So, over to Guardian style guru David Marsh, who makes the rules in these parts about language use. Data as a plural term may be the proper usage but language evolves and we want to write in terms that everyone understands - and that don't seem ridiculous. "Statisticians of a certain age and status refer to them as plural but people like me use it in the singular." National Geographic magazine has debated it too.įor what it's worth, I can confidently say that this will probably be the only time I ever write the word "datum" in a Datablog post. "We don't have an official view," he says. Datum is the singular.Īndrew Garratt of the Royal Statistical Society says the debate goes back to the 1920s - and reared its head recently with some heated discussion in the Society's newsletter. The word data is a plural noun so write "data are". The ONS style guide for those writing official statistics says: The official view from the Office for National Statistics takes the traditional approach. Sentences such as data was (as well as data were ) collected over a number of years are now widely accepted in standard English. Instead, it is treated as a mass noun, similar to a word like information, which cannot normally have a plural and which takes a singular verb. In modern non-scientific use, however, despite the complaints of traditionalists, it is often not treated as a plural. In Latin, data is the plural of datum and, historically and in specialized scientific fields, it is also treated as a plural in English, taking a plural verb, as in the data were collected and classified. The Oxford English dictionary defines it like this: Ie, if we're following the rules of grammar, we shouldn't write "the data is" or "the data shows" but instead "the data are" or "the data show". Here's the root of the matter: strictly-speaking, data is a plural term. And what is wrong with datum for a single item of Singular data annoys the same people that find split infinitives objectionable - pedants with no understanding of linguistics. It may not be good Latin, but we're not speaking Of course data is plural. We need to relax about the data is/are thing. Having referenda about latin declentions belong in No to datum. Unsure the correct "datum point" will catch on though. When we asked the question a couple of years ago, loads of you debated it in a much-polarised manner on Data is plural. Otherwise, generally continue to use the plural: Data are still being collected. Most style guides and dictionaries have come to accept the use of the noun data with either singular or plural verbs, and we hereby join the majority.Īs usage has evolved from the word's origin as the Latin plural of datum, singular verbs now are often used to refer to collections of information: Little data is available to support the conclusions. The Wall Street Journal has just published this blog post, in which it finally decides to move away from data "are", saying:
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