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Mouse, Mouses, Mice.

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protokatie:
Ok. We all know what a computer mouse is, but it seems the plural for the computer mouse has changed.

For those who are not in the know: It was voted on by "professionals" in the 1980's that since the term "mouse" was only a label for the computer mouse that the proper plural convention be used (IE "Mouses"). But lately I have seen "Mice" being used more and more often. I have even seen people (not on this forum, but elsewhere) "correcting" people on the use of "Mouses" and saying they should use "Mice" as the plural for a computer mouse.

I will always use "Mouses" when refering to a computer mouse in plural; I am old school. But what are your opinions on this?

Is the word "mouse" only a label? Or should it be considered to be equivalent in grammar to the same word used for the animal when in plural?

shmokes:
Mice is correct both for the rodent and the HID.  It always has been.  I don't know who this group of "professionals" is that you speak of, but I think this is something someone just told you and you took it as the truth.

For the record, Webster's Dictionary says that the plural is mice in all instances.  Logitech and Microsoft (together responsible for the production of probably 80+ percent of the world's computer mice) both refer to them as mice. 

Its name is not a coincidence, after all.  It's called a mouse because it physically resembles the rodent.  That being the case, why would it cease to be named after the rodent simply because you are talking about more than one?  It makes no sense.

Mice is correct.

edit: of course, if you call it mouses long enough, and enough people follow suit, you can always change the dictionary.

protokatie:

--- Quote ---Mice is correct.
--- End quote ---

Debatable. The source I had was from an article in compute gazette when I was a kid (late 1980's) refering to the naming of the device in question. Since that article, and the reasonings behind it, I have heard most "old school" computer people pluralize "mouse" and "mouses".

Then again, we all get info from different sources. This is why this is a poll.


edit:

--- Quote ---edit: of course, if you call it mouses long enough, and enough people follow suit, you can always change the dictionary.
--- End quote ---

Odd that you bring that up, as my origonal question was about mouses being changed to mice.  ;D

Different strokes, I guess. (Also, different areas and groups of people...)

shmokes:
As a network admin I've run into many people who were confronted with using the plural for the first time, and it's VERY common for them to hesitate and sheepishly say, "Is it mice? or mouses?"  If you ask me, that's where the old school thing comes from.  I don't know if you can call me old school or not.  My first computer was a 286.  I had friends who had others like the Atari ST and Commodore, but DOS was my first real OS.  edit: I just read over this last paragraph and it isn't very cohesive.  Sorry.  :)

Frankly, in addition to thinking that mice actually is correct (how can you argue with Logitech?), I think it should be correct.  Why invent a new plural word for it, when a perfectly good (and far less clumsy) plural already exists?  For starters, it's confusing.  Second, as I mentioned above, it's named after the rodent.  Why would the plural cease to be named after the rodent?  It's nonsensical.  Third, "mice" just sounds a lot better than "mouses".  When you say, "mouses," you sound like an imbecile, just like if you saw a bunch of gooses.  It just sounds dumb.  It sounds jarringly incorrect, even to people with very little grammatical wherewithal like small children.  Everybody knows what the plural to "mouse" is, you know what I mean?

protokatie:

--- Quote from: shmokes on June 22, 2008, 04:03:33 am ---As a network admin I've run into many people who were confronted with using the plural for the first time, and it's VERY common for them to hesitate and sheepishly say, "Is it mice? or mouses?"  If you ask me, that's where the old school thing comes from.  I don't know if you can call me old school or not.  My first computer was a 286.  I had friends who had others like the Atari ST and Commodore, but DOS was my first real OS.  edit: I just read over this last paragraph and it isn't very cohesive.  Sorry.  :)

Frankly, in addition to thinking that mice actually is correct (how can you argue with Logitech?), I think it should be correct.  Why invent a new plural word for it, when a perfectly good (and far less clumsy) plural already exists?  For starters, it's confusing.  Second, as I mentioned above, it's named after the rodent.  Why would the plural cease to be named after the rodent?  It's nonsensical.  Third, "mice" just sounds a lot better than "mouses".  When you say, "mouses," you sound like an imbecile, just like if you saw a bunch of gooses.  It just sounds dumb.  It sounds jarringly incorrect, even to people with very little grammatical wherewithal like small children.  Everybody knows what the plural to "mouse" is, you know what I mean?

--- End quote ---

Wow, we are really bumping off of each other... (I personally don't care what you call a gaggle of mices :P)
I was just wondering what people considered the proper term. BTW, I was a C64 initiate, so that may have to do with my choice of wording for the plural. Also, I don't find the word "mouses" to be imbecilic. Its just a word to me. (A word I differentiate from the animal's plural).

Schmokes, dont take this poll too seriously, please... (It really is just a poll after all, and we dont have to worry about McMouses getting elected  ;D)

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