Finito Benito

Posted by David FG on October 04, 2004

In Reply to: Finito Benito posted by Smokey Stover on October 03, 2004

: : : : Yes, finis,-is is a masculine word meaning limit or end with the plural meaning territory in a boundary sorta way.
: : : : We today often see it placed at the end of a book with the English words finale and finished traced back to finis.
: : : : My using "fin" 'stead of "finis" was incorrect a la saying 'bye instead of goodbye.

: : The 'English' word 'finale'?

: : DFG

: I've learned a lot from this discussion of "lingua franca," and I'm still afraid to use it in the plural. If only it were one of those hyphenated compound words that are so common, and which you can pluralize simply by adding "s." But it's not. So I avoid altogether using any and all plural forms of the expression. Sigh! SS

I am probably missing something here, but anyway. Isn't the point of a lingua franca that it is the common language? Therefore, by definition, can there not only be one of them? If there are more than one then none of them is a lingua franca.

DFG

• Finito Benito Smokey Stover 05/October/04
  • Finito Benito David FG 05/October/04