Any English majors/professors here?
What is the correct plural form of a computer mouse? Is it mice or mouses?
I think a technical writer on this board once authoritatively stated that the correct term is ‘mouse pointing device’, the plural of which is ‘mouse pointing devices’
According to AHD4E (via dictionary.com), it’s either.
http://www.grammarlady.com/faq.html#20
Stylistically, I´d go with Mangetout´s version, though.
Meeses
(especially when disassembled in anger).
In practice, I guess I always say “more than one mouse” or some other construction designed to get me off the hook.
The style guides are split on the issue, but I would bet that “mice” wins over time, as “mouses” seems like a concious affectation that hasn’t caught on, and will die off. Some more background:
http://thestar.com.my/services/printerfriendly.asp?file=/2002/7/31/features/moe3107.asp
“mouse devices” is suggested by the Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications, apparently. Perhaps the most telling quote in the above article is the opinion of Douglas Englebart: “Haven’t given the matter much thought.”.
Here’s a link to the thread Mangetout mentioned, BTW:
It’s gotta be mice. It’s called a mouse because it resembles a mouse. So why wouldn’t it be mice?
I have been using mice since the original Xerox Alto in the '70s. I have never heard anyone ever say “mouses”. Not even the completely computer illiterate bozos.
Dear IT department:
We recently had a tragic Pepsi Syndrome at the junction of two of our workstations. Fortunately, the damage was minimal – the mouse on each of the workstations was saturated and disabled.
Please send us a new mouse. And as long as you’re making up a box, please send us another one.
-Marketing.
Here in Chicago I have only heard Mice applied to the animals. In terms of computers over here all I have ever heard is mouses for the pointing devices.
Sorry for posting something that was already discussed. I did my appropriate search I just forgot to look in all of the boards.
The arguments that point to websites or computer “experts” such as Microsoft or IBM really don’t provide much evidence as those are mostly susceptible to popular opinion. And those inside Microsoft or popular websites who make the decision about what word to use don’t care enough to check English professionals. They just use whatever they think is appropriate.
I found a website that also discussed this. This is a website where you can ask linguists questions such as this. http://linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/ask-ling.cgi
Here is the link to the discussion.
One answer was:
Hi,
You’re absolutely right. The plural of (computer) “mouse” is “mouses” rather
than “mice”. This is not an uncommon occurence. For example, during WWII,
Howard Hughes built a huge plane, made of wood, which he called the “Flying
Goose”. If there had been more than one of these planes built, we would have
called them the “Flying Gooses” not “Flying Geese”. In fact, the word
“goose” also refers to a tailor’s iron. Two of those are also called
“gooses” not “geese”. Another similar example is that a despicable person
may be called a “louse”, but many despicable persons are not “lice” but
“louses”, and so on…
Hope this helps!
There were other comparisons discussed. For example, the plural of Sony Walkman is Walkmans, because Walkman is not a type of man. A computer mouse is not a type of rodent, so it should be mouses.
The reason so many websites say mice rather than the “correct” form of mouses is that this irregular form, which did not exist 30 years ago, has undergone a shift. Popular opinion has won out. The term mouse in conjunction with computers is so associated with the rodent that we now associate the plural form of the computer device as we do with the rodent. Also, so many people use the word mice, it will probably eventually become the official “correct” term, even though gramatically, it is incorrect.
Well, everyone on my dorm (mostly engineering and computer science majors) says mouses.
I say it’s Meece.
I don’t think it’s correct, but it’s more funner that way.