Every language evolves over time. New words are added. The meanings of existing words are often expanded. Changes to existing words are not common but local dialects or foreign influences can transform a language. While it is very common for people to mispronounce and even misspell words that are of foreign origin, even the native language suffer from inconsistencies due to regional, cultural or social influence.
Today, there is a marked difference between the English spoken and written in the United Kingdom and the one used in the United States. Australia, New Zealand, Canada to an extent, India and many other countries where English is an official language, it retains the Queen’s English. Right from the spellings to grammar, pronunciation to the way one constructs the sentences and weaves a narrative.
Latin, Sanskrit and Greek are ancient languages and have been subjected to numerous phases of evolution. Today, we have a distinct place for ancient Latin or ancient Greek and modern Latin or modern Greek. Just as the transformations of these ancient languages have culminated into a few words and their essences being lost in evolution, the meaning of alumni and alumnae have got a little lost in translation or adaptation.
Difference Between Alumni and Alumnae
The English language has borrowed heavily from Latin, Sanskrit and later French. Many words are exactly as they are in the ancient languages and some are borrowed with minor changes. Alumni and alumnae are two words sourced from Latin, just as alumnus and alumna, which are often used in a wrong way.
You would find that most colleges or universities tend have an alumni organization. ‘Alumni’ means a group of males. Hence, if the college or university has men and women in their students’ or former students’ association, then the use of alumni is not correct in a literal sense. However, it has been widely accepted that ‘alumni’ implies men and women students. ‘Alumni’ is the word to be used for one male member.
‘Alumnae’ means a group of females. In the context of colleges and universities, ‘alumnae’ would be a group of female students and ‘alumna’ would be just one female student. Interestingly, ‘alumnae’ doesn’t mean a group of male and female students. That is also why many literary critics and linguists object to the use of ‘alumni’ for all students regardless of gender.
‘Alumnus’ is one male student and ‘alumni’ is a group of male students. ‘Alumna’ is a female student and ‘alumnae’ is a group of female students.
