I can't find my copy of Wheelock's Latin Grammar and have resorted to
looking at web sources (my most recent Latin course was in 1981), so
don't take this too seriously -- but here goes anyway: 'pro tempore' is
a prepositional phrase, so 'tempore' is standing as a noun -- and
doesn't have to agree with the noun the PP is modifying. 'Tempore' is
ablative singular here, and ablative plural wouldn't be 'tempores' at
all; it'd be something like 'temporibus'.
I'd want to leave 'pro tempore' singular. It's a bit like saying "Chairs
for the moment" -- "Chairs for the moments" would actually introduce
some ambiguity. I've seen a similar argument about "Curricula Vitae" vs.
"Curricula Vitarum."
Bill Spruiell
-----Original Message-----
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Larry Beason
Sent: Friday, December 18, 2009 3:21 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: plural of "Chair pro tempore"
Odd thing is that most of the state and federal gov't sites I've looked
(including US Senate) have been going with "pro tempores" when
pluralizing. I'm going to look more closely at the academic sites and
see what the norm is.
Larry
Larry Beason
Associate Professor & Composition Director
Dept. of English, 240 HUMB
Univ. of South Alabama
Mobile AL 36688
(251) 460-7861
>>> Dick Veit <[log in to unmask]> 12/18/09 2:15 PM >>>
Larry,
Wikipedia has an entry for "Presidents pro tempore of the United
States<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidents_pro_tempore_of_the_United
_States_Senate,_1911-1913>."
I would bet good money that the overwhelming majority of academics would
favor "chairs pro tempore." If you went with that, perhaps a few might
consider it highfalutin. If you went with "president pro tempores," more
than a few would consider it ignorant.
Dick Veit
-----Original Message-----
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar on behalf of Larry
> Beason
> Sent: Fri 12/18/2009 1:56 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: plural of "Chair pro tempore"
>
> Dear Colleagues:
>
> Before my school inscribes a phrase (literally to be set in stone)
onto our
> new bell tower, they want to check the plural form of "Chair pro
tempore."
>
> According to general convention of how to form plural with titles, I
would
> assume the major term/noun should receive the pluralization marker
(thus,
> "chairs pro tempore"), as done with "Queens of England" or
"mothers-in-law".
>
> But the Latin phrase muddles the issue. Looking at various documents
on
> the web and how they create the plurals of "pro tempore," I'm seeing
far
> more uses of "chair pro tempores" (not to mention a handful of "chairs
pros
> tempore").
>
> Does anyone have any insight on this matter? I don't think it's so
much a
> matter of Latin rules as it is a matter of conventions for English
terms
> that hijack Latin. The last time I dealt with such a construction and
> question, I recommended we the follow the convention that most
colleges
> follow (I've forgotten the term in question before).
>
> Larry
>
> Larry Beason
> Associate Professor & Composition Director
> Dept. of English, 240 HUMB
> Univ. of South Alabama
> Mobile AL 36688
> (251) 460-7861
>
>
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