Newsgroups: alt.culture.internet,sci.lang,comp.ai.nat-lang
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!das-news2.harvard.edu!oitnews.harvard.edu!purdue!lerc.nasa.gov!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!fnnews.fnal.gov!gw1.att.com!nntpa!mac-118.lz.att.com!user
From: rte@elmo.lz.att.com (Ralph T. Edwards)
Subject: Re: How language evolves-- "emails"
Message-ID: <rte-2206951002300001@mac-118.lz.att.com>
Sender: news@nntpa.cb.att.com (Netnews Administration)
Nntp-Posting-Host: mac-118.lz.att.com
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs
References: <3s704g$dbe@Mercury.mcs.com> <3s7vfd$2mr@hecate.umd.edu> <cliff.dunbar.0245177-2106950904260001@nmiam165.jpltn.nt.com>
Date: Thu, 22 Jun 1995 15:02:30 GMT
Lines: 24
Xref: glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu sci.lang:40602 comp.ai.nat-lang:3505

In article <cliff.dunbar.0245177-2106950904260001@nmiam165.jpltn.nt.com>,
cliff.dunbar.0245177@nt.com (Cliff Dunbar) wrote:

> In article <3s7vfd$2mr@hecate.umd.edu>, ram@elan1.carb.nist.gov wrote:
> 
> > Jorn Barger (jorn@MCS.COM) wrote:
> > 
> > >"I sent her an email."  Sounds fine... suprisingly.
> > 
> > Not to me.
> 
> Sounds fine to me.  I use the word "email" as a count noun (thus involving
> the definite article when the noun is singular) all the time.  I also use
> it as a transitive verb:  "I'm going to email that summary to you."
> 

Where are you from?  In the US, mail is a collective noun, and cannot be
used with a/an.  One letter is mail, five letters are mail, etc.  The
mails can be used to refer to the system to deliver mail.

For me email is like mail, an uncountable collective.

-- 
R.T.Edwards rte@elmo.att.com 908 576-3031
