the characterization of the voice. Occasionally, I break a grammar rule, too, when using the correct form sounds stuffy: e.g., shall versus will. So context is important.

Susan
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Unread 09-11-2016, 10:33 AM
Michael Cantor Michael Cantor is offline
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hat Susan said - it depends on context, on what has come before, on the voice being employed. I don't think you can make a judgement based solely on the phrase, out of context.
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  #8  
Unread 09-11-2016, 11:54 AM
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Allen Tice Allen Tice is offline
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Vote:
The media is an unhappy one. (a perilous Petri dish for microbe cultures)
The media are the unhappy ones. (discontent within the chatterati)
The medium is a happy one. (a golden average)
The medium is an unhappy one. (angsty seance entrepreneur)
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  #9  
Unread 09-12-2016, 10:46 AM
Julie Steiner Julie Steiner is offline
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If you really want to be pedantic, you'll use singular verbs with neuter plural nouns, because Classical Greek does (and sometimes Latin poets do, too).
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  #10  
Unread 09-12-2016, 04:16 PM
David Anthony David Anthony is offline
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If you said "the mediums defends" it wouldn't sound very bright.
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