Death of a plural

So I guess 'referenda' is now officially out as the correct plural for 'referendum' seeing as the Referendum Commission now use 'referendums' in its statements on the various 'mediums'.

Will we now have agendums for meetings too?

We have it here on AAM:

'Mark Forums Read'

Some new staff to be hired, hand me that stack of CVs

micmclo said:

Some new staff to be hired, hand me that stack of CVs

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Make sure to throw half of them in the bin, so you won't employ any unlucky people.

Niallman said:

So I guess 'referenda' is now officially out as the correct plural for 'referendum' seeing as the Referendum Commission now use 'referendums' in its statements on the various 'mediums'.

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According to the Oxford English Dictionary (via wikipedia!):
“ Referendums is logically preferable as a plural form meaning ballots on one issue (as a Latin gerund, referendum has no plural). The Latin plural gerundive referenda, meaning things to be referred, necessarily connotes a plurality of issues. ”

Here's the full entry from Oxford English Dictionary:

Pronunciation: Brit. /ˌrɛfəˈrɛndəm/ , U.S. /ˌrɛfəˈrɛndəm/
Inflections: Plural referendums, referenda.
Etymology: < classical Latin referendum , gerund or neuter gerundive of referre refer v., probably after French referendum (1781 in sense ‘demand for consultation’; 1874 in sense 1; 1877 in sense 2). Compare earlier ad referendum adv., and also referendary n.The plural forms referendums and referenda are both found; in the early 21st cent. usage is fairly evenly divided between the two, as it was also in the late 20th cent. The form referenda is by analogy with memoranda , agenda , etc., and more generally with plurals in -a of Latin-derived words with singular in -um . This form is sometimes deprecated in usage guides, etc., on the grounds that a Latin plural gerundive referenda , meaning ‘things to be referred’, would necessarily connote a plurality of issues, but this view is unlikely to affect actual usage

It seems referendums is a okay.

Language changes over time, which is why it sometimes bugs me that we get so hung up about correct spellings, texting etc. I have to say I am a nitwit speller, so I'm probably biased!

I've asked before- why does "phonetic" not start with an F?

I was happy to hear your wan on RTE radio drivetime talking about Attorneys General rather than Attorney Generals (Military officers who are also lawyers).

Purple said:

I was happy to hear your wan on RTE radio drivetime talking about Attorneys General rather than Attorney Generals (Military officers who are also lawyers).

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Lol! Me too. Have to say though, I don't know which way to go now on Referendums/Referenda. Seems like both are correct as per above. Referenda sounds more correct though.

Niallman said:

Lol! Me too. Have to say though, I don't know which way to go now on Referendums/Referenda. Seems like both are correct as per above. Referenda sounds more correct though.

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RTE news archives and Oireachtas debates both seem to have referenda fairly consistently in 2001, so it's a recent movement towards "ums".