Re: Okay, so...

Iain wrote:
> ...-is, the ablative plural of the first declension is the same as the
> genitive singular of the third declension?
> 
> Is that a sick joke? I mean, there's irregularity....and then there's
> linguistic fridge-nuking.

What might that mean?
> 
> When the Romans heard a new word, but only heard the ablative or
> genitive, how did they know which declension it was of?
> 
> ~Iain

Genitive singular marker -is in the third declension was (and often is) 
pronounced short, like the end of the English word "miss." The ablative 
plural marking in the first and second declensions -is was pronounced 
like the end of the proper family name "Meese." So there would be no 
confusion even in rapid speech.

Eduardus