[no subject]

From: Richard Mateosian <srm -at- C2 -dot- ORG>
Date: Sat, 31 Dec 1994 17:13:15 -0800

>>In my book of proper grammar & word usage, it's E-mail

>What book? Why capitalize? What is the hyphen for?

The copyediting list aired this matter thoroughly within the last month or
so. I strongly prefer "email," but here are all the arguments I can remember
for E-mail or e-mail:

1. Readers won't pronounce the "e" long with this spelling.

2. We hyphenate other similar words: A-bomb, C-note, X-ray. Nobody could
think of a counterexample (except email), although some people
write xray.

3. Someone might confuse it with a 15th century French enamel.

4. It's (supposedly) an abbreviation for "electronic mail," and there's
a rule somewhere that dictates hyphenating or capitalizing such things.

That's the whole case, as I remember it. ...RM

Richard Mateosian Technical Writer in Berkeley CA srm -at- c2 -dot- org


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