On Monday, May 29, 2017 at 3:42:18 PM UTC-7, Peter Stewart wrote: > Or why not insist on Thomasse instead, since native English speakers > don't generally indulge in extra syllables where these can be dropped? A lack of indulgence amply demonstrated by the popular forms in England these days (if trends on FreeBMD are any indication), Tamsin or Tamzin. taf

On 31/05/2017 5:24 AM, taf wrote: > On Monday, May 29, 2017 at 3:42:18 PM UTC-7, Peter Stewart wrote: >> Or why not insist on Thomasse instead, since native English speakers >> don't generally indulge in extra syllables where these can be dropped? > A lack of indulgence amply demonstrated by the popular forms in England these days (if trends on FreeBMD are any indication), Tamsin or Tamzin. > Tamsin is probably the closest approximation to an English "vernacular" feminine form of Thomas (which itself is, of course, a name exotic to the British Isles). But then it's not a point worth fussing over, as Thomasina is a perfectly sensible alternative. The crackpot idea that English communication should avoid latinity - much less in a post half-full of latinate words - is too silly to contemplate. No sensible researcher would waste a moment over such nonsense. Peter Stewart