Yul Lose Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 In my seventh grade English class in Creede, Co. Mrs. Cole the teacher corrected me when I mentioned that I had seen some elks the night before on the hill above town. It is pronounced elk and not elks when you see more than one elk, she said. So why are Elks Clubs Elks Clubs instead of Elk Club? The Moose Clubs are Moose Clubs and not Moose’s Clubs so why do the Elks folks pronounce their club name contrary to another animal oriented social club of ungulates? Seems like they’d want to get the club name correct given Mrs. Coles and Mr Hinshaws (the game warden at the time) seemingly correct pronounciation of the word. When we see more than one javelina we say we saw some javelina. The same goes for sheep, deer, etc.. So how about it all of you Elk pards, what’s the answer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 BPOE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yul Lose Posted February 11, 2019 Author Share Posted February 11, 2019 1 minute ago, Utah Bob #35998 said: BPOE But wouldn’t that be Elk instead of Elks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 1 minute ago, Yul Lose said: But wouldn’t that be Elk instead of Elks? No. Nor would it be Benevolent Protective Order of Goose. But this makes less sense: Rhode Island. It’s not an island. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yul Lose Posted February 11, 2019 Author Share Posted February 11, 2019 3 minutes ago, Utah Bob #35998 said: No. Nor would it be Benevolent Protective Order of Goose. But this makes less sense: Rhode Island. It’s not an island. Ah, but wouldn’t they be geese? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 The mistake is that you give Mrs Cole credit for having been correct. Quote I've checked in dictionaries and note that the OED doesn't mention the plural at all (and has several citations which include the form 'elks') but its sister publication The Oxford Dictionary of English says that the plural can be either the same (elk) or elks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpo Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 It's like fish. I caught four fish yesterday. Jesus fed the multitude with five loaves and two fishes. Either is correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yul Lose Posted February 11, 2019 Author Share Posted February 11, 2019 4 minutes ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said: The mistake is that you give Mrs Cole credit for having been correct. Ah, but she was my rather senior, college educated English teacher and given her status and the sound reprimand that she gave me for the mispronunciation of the ungulates name I believe that she knew what she was talking about. Go up to Colorado and see how many people call elk elks and you’ll see that elk is the proper pronounciation. Call them elks a few times in discussions with some of the locals and they’ll set you straight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619 Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 Elk are moose anyway. Ask any Scandinavian. They hunt a lot more of them than we do. "Alces" being the genus name for moose. Hard 'c'. So settlers here called the big stag elk and the elk moose after the Indian name. Just like they called cypresses 'cedars' when they got here....even though the Cedars (like the Cedar of Lebanon) are needle trees in the pine family. So a member of the Elks oughta be able to go to the Moose clubhouse and vice versa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yul Lose Posted February 11, 2019 Author Share Posted February 11, 2019 4 minutes ago, Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619 said: Elk are moose anyway. Ask any Scandinavian. They hunt a lot more of them than we do. "Alces" being the genus name for moose. Hard 'c'. So settlers here called the big stag elk and the elk moose after the Indian name. Just like they called cypresses 'cedars' when they got here....even though the Cedars (like the Cedar of Lebanon) are needle trees in the pine family. So a member of the Elks oughta be able to go to the Moose clubhouse and vice versa. I wonder if it’s like the Hells Angels versus the Devils Desciples type gathering when they all get together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 34 minutes ago, Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619 said: Elk are moose anyway. Ask any Scandinavian. They hunt a lot more of them than we do. "Alces" being the genus name for moose. Hard 'c'. So settlers here called the big stag elk and the elk moose after the Indian name. Just like they called cypresses 'cedars' when they got here....even though the Cedars (like the Cedar of Lebanon) are needle trees in the pine family. So a member of the Elks oughta be able to go to the Moose clubhouse and vice versa. Around here they call Junipers Cedars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 1 hour ago, Yul Lose said: Ah, but she was my rather senior, college educated English teacher and given her status and the sound reprimand that she gave me for the mispronunciation of the ungulates name I believe that she knew what she was talking about. Go up to Colorado and see how many people call elk elks and you’ll see that elk is the proper pronounciation. Call them elks a few times in discussions with some of the locals and they’ll set you straight. Whole bunch of poorly educated people in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 And it is the moose’s club, meaning the club belonging to the moose (singular or plural). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 Call them anything you want......except late for their bar opening! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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