A few stolen minutes out of your day to talk words and communication, because our daily lives are surrounded by the evolution and influence of words. Forget the grammar police. There is so much more to this conversation.
Episode #41 – Singular “Octopus,” Plural “Octo-what?” & the Latest in Words You Should Know
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Approximate transcript:
Welcome to episode number 41, where we’ll not only question the difference between conservation and preservation, but we’ll also explore the surprisingly complex correct answer when it comes to the plural of “octopus.” Think you know what it is? Maybe, but maybe not.
But first, here’s…
The Latest in Word, Language & Writing News
We’re talking nature and animals today, so let’s talk communications news with an animal bent today, because really, folks, how can you not be fascinated by the potential of unlocking the secrets of animal grammar and communications.
I’m not going to go too deep into any of these. All of the resources for more are in my show notes. Your headlines for this episode:
- “Monkeys may share a key grammar-related skill with humans” – And this might even make sense when you think about it right? This one’s a highly contested study interestingly, involving how macaque monkeys can mentally embed symbol sequences within related sequences. And that’s exactly what “grammar” is, how those building blocks can fit together correctly. Fascinating.
- Animal communication headline #2: “Dolphins learn the ‘names’ of their friends to form teams—a first in animal kingdom” And perhaps the headline is misleading, “a first in animal kingdom,” perhaps the first that people are aware of. Now imagine dolphin clicks and squeaks. Maybe you suddenly have the old Flipper TV show theme-song stuck in your head. Thanks for that, Nick at Night of my childhood. Now imagine those combinations of sounds creating names, where one dolphin could call other specific friends, whether hunting or otherwise. For humans to call dolphins by their given names is another story, but this is the beginning of a fascinating study.
- Animal communication headline #3: “Groundbreaking effort launched to decode whale language” – Using artificial intelligence, scientists are examining the sounds of sperm whales in new ways.
- And I have a second news article on this story out of Harvard, titled “Talking with Whales.” All of this sounds like something out of our imaginations, doesn’t it?
I mean, I might have downloaded an app called “MeowTalk” that claims that it can translate your cat’s meows into language, and it might have translated my cat’s meow when I set down her food bowl as actually meaning, “I see my prey” (oh, domesticated, silly chubby kitty, fierce hunter that you are), but where is this science going next? I can’t wait to find out.
But let’s turn to the meat of today’s episode, our…
English Language History & Trivia
There are so many fun animal etymology stories we could go into. Captain Cook, who was just mentioned in our last episode on the origins of the phrase “running amok,” plays his own part in the story of the naming of the “kangaroo” in fact. Maybe.
But here’s the million dollar question, or should I say the million-times a day queried on Google question. You know what an octopus is, but what do you call many of them? What is the plural of octopus?
Wait, are you confused why I’m even dedicating my time here? Isn’t it obvious?
Honestly, it’s not. Check that confidence for just a second here. Maybe it’s valid, but maybe … it’s not.
Let’s start with three possible octopus plural terms: “octopi,” “octopuses,” and “octopodes.”
Now, I’m going to recommend one of these terms but which one?
First, lets go into some octopus etymology and history. This creature’s name only came to English in roughly 1759. It comes from the Greek oktōpous—forgive me for a terrible Greek accent. If you know how to pronounce this differently, reach out and let me know.
But that idea of “it’s all Greek to me” is something that needs to stick in your head here. Greek. A Greek word, not a Latin word.
We’re familiar with lots of words with a Latin root with an “-us” ending: “fungus,” “cactus,” “alumnus.” And how do these words pluralize: “fungi,” “cacti,” “alumni” (Bonus points for those of you that know how to spell and vary your usage of “alumna,” “alumnus,” “alumni,” and “alumnae”).
But “octopus” doesn’t come from the Latin. So here’s our big reveal of the day, “octopi” is not the plural of octopus. Boom. Should I say splash? I don’t know, but I feel like I’m blowing minds here. Did you already know this? Power to you if you did.
So, if it’s not octopus, octopi, then do we need to think of the Greek? “Pous” meaning “feet,” and “octo” of course meaning “eight,” the Greek ending would then be “octopodes.” So, “octopodes”?
I do kind of like Merriam Webster’s reminder on how to pronounce “octopodes.” They say it rhymes with “don’t say that please.” “Octopodes.” Thus, we have a pronunciation guide and a vote against the Greek plural. Well played, Merriam Webster.
And I agree. You’ll see it turn up from time to time, kind of an overcorrection response to the “octopi” that are everywhere, but here’s the simple truth:
The plural of “octopus” in English is “octopuses.”
Does it sound funky? Maybe. But we are talking English. There’s so much funky about English. That’s what this podcast is all about, right?
We could even relate the “octopus” conversation in some ways to our past “thesaurus” conversation. “Thesaurus” also comes from Greek, but the funny extra step with “thesaurus” is that it also exists in Latin. Thus, both “thesauri,” from that Latin root, and “thesauruses,” from the English standard plural, (when linguists don’t want to jump to seemingly complicated Greek plural forms) are both correct. Oh, there are so many places we can take this octopus conversation.
And we’re not even getting into Kraken, you know the monstrous sea creature of Nordic saga fame—or maybe the Kraken crypto exchange, hey their techies, I see you with your dogecoin and NFTs.
But anyway, next time you talk about more than one octopus, now you can be in the know with the correct form of that plural.
The octopi/octopuses/octopodes debate does indeed have an answer.
As for today’s…
Language Challenge
We’re focuses on animals today, so here’s this episode’s question.
What is the difference between “preservation” and “conservation”? You hear about preservation efforts and conservation efforts, but how can one distinguish between the two?
The answers, as always, can be found on my website at GetAGripOnYourGrammar.com
Personal Update:
Let’s be honest, the past year has been… well, a year, and when we all look back, I think there will be specific moments that we each remember. I just experienced one of those events that was a big marker for me. I’m more than two weeks past my second COVID vaccine shot, and I just went to an in-person event including strangers for the first time in over a year. Now, admittedly, it was planned on the small side, not a crowded shebang, but I just went to a friend’s book launch party, and not only was it this sense of nostalgic normality, but it was a dose of how much I didn’t even realize how much the in-person literary world was lacking in my life. I mean, I didn’t tackle hug everyone, but it was a bit surreal.
Hang in there, folks. We’ll find a way through all of this. Somehow. I hope you and yours are doing well. And next time you’re in a room full of strangers, maybe you can stun them with your vast knowledge of octopuses. Maybe. Or, maybe not.
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Words. Language. Communications. We’ve got this.