Jeffrey Shaw Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Another aspect: what UK calls "sport", the USA calls "sports". So at least we know where the final 's' of 'Mathematics' went. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sccsux Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 And it's definition is "short for mathematics." That's exactly what an abbreviation is! Yeah, just realised:hihi: Still makes using "Math" in British English wrong. Another aspect: what UK calls "sport", the USA calls "sports". So at least we know where the final 's' of 'Mathematics' went. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey Shaw Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 And it's definition is "short for mathematics." That's exactly what an abbreviation is! It is definition? Not it's but its! That's exactly what an abbreviation isn't! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy Jnr Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 So the truth is that neither is correct or incorrect only that it depends where you are from. Adopting Americanisms is annoying but understandable given the influence they have. A good few English words (none that spring to mind) find their way into American TV programmes so it's likely they are street words over there as well, a sort of literacy exchange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey Shaw Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Literacy? American? An unusual linkage, there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy Jnr Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Literacy? American? An unusual linkage, there... Explain! ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phanerothyme Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 There are logical arguments for both spellings. The word “mathematics” can be considered as a singular and as a plural noun. Both the Oxford and the Merriam-Webster dictionaries say the word is plural – hence the s on the end – but also that it is usually used as if it was a singular noun. So, most people would say “mathematics is my best subject” and not “mathematics are my best subject”. The shortened form “maths”, then, makes sense because the word is still a plural noun and so should still have the “s” on the end. On the other hand, it could be argued, “math” makes sense because it seems wrong to remove the letters “ematic” from the middle of the word and leave the final “s”. There are a number of other plural nouns that are used as if they were singular – for example economics, ethics, politics, gymnastics, measles and dominoes. These words, however, are not habitually shortened, making math/maths rather an unusual word. Stop making sense! There's a futile and insignificant argument to be had here about spelling, and you're spoiling it. Those crazy Americans also pluralise "Lego" into "Legos" which, in spite of being wrong, seems entirely logical. But it's not like British English doesn't have a hatful of stupid spelling conventions. Plenty of 'American' spellings are simply anachronistic remnants from the 18th century and in my opinion count as more 'orginal' and 'correct' than their convoluted modern English counterparts. Hiccough anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 That would be a valid argument, if I were suggesting changing the name to "mathematic." But I am not. We're discussing an abbreviation, not a word. In which case we should just use M, why have those extra letters "ath" to slow us down? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 That makes even less sense. Math is what? An apostrophe represents a missing letter (or letters), not always an 'i'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quisquose Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Well both mathematic and mathematics are valid words, just as calculation and calculations are. When I hear someone say "do the math" in response to somebody who has failed to understand something, it just sounds incomplete, too abrupt, just plain wrong (even though it isn't). Much like it would if I heard somebody say "my calc proves this", rather than the more usual "my calcs prove this". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.