06-22-2012, 01:56 AM
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#41 (permalink)
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Enthusiast Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: SoCal
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nicknick
it is not "math". it is maths short for mathematics not mathematic.
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Truth spoken although not at all related to the topic. Just so no one discredits you, I've quoted some parts from the daily writing tips website.
Quote:
Is “math” or “maths” the correct word to use as the shortened or colloquial form of the word mathematics? The answer is that it depends on where you are.
To North American speakers of English, the word to use is “math”, as in “I majored in math”, and “maths” would sound wrong. Speakers of British English, however, would always say “maths”, as in “I took a degree in maths”. They would never say “math”.
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”.
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Source: http://www.dailywritingtips.com/math-or-maths/
Last edited by Vbp6US; 06-22-2012 at 01:59 AM.
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