So the plural for Shaman really is...Shaman?

[Aurabolt]

That doesn't make any sense grammatically. Wouldn't Shamen make better sense?

Why is Shaman the same as Sheep?

[Deleted]

It's only the case in Warcraft apparently. Usually, the plural is shamans.

As for why it can't be shamen, it's because it's a word of non-English origin that was only brought into the language relatively recently. Grammatical exceptions are usually reserved for words of Celtic or Germanic origin that have been part of English for centuries (even millenia).

[Deleted]

Wish I could post links already, but hey: wowwiki.wikia .com /wiki/Spelling_of_shaman

In English, the correct plural form of shaman is shamans. Unlike man or woman, the word sha•man is not derived from the base word man, so the plural form of man cannot be used. The word shaman is actually an incorporated foreign word to the English language (like the French word bureau), and not a word (or derived from a word) from the Middle or Old English like man. Like any incorporated word, it has to follow the same standard English rule for plural forms on nouns (e.g. paper/papers, prima donna/prima donnas) unless it already has a plural form from its original language (like the Latin syllabus/syllabi).

Further, the female form is not shamaness, but rather shamanka.

Huh. So I learned something too

[Pull My Finger]

Is there really anyone who thought that "shaman" is derived from the English "man"?

But then again ... there are people who think that the word "hamburger" had something to do with ham ...

[Deleted]

It's just a Blizzard thing. As that quote says the correct pluralisation is "shamans", but in Blizzard land it's "shaman." Which is funny because nobody in-game uses it and just say "shamans" anyway.

[Ol Scratch]

It's only the case in Warcraft apparently. Usually, the plural is shamans.

No, usually -- in respect to how long the language has been around -- the plural was "shaman." Just like the plural of deer is "deer" or the plural of aircraft is "aircraft." It has only been recently that some (not all, but some) dictionaries have been adding "shamans" as plural of the term, mostly because they reflect the way people speak rather than set the precedent for how they should be speaking.

It has not, nor ever been, "shamen" however. That's just outright ridiculous.

[Deleted]

Safer to just go with "Sha-Touched" imo.

Might be an Expansion too late though

[Hey There Guys its Metro]

Its Shamen in the real world. No clue about WoW.

[Deleted]

Its Shamen in the real world. No clue about WoW.

But it isn't though.

[L3fty]

I always like to think of it as 'Sherman'

[Jademist]

That doesn't make any sense grammatically. Wouldn't Shamen make better sense?

Why is Shaman the same as Sheep?

Why? Ask your the English language for never making any sense when it comes to plurals.

Goose -> Geese, Moose -> Moose
Mouse -> Mice, House -> Houses

Never makes sense.

[Super Kami Dende]

It isn't Shamen because it isn't a word based on the word "man"

One Shaman, many Shaman.

[rayden54]

It has not, nor ever been, "shamen" however. That's just outright ridiculous.

I think a lot of people pronounce it that way though.

[thesmall001]

Shamenses Shamalaman Shamadamadingdong Shamun Shami

Shatell-you-whatta-want-whatta-really-really-want

Sha-doo-wap-dee-*improvised scat for 5 minutes*-doo

[Nanaboostme]

Lets just start our own trend with 'shamen' and spread it around

[Seezer]

It's just a Blizzard thing. As that quote says the correct pluralisation is "shamans", but in Blizzard land it's "shaman." Which is funny because nobody in-game uses it and just say "shamans" anyway.

I've never heard anyone say "Shamans". I hear people say Shaman. Maybe in the UK it's different. It's like the plural for Deer is Deer. Moose is Moose. Elk is Elk, etc., etc.

[Aurabolt]

Shamen just makes more sense to me for plurals but I'm ok with Shamans XD