# Who ate the e-mail? Hyphenate the damn e-mail! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 16, 2001, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-ate-the-e-mail-hyphenate-the-damn-e-mail/93831 "2001-11-16T22:18:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-ate-the-e-mail-hyphenate-the-damn-e-mail/93831/21 "2001-11-17T01:40:21Z")
I’ll be free to-morrow, so I’ll be able to help you de-fenestrate some ass-holes. Of course, I will also be free in a fort-night, so I can help you de-head some fuck-wickets then as well. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-ate-the-e-mail-hyphenate-the-damn-e-mail/93831/22 "2001-11-17T02:06:20Z")
Say, **bibliophage** , you wouldn’t happen to be a reporter for T. Herman Zweible’s news-paper, would you? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-ate-the-e-mail-hyphenate-the-damn-e-mail/93831/23 "2001-11-17T02:43:14Z")
What does this mean? > [@](#): > > (Of course, ``email’’ has been a familiar word in France, Germany, and the Netherlands much longer than in England — but for an entirely different reason.) ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-ate-the-e-mail-hyphenate-the-damn-e-mail/93831/24 "2001-11-17T03:01:35Z")
**bibliophage,** as a full-time freelance copyeditor I am squarely in your corner. And that’s all I have to say about that. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-ate-the-e-mail-hyphenate-the-damn-e-mail/93831/25 "2001-11-17T03:09:17Z")
I don’t agree, but I’ll re-consider the issue to-morrow. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-ate-the-e-mail-hyphenate-the-damn-e-mail/93831/26 "2001-11-17T03:14:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Ryan \* > \*\*What does this mean? > > > [@](#): > > > > (Of course, ``email’’ has been a familiar word in France, Germany, and the Netherlands much longer than in England — but for an entirely different reason.) > > \*\* _sighs, prepares to ruin the joke_ Émail is French, and consequently German and Dutch, for “enamel”. ---
**Author:** ![Palve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a698b9/32.png) [@Palve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palve)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-ate-the-e-mail-hyphenate-the-damn-e-mail/93831/27 "2001-11-17T03:52:36Z")
matt\_mcl I can tell you as a Francophone and a Germanophone that the French/German word is ‘Email’ without the accent. I think it’s originally a French word (it’s pronounced uh-MY, a markedly French way of pronouncing the word) and they wanted to differentiate “émail” in spelling so they added the accent. BTW, I have seen ‘mél’ in French for ‘e-mail’, probably with origins in the English word ‘mail’. To me, ‘email’ is enamel, ‘e-mail’ is electronic mail. I would support any way of spelling the word, as long as the ‘e’ is separate (‘eMail’? ‘e/mail’? ‘e mail’?) but since the hyphen is the most common usage, I use it. Come on, people! You can’t seriously be so lazy as to not touch the hyphen key. It’s really not that far away! ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-ate-the-e-mail-hyphenate-the-damn-e-mail/93831/28 "2001-11-17T05:21:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\*Ryan: \*\* > What does this mean? > > > [@](#): > > > > (Of course, ``email’’ has been a familiar word in France, Germany, and the Netherlands much longer than in England — but for an entirely different reason.) Didn’t I explain that? > [@](#): > > Amnesty for Francophones that are resurfacing their bathtubs with new émail. But for god’s sake use the damned accent. ---
**Author:** ![ultress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/7c8e57/32.png) [@ultress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultress)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-ate-the-e-mail-hyphenate-the-damn-e-mail/93831/29 "2001-11-17T11:42:55Z")
I’d go a little easy there guy if I were you. This is The Pit and you know what we do to people who come in and threaten us. You get chewed up and spit out. Course I’m a little tired of that and the cost of dental floss is hell on my budget. Speaking of which I guess it’s time to order another case. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-ate-the-e-mail-hyphenate-the-damn-e-mail/93831/30 "2001-11-17T12:48:17Z")
Isn’t it x-ray? ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-ate-the-e-mail-hyphenate-the-damn-e-mail/93831/31 "2001-11-17T15:25:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by matt\_mcl \* > Émail is French, and consequently German and Dutch, for “enamel”. Actually, that’s the first definition listed in Websters Unabridged, which doesn’t have and entry for email or e-mail as electronic mail. I think biblio-phage is just being an old fuddy-duddy. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-ate-the-e-mail-hyphenate-the-damn-e-mail/93831/32 "2001-11-17T15:30:32Z")
\>\> bibliophage, as a full-time freelance copyeditor I am squarely in your corner. And that’s all I have to say about that. Of course we all understand what Scar-let really meant to say is: “biblio-phage, as a full-time, free-lance copy-editor I am square-ly in your corner” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-ate-the-e-mail-hyphenate-the-damn-e-mail/93831/33 "2001-11-17T16:15:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Palve \* > **BTW, I have seen ‘mél’ in French for ‘e-mail’, probably with origins in the English word ‘mail’.** Gross. I say again: gross. Here in Quebec we have a beautiful word (_courriel_), but of course the _métropolitains_ don’t want to hear about it if it’s from the colonies, so they have their own Académie come up with their own dorky word. I mean, face it - _courriel_ sounds like a technology; _mél_ sounds like a Spice Girl. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-ate-the-e-mail-hyphenate-the-damn-e-mail/93831/34 "2001-11-17T18:00:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sailor \* > \*\*Of course we all understand what Scar-let really meant to say is: “biblio-phage, as a full-time, free-lance copy-editor I am square-ly in your corner” 😉 \*\* OK, those of you who think you are being clever by doing this can cut it out. These are not parallel examples. Hardy har har. ---
**Author:** ![Mikahw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Mikahw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikahw)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-ate-the-e-mail-hyphenate-the-damn-e-mail/93831/35 "2001-11-18T08:42:16Z")
biblio-phage, is that a threat? Ex-pect to re-cieve a nas-ty let-ter in your email. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![aseymayo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@aseymayo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aseymayo)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2001, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-ate-the-e-mail-hyphenate-the-damn-e-mail/93831/36 "2001-12-07T04:43:45Z")
Darn you, **bibliophage**!! Darn you all to heck! I was perfectly happy, going along, writing “email” whenever I wanted. “It doesn’t need a hyphen,” I said to myself, “everyone knows what ‘email’ means and I’m not going to waste time fooling around with extraneous punctuation.” And then I read this thread. Now, I’m seemingly incapable of writing “email” (well, except just there. And the one above. But they’re completely anomalous, I assure you). I find myself writing “e-mail” all the time - even when I’m writing stuff not intended for the boards and that you will never possibly read. And why? Because “bibliophage wouldn’t approve!” that’s why. It’s all your fault! I hope you’re satisfied. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-ate-the-e-mail-hyphenate-the-damn-e-mail/93831.md?page=1)