Day: February 15, 2025

In a dense forest where the sun’s rays played hide-and-seek with the trees, lived a curious young squirrel named Alfie. Alfie loved to explore and ask questions about everything he noticed.

 

One day, Alfie found a strange, flat rock covered in odd shapes. The shapes looked like wiggly lines, circles, and other strange marks. He had seen these before on the signs the humans left in the forest, but he never knew what they meant.

 

Alfie decided to ask his friend, Bella Block the wise old owl, who lived in the ancient oak tree. Retired, but not tired. Bella was known to have answers to the most puzzling questions young squirrels might ask.

 

“Hello, Bella,” Alfie chirped as he scampered up the tree. “I found this rock with funny marks on it. Do you know what they are?”

 

Bella turned her head slowly and peered at the rock with her large, knowing eyes. “Ah, Alfie, those are letters and numbers. Humans use them to communicate and count things. They are part of something called the alphabet and numbers.”

 

Alfie tilted his head. “Alphabet? Numbers? What do they do?”

 

Bella hooted softly. “The alphabet is a set of letters from A to Z. They form words that humans use to speak to each other. And numbers, like from 0 to 100, help them count things and understand amounts.”

 

Alfie thought for a moment. “Can you tell me more about them?”

 

“Of course,” Bella replied. “A is for apple, like the ones you like to nibble on. B is for butterfly, the beautiful insects that flutter by. And C is for cat, the mysterious creature that sometimes visits our forest. Just like that, each letter stands for something.”

 

“And what about numbers?” Alfie asked, his eyes wide with curiosity.

 

“Numbers help us count. For instance, there is only 1 sun in the sky, 2 wingsare  on a butterfly, and you have 4 tiny cute paws,” Bella explained. “Humans use numbers to measure and understand the world around them.”

 

Alfie was fascinated. “So, if I wanted to tell you how many nuts I found today, I could use numbers?”

 

“Exactly,” Bella said with a slight nod. “If you found 10 nuts, you would use the number 10 to tell me that.”

 

Alfie looked at the rock again, imagining all the stories and ideas the humans could share with their letters and numbers. He felt a sense of wonder at the vast world of knowledge waiting to be discovered.

So good to have a wise friend, he said.

The owl nodded again. And she smiled.

You made my day, love!

 

With a heart full of curiosity, Alfie scampered down the tree, eager to explore and learn more. And as he ventured deeper into the forest, he carried with him the wisdom of Bella, ready to unlock the mysteries of the alphabet and numbers in his own special way.

Eagles

 

High above the rugged peaks and ancient forests, the eagle soars with effortless grace. The other animals of the wilderness often marveled at its majesty, wondering how it could ascend to such heights with such ease.

One day, a curious young fox approached the wise old owl, who perched solemnly on a branch.

“Owl,” the fox began, “how is it that the eagle can rise so high without the need for stairs or pathways?”

The owl, with a twinkle in its eye, replied, “The eagle, my dear fox, has learned the secret of trusting the wind. It spreads its wings wide and lets the currents carry it upward. It does not seek the ground for steps or the path for guidance, for it knows that the air it trusts will take it to where it belongs.”

The fox pondered this for a moment, then looked up to the sky where the eagle soared, understanding that true freedom comes from trusting the invisible forces that lift us beyond our limitations.

And so, the animals of the wilderness learned that sometimes, it is not the steps we take or the paths we follow that matter most, but the wings we dare to spread and the winds we learn to trust.

OZWORD OF THE DAY: “Indexes”

There it was on the front page of The Australian newspaper—in a commentary piece by Simon Benson—the word ‘indexes’ used as the plural form of ‘index.’ 

He was writing about the official Living Standards Index published by the ABS (the Australian Bureau of Statistics). Apparently this LCI report contains ‘five indexes’ measuring how much the cost of living goes up or down for different groups of people. But are they ‘indexes’? Or should the plural of ‘index’ be ‘indices’? 

The Grammarist website addresses this question and gives this answer: ‘Both “indexes” and “indices” are correct English plurals of the singular noun “index.” But there is a preference for indices outside North America because of solid adherence to Latin plurals.’ 

But (it turns out) it is much more complicated than that. 

Let’s start with the meaning ‘index’—this has a total of ten different meanings in the Oxford English Dictionary—with sub-divisions under some of those ten headings. The core concept at the heart of ‘index’ is ‘indicate.’ That’s why it can be used for a finger (the finger you usually use as a pointer—to indicate what you mean). The list of a book’s contents is the ‘index ‘because it indicates what’s in the book. And in mathematics it has as range of meanings, including a list of numbers that indicates… whatever. 

So, given all those meanings—should we simply decide in favour of either ‘indexes’ or ‘indices’ as the plural? 

Not so fast, says the Oxford—there can be different plurals for different contexts (or so says the big book from the dreaming spires of the ancient seat of learning). The Oxfordsuggests that in all mathematical contexts the plural should be ‘indices’ while if you are talking about the index tables at the back of books you should use ‘indexes.’ 

So, let’s compare Simon Benson’s use to that ruling. And, clearly, he has done wrong! He was writing about tables of figures covering different groups—and that use should take the plural form of ‘indices.’ 

However, I’m not prepared to stop at that point. Perhaps I might be so bold as to disagree with the Oxford on this? 

In English we normal make plurals by adding an S at the end. That explains ‘indexes.’ So, why would be choose so odd a form as ‘indices’? The Grammarist website says we do that to ‘adhere t the Latin plurals.’ And it’s true that the Latin plural is indicium. 

But this is where I object. We are speaking English, not Latin. So, if you are not wearing a toga and brandishing a short-sword I insist that you are an English speaker, not a Roman—and that, therefore, you should say ‘indexes’ in all contexts. 

I have been on a campaign to banish Latin plurals from English for some time now—and I have just added ‘indices’ to my list of banned Latin plurals. 

So, Simon Bension—you were writing perfectly good English! Well done! Keep it up. And my ruling is: ‘indices’ is out and ‘indexes’ is in. 

Let’s bang down the gavel on that ruling!

The latest edition of The Spectator Australia is in newsagents now — and it contains my “Language” column.

You may wish to contact Kel at ozwords.com.au 

Aussie Slang and more about Languages and Grammar!

Updated on Sat 15 Feb 2025 by Peter H Bloecker (Retired Director of Studies and ex German Language Adviser of Goethe Australia).

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