Huh, I never thought about this. The plurality norms don't quite match snail mail.
"The mail is here" (this sounds normal)
"The mails are here" (this sounds unusual)
"I got an email" (this sounds normal)
"I got a letter" (this sounds normal)
"I got a mail" (this sounds unusual)
I guess this comes down to the fact that there is no widely-used word for a single piece of electronic mail. Perhaps "eletter" would be the analogue, but I've never seen it used. As a result, "email" is used for both a single piece, and the category as a whole.
10 Comments
Beaver@lemmy.ca · 30 pts · 2y
The double standards about where fossil fuels and renewables affect pristine lands is too obvious to see.
TheMightyCanuck@sh.itjust.works · 18 pts · 2y
Were governed by a libertarian nutbag and her cabinet of cronies... This isn't surprising in the slightest
Icalasari@fedia.io · 6 pts · 2y
*Fascist nutbag
Ulrich_the_Old@lemmy.ca · 6 pts · 2y
You are governed by trump in a dress and you chose this. How kenney was not a warning is beyond belief.
TheMightyCanuck@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 2y
It was something like 2% of the population that actually voted for her.. Just dumbass election laws made it easy for them to put in a fascist
villasv@lemmy.ca · 9 pts · 2y
The original thesis is moot anyway. Anything politicians decide is political by nature...? How would it not be?
ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca · 6 pts · 2y
Anything anyone decides is political in nature
Politics is people
Kids choosing to be friends with the rich kid instead of the one wearing a cape is politics
corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca · -18 pts · 2y
If you don't know why 'email' doesn't get an S on the end, then I think we've lost the illusion of authority.
It's like a tenor who can't clear his throat.
healthetank@lemmy.ca · 20 pts · 2y
Plenty of people seem to weigh in on either side.
This linguistic argument is hardly a settled thing, and definitely not on par with their/there/they're mistakes.
Our Government Weighs in, in favour of emails
threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 2y
Huh, I never thought about this. The plurality norms don't quite match snail mail.
I guess this comes down to the fact that there is no widely-used word for a single piece of electronic mail. Perhaps "eletter" would be the analogue, but I've never seen it used. As a result, "email" is used for both a single piece, and the category as a whole.