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sapinker's profile
Steven Pinker
Steven Pinker
Steven Pinker
Verified account
@sapinker

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Steven PinkerVerified account

@sapinker

Cognitive scientist at Harvard.

Boston, MA
pinker.wjh.harvard.edu
Joined January 2010

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    Steven Pinker‏Verified account @sapinker 8 Dec 2014

    Why Do Brits Say "Maths" and Americans Say "Math"? http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2014/12/08/math_versus_maths_how_americans_and_brits_deploy_the_collective_noun.html?wpsrc=sh_all_tab_tw_top … via @slate

    8:02 PM - 8 Dec 2014
    • 79 Retweets
    • 100 Likes
    • The Ghost of Tim Marsh Loren Johnson ≋ 𝔾𝕝𝕠𝕓𝕒𝕝 𝕎𝕖𝕚𝕣𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 ≋ editoravs Atheist NextDoor Sara Kingsley Equal 🕊🌍🌈⚖️ Vincent Alia lvlln John Gaskell
    21 replies 79 retweets 100 likes
      1. Geoff Barton‏ @RealGeoffBarton 8 Dec 2014
        Replying to @sapinker

        'A peculiar linguistic fad of 17thC': @sapinker: Why Brits Say "Maths" and Americans Say "Math" http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2014/12/08/math_versus_maths_how_americans_and_brits_deploy_the_collective_noun.html?wpsrc=sh_all_tab_tw_top … @slate #LangChange

        0 replies 8 retweets 3 likes
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      1. New conversation
      2. Agent Smith‏ @Stephenworknot 8 Dec 2014
        Replying to @sapinker

        @sapinker @Slate because it's short for mathematics (with an 's' at the end) and that's English.

        1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes
      3. 1 more reply
      1. Lol Splat‏ @lolsplat 9 Dec 2014
        Replying to @sapinker

        @sapinker @EngLangBlog @Slate because Americans are bad at Englishs.

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
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      1. Sharon Sparks‏ @Sparks1Sharon 25 Dec 2014
        Replying to @sapinker

        @sapinker @Slate I noticed that while reading "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night"!

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
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      1. Patricia Schwarz‏ @TessEractica 10 Dec 2014
        Replying to @sapinker

        @sapinker @brkthroughprize @Slate And why is a "car boot" the trunk? The tires function as a car's boots. Seems obvious to me.

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
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      1. ((Like A Lost Fire))‏ @LikeALostFire 9 Dec 2014
        Replying to @sapinker

        To summarize: "math" and "maths" are both correct, but "math" is more correct. @sapinker @slate

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
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      1. Jennifer Huizen‏ @J_Huizen 9 Dec 2014
        Replying to @sapinker

        YES: @sapinker: Why Do Brits Say "Maths" and Americans Say "Math"? http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2014/12/08/math_versus_maths_how_americans_and_brits_deploy_the_collective_noun.html?wpsrc=sh_all_tab_tw_top … via @slate”

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      1. Sriram Subramanian‏ @sriram_s 9 Dec 2014
        Replying to @sapinker

        Does not cover why we say Maxx. “@sapinker: Why Do Brits Say "Maths" and Americans Say "Math"? http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2014/12/08/math_versus_maths_how_americans_and_brits_deploy_the_collective_noun.html?wpsrc=sh_all_tab_tw_top … via @slate”

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
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      1. Danger Burnside‏ @thebigburn 9 Dec 2014
        Replying to @sapinker

        @sapinker @Slate for the same reason they call cigarettes' "fags"

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
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      1. Graham Crowder‏ @cookiesthekitty 9 Dec 2014
        Replying to @sapinker

        @sapinker @Slate the delicious irony that math[s] is an uncountable noun, when its primary theme is, well, you get the picture

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
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      1. steven isle‏ @damnthatcursor 9 Dec 2014
        Replying to @sapinker

        @sapinker @Slate Because we speak English whereas you lot have some sort of perverse dialect.

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
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      1. Heidi S. Konestabo‏ @hskonestabo 9 Dec 2014
        Replying to @sapinker

        Og trøndere sier mattikk... RT @sapinker: Why Do Brits Say "Maths" and Americans Say "Math"? http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2014/12/08/math_versus_maths_how_americans_and_brits_deploy_the_collective_noun.html?wpsrc=sh_all_tab_tw_top … via @slate

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
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      1. Max Maven‏ @RealMaxMaven 8 Dec 2014
        Replying to @sapinker

        @sapinker @DJGrothe @Slate Interesting article, but the inclusion of "sushi" as an example of mass noun is poor, as the word is Japanese...

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
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      1. martin murray‏ @muz999 8 Dec 2014
        Replying to @sapinker

        @sapinker @ZapCity911 @Slate does it really matter . . . . .

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
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      1. Michael Jones‏ @mickjones61 8 Dec 2014
        Replying to @sapinker

        @sapinker @Slate PS: a lot more countries than just Eng and Oz say maths. Only USA & some Canadians say math.

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
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      1. Michael Jones‏ @mickjones61 8 Dec 2014
        Replying to @sapinker

        @sapinker @Slate A drawn out piece trying to justify why yanks say maths incorrectly. It is a plural collection of ideas as u point out.

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
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      1. Katrina Yellow‏ @katrinayellow 8 Dec 2014
        Replying to @sapinker

        @sapinker @Slate because the Americans are wrong? This isn't a hard one :-)

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      1. New conversation
      2. G‏ @Random_acct 8 Dec 2014
        Replying to @sapinker

        @sapinker @Slate Why do we say "sports" and they say "sport"?

        1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
      3. Patricia Schwarz‏ @TessEractica 10 Dec 2014
        Replying to @Random_acct

        @Random_acct @sapinker @Slate Exactly

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
      4. End of conversation

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