Quote:
Originally Posted by Ara Pacis
I also find the term "maths" a bit odd, but that's just because it's not how things are said around here. I don't think it's due to an assumption of a plural where none exists, for I think we can and do distinguish between different types of mathematics. And to illustrate my first point, I spell it out in the second.?
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And I find 'math' really odd, because I've never heard anything other than 'maths'. The plural is derived from the Greek ending -ikos meaning 'pertaining to' and in plural -ika as a neuter plural generally 'things pertaining to', from which words like
economics derive. I find the plural quite natural, presumably through habit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ara Pacis
BTW, I really dislike it when people refer to citizens of the US (or anyone who might consider themselves a type of american) as "'merkin" as it resembles another word of the same spelling. Is it based on the thought that people from my land are fake and whorish?
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I have never thought that there is a derogatory connotation to the (quite recent) label. I can only imagine it is a simple reproduction of what the word 'American' sounds like to a Brit when spoken badly by a citizen of the US, in a similar fashion to the name of the English spoken in Australia, referred to as 'Strine'. It is as simple as that. I don't actually know which obscene or offensive word you might be referring to.