In a recent article I read the report of someone who was making the case that the Republicans in Congress are the” Party of No!” It is a criticism which we have heard numerous times over the past eighteen months of the Obama administration. Clearly, it is a technique decided upon and organized by the Republican leadership to undermine the effectiveness of the Obama administration and plant the seeds for a Republican expulsion of the President in 2012. Someone went to the trouble of counting up the noes they have cast in response to legislation…even legislation which is era-changing and aimed at overcoming some of the greatest problems facing us.
The word noes looked strange…like a mis-spelling of the organ which is in the center of the face. But it is absolutely correct; noes is the plural form of the word no. It looks strange because we don’t often use the word no as a noun. It is usually an adverb or an adjective. But it can be used as a noun, and when there are multiples of it, the correct word is noes (although the dictionaries do provide an alternate of nos.)
It caused me to ask, “What, then is the plural of yes? If you answered, yeses or yesses, you are correct in either case, according to Wikipedia. However, Wikipedia also makes the point that there is no plural for yes as it is not a noun! Even resources have disagreements!
As we have discovered over the past 285 posts of this blog there are a lot of controversies in opinions about the American English language. It is a constantly-changing language which seems to encourage new forms and the creation of new words. Clearly, technology has added to this factor, as the language rushes to keep up with the creation of new inventions and new ways of using them.
When you stop to think that the word blog didn’t even exist in its current use until 1998, just twelve years ago, it is mind-blowing. All of the words utilized in the creation, nurturing, and publication of a blog have emerged in this past decade. It is no wonder that many people find these terms confusing and “foreign.”
The constant flux in the American English language is one of its positive characteristics, revealing a language which is user-friendly and accommodating. (Unless you are trying to learn English as a second language!) There are limitless ways of expressing one’s self, and if an expression doesn’t exist, there is permission to make one up. It is almost guaranteed that in a short period of time the term will become accepted and find its way into a lexicon resource. (I refer you regularly to the blog, Word Spy, which is one of the many blogs attempting to keep up with the emergence of colorful new words or terms in our language.)
The downside of this characteristic of the American English language is that it is more and more difficult to track the rules which apply to usage. Many linguists share the opinion that this is not all bad, and that most of the rules upon which we have depended have a spurious credential to begin with. (See John McIntyre, author of the blog You Don’t Say.)
In any case, if you use the word noes don’t be upset if the spell-check rejects it as a mis-spelling of the smell-sensing organ in the middle of your face. It takes time for some people…and some mechanisms…to catch up to this rapidly-changing language.
Graphic Credit: seeds of doubt.com
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Thanks, Ruth and Betty. Good comments. Ruth, good to hear from you!
Noes does look very funny to me also. I think if you used no votes or yes votes, that would add a word ” vote” for the noun. There does seem to be a lot more “creative” or misspelled words in reading material now.
Good point!! “Noes” DOES look wrong. “Yes” and “no” ARE used as nouns. I’d never thought of either of those things — and that’s why I enjoy reading your blog.