[Author Prev][Author Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
[Author Index (this month)][Thread Index (this month)][Top of Archive]

Re: "Email" vs. "E-mail"

Subject: Re: "Email" vs. "E-mail"
From: Lisa Wright <lisawright -at- mail -dot- utexas -dot- edu>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2005 15:31:45 -0500


We just had this discussion in our group. "email" brings up different search results in our web pages than "e-mail." Our webmaster wanted to change it because of the searching, so we looked in a few guides. Apple says "email," but other than that, it's "e-mail." Merriam-Webster 11th says "electronic mail _n_ (1975): E-MAIL"

So there are your authorities. I personally don't like it without the hyphen, for reasons of language aesthetics that I can't necessarily argue articulately. In terms of grammar, we contract words all the time, so I think one could argue that it is grammatically correct. The hyphen makes the punctuation different from the usual apostrophe though.

And don't forget the golden rule: pick one and be consistent!

Lisa

ghupp -at- directcon -dot- net wrote:

In light of this I'm wondering if there is any consensus developing (or existing) in the technical writing world on whether we use the spelling "email" or "e-mail". It seems to me that neither one is really grammatically correct, since they both stand for the term "electronic mail", but using the full phrase "electronic mail" over and over again begins to sound rather stilted.
I suspect that this may still be up to the style guidelines of a particular organization. However, right now I'm looking for work and so am trying to impress several organizations at once with my proper use of grammar. >:-)

I looked in the archives but couldn't find any discussion of this particular abbreviation. Thoughts?

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Now Shipping -- WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word! Easily create online
Help. And online anything else. Redesigned interface with a new
project-based workflow. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l

Doc-To-Help 2005 now has RoboHelp Converter and HTML Source: Author content and configure Help in MS Word or any HTML editor. No proprietary editor! *August release. http://www.componentone.com/TECHWRL/DocToHelp2005

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.


References:
"Email" vs. "E-mail": From: ghupp

Previous by Author: Re: Referring to an unnamed button with three dots
Next by Author: Re: Dictionaries...are physical ones obsolete?
Previous by Thread: Re: "Email" vs. "E-mail"
Next by Thread: Re: "Email" vs. "E-mail"

[Top of Archive] | [Author Index (this month)] | [Thread Index (this month)]

What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:

Sponsored Ads