atw: Re: BlackBerry devices? [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

Hi Ilana and others

I'm also writing BlackBerry documentation and  I'd certainly recommend 
just "BlackBerry". If people don't know what a BlackBerry is, I don't 
think appending the word "device" will help them much. 

Using a generic term could be OK in certain circumstances, but obviously 
it depends on the context - in some cases you might want to distinguish 
the BlackBerry from other devices that could be lumped under 'PDAs'.

The plural is certainly more problematical. I actually wrote to the 
manufacturers to ask if they had a preferred plural but never received any 
reply. However, the consensus here seems to be that the plural should be 
BlackBerrys. The rationale seems to be an unwritten rule that trade names 
should be treated, like people's names, as 'regular' forms from the point 
of view of inflection - you'd call the family of Mr Bowman 'the Bowmans', 
not 'the Bowmen'. In this context, it seems that changing -y to -ies for 
the plural isn't regarded as 'regular', though the rules for using -s or 
-es presumably would be incorporated in the regular form. (Mr Fox's family 
would be Foxes, not Foxs.)

Steven Pinker's book 'Words and Rules' has some very interesting 
observations about this general topic. (He also discusses the issue of the 
plural of 'mouse' at length, saying it's the question he's most often 
asked about when lecturing on this.)

Howard

Howard Silcock
Technical Writer
Zare Pty Ltd



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Hi all,
I am currently writing a policy manual on BlackBerry devices.  I would 
like your opinion on what terminology to use.

Is the term BlackBerry accepted widely enough so that I can use it without 
adding the word "device"? That is, do I use the term "BlackBery" alone or 
do I need to call it a "BlackBerry device"?

Following on from this, what is more acceptable in the plural, 
"BlackBerries" or "BlackBerry devices"?  I do not really want to have to 
use the word "device" if I can help it, but somehow "BlackBerries" does 
not seem right.
Thanks for your help.
Ilana
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