The most common computer pointing device was first introduced by Douglas Engelbart in the period of 1963 – 1964. He called it a mouse after its resemblance to the small little rodent with the long cord reminding one of the disproportionately long tail of a real mouse. Since the introduction of this terminology, there have been numerous discussions on what the plural form of this device should be. Some people choose to call it mouses, while others prefer mice.
Since the device is named after a mouse some would argue that logically the plural should be mice. However, the English language does not always seem to be logical. For example, the plural form of goose is geese, while mongoose is mongooses; the plural of man is men, while that of human is humans. Radius is radii and not radiuses, as with cactus it is cacti. Louse is lice; however we prefer to say spouses and not spice.
Others claim that the word mouse is an acronym for “Manually-Operated User-Select Equipment”. For this reason the plural should be MOUSEs since acronyms are normally pluralized by adding an “s”. On the other hand if this argument is used, the plural form should stay MOUSE, since “equipment” is plural already.
To be safe and to avoid the argument it might be suggested that you refer to the plural form as “mouse devices” although it does not always feel good on the tongue. Some principals might find it offensive if you ask them how many mice they have in their computer lab.
Whether it is MOUSE, mouses or mice, you decide. I normally just prefer not to mention the plural form of the device in any official communication or report. The fact of the matter is that this is a device that we work with on a daily basis and is present in most of our houses – or is it hice?
What term do you prefer? Do you think it is about time that we decide on a standard term to be used in all Khanya schools?
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Mouses or Mice ?
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10 comments:
I think that in order to cater for the sensitivities of principals who might shudder at the thought of their computer labs being overun by furry little rodents we should refer to the plural of mouse as mouses. As a matter of interest, would a single grain of rice be called a rouse?
This reminds me of a childish game we used to play. What is the plural of mouse?.... Mice. Now what is the plural of house?....
Mouses, Mice, Rodents? I try to avoid all three word as much as possibly can.
Sometimes peoples put more emphasis on language. Especially in this case no one can give you the correct answer. So rather use the one of which you are comfortable with as long as communication can take place
I think I will go with sylvain in this regard. It seem to be a relatively serious discussion point on the net. My search came up with 84200 google results on this topic.
The best article i read was this one: http://www.cyberwalker.com/article/302
An apple,by any other name,still tastes delicious-after all what's in a name!
Whether it is a mouse,mouses or mice,the object still does a pretty good job-it is a question of linguistics or is it semantics?
I'm just wondering,what about all the mice (mouses?) who suffered the same fate as their 3 well known cousins whose tails were cut of with a carving knife, are these cordless varieties legally still mice (mouses?) shouldn't they have another name?
Congrats on the Khanya Tech Blog. By the comments already received after its first day, one can see that there is a ready audience and participants.
Mouse Pad(s), Mouse Device(s), = As long as the $#%@ stuff is present and does the job.
When I was a chold I did not speak English because the English kids laughed at some of my attempts.
We should be carefull not to do the same damage to e-language. Look past mice vs mouses and encourage people to speak the language
The Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications says "Avoid using the plural mice, if you need to refer to more than one mouse, use mouse devices".
One day the linguists will decide whether the plural is mice or mouses. Technical journals follow the convention Aletta cites. I did however notice that mice appears on the Microsoft official site. What is the plural for Mickey Mouse?
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