ummmm
| There are logical arguments for both spellings. |
A lot of English-speaking Russians and Indians often omit articles in their speech. Is it okay for only them to do it, because so many of them do it?
| do you have Language American(English) and UK(English) on your computer |
I'm not saying customary spelling differences don't exist. I'm saying that "maths" is etymologically wrong.
| The only people that say math are the Americans and the Canadians the majority of English speaking countries say....maths. |
| Doesn't even require a response. |
| http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=math&allowed_in_frame=0 1911 that's a long bloody(meaning the swear word not dripping with blood :P) time. |
Even if we assume that this logic is sound, your own source cites an even earlier date for the American spelling, so great job defeating your own argument.
People believed in geocentrism for a long time, and that fact did not make them one iota more correct.
| helios wrote: |
|---|
| You're no fun anymore. |
-Albatross
On that note, VRGaming... why on Earth did you edit the contents out of every single one of your posts? There was no good reason for you to do so.
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I'm a little late to this discussion... but, really, language is decided by majority vote. Language is descriptive, not prescriptive.
And anyway, it's 'math' in US and Canada, and 'maths' everywhere else. They are both equally correct... though, one more so than the other, depending on what region you're in. For example, as an Australian I find it downright bizarre to remove the 's' when contracting Mathematics, whereas an American would find it similarly odd not to remove it.
Basically... it doesn't matter. At all. Just accept that some people spell/say it differently.
Potayto, potahto.
And anyway, it's 'math' in US and Canada, and 'maths' everywhere else. They are both equally correct... though, one more so than the other, depending on what region you're in. For example, as an Australian I find it downright bizarre to remove the 's' when contracting Mathematics, whereas an American would find it similarly odd not to remove it.
Basically... it doesn't matter. At all. Just accept that some people spell/say it differently.
Potayto, potahto.
I was trolling, of course.
That said, as an outside observer, I do believe "math" to be the more correct form. "Mathematics" comes from "mathematica", which was used to refer to the philosophy of numbers as a whole. At some point in the history of English, Latin words ending in -a mutated to ending in -s. Since the 's' does not denote a plural, in my view it's a mistake to pass it on to the abbreviation. It's especially wrong to construct sentences that treat the word "maths" as an actual plural. E.g. "the maths are wrong".
Not to mention, from a purely practical point of view, "maths" makes you do stupid things with your tongue for no good reason.
That said, as an outside observer, I do believe "math" to be the more correct form. "Mathematics" comes from "mathematica", which was used to refer to the philosophy of numbers as a whole. At some point in the history of English, Latin words ending in -a mutated to ending in -s. Since the 's' does not denote a plural, in my view it's a mistake to pass it on to the abbreviation. It's especially wrong to construct sentences that treat the word "maths" as an actual plural. E.g. "the maths are wrong".
Not to mention, from a purely practical point of view, "maths" makes you do stupid things with your tongue for no good reason.