What the plural of sgian dubh?

[JonathanB]

After I'd started this I thought how does one say the plurals in English of foreign words that would not end in "s" in their original.

In Italian, the plural of pizza is pizze.

In English to say "There's a choice of different pizze" would sound affected, if not incomprehensible. "There's a choice of pizzas" is the only possible way to say it.

I'd put the "s" at the end of sgian, rather the dubh.

[Ron Abbott]

I thought it was like "Moose"....

.....moose?

One mouse two mice
One moose two mooses
or
One freemason, two freemasons?

[figheadair]

I would agree with this.

S'mise cuideachd.

[Madadh]

Well armed.

[OC Richard]

I have a Gaelic dictionary to hand (Malcolm MacLennan) and it gives

sgian, n.f. gen. sgine and sgidhinn, pl. sginean, a knife; sgian-pheann, penknife; sgian-luthaidh, clasp-knife; sgian-bhuird, table knife...

So the plural of 'knife' is 'sginean'.

What I don't know is that when you make a noun plural, if the adjective has to mutate to agree. (It seems silly in English because 'black' is 'black' whether there's one black thing or many, but in some languages the adjective has to take a plural form.)

[Calgacus]

I have a Gaelic dictionary to hand (Malcolm MacLennan) and it gives

sgian, n.f. gen. sgine and sgidhinn, pl. sginean, a knife; sgian-pheann, penknife; sgian-luthaidh, clasp-knife; sgian-bhuird, table knife...

So the plural of 'knife' is 'sginean'.

What I don't know is that when you make a noun plural, if the adjective has to mutate to agree. (It seems silly in English because 'black' is 'black' whether there's one black thing or many, but in some languages the adjective has to take a plural form.)

In gaelic, the adjective does not mutate.

[cookingkilted]

Reminds me of a joke about the plural of mongoose!

Ok I am curious now. What is the joke?

[McClef]

A man who was starting a zoo was composing letters to suppliers of animals for a zoo he was proposing to start running.

Like Noah's Ark he wanted to order them two by two and had no problems with the plurals of any animal until he reached the letter M and the word Mongoose.

He wrote "Dear Sir, I am starting a zoo, please send me two mongoose."

He decided that didn't look right so he started again and wrote "Dear Sir, I am sending a zoo, please send me two Mongooses."

He decided that didn't look right either so screwed the letter up and threw it in the bin with the other one. He started writing on a fresh piece of paper...

"Dear Sir, I am starting a zoo, please send me two mongeese."

That didn't look right either and the letter ended up in the bin as well.

No matter what he tried, he couldn't find a plural for mongoose that satisfied him as correct.

Suddenly he had a brainwave!

He started yet another letter.

"Dear Sir, I am starting a zoo, please send me a mongoose,

Yours Sincerely etc."

Then he wrote underneath - "PS, please send me another one."

[OC Richard]

In gaelic, the adjective does not mutate.

Thanks!

So sginean-dubh?

I take it that the noun does not have initial mutation in this case?

[Calgacus]

Thanks!

So sginean-dubh?

I take it that the noun does not have initial mutation in this case?

You've reached the limit of my knowledge of Gaelic, but going from Nathan's Wikipedia quote above...

The plural is most commonly sgian-dubhs (in its various spellings) but sgians-dubh is also occasionally encountered. The proper Gaelic plural forms sg(e)inean-dubh or sgianan-dubh are only rarely encountered in English usage.

...you appear to have a couple of choices.