You could be in danger of overthetopping there, Michael.
Stuart
On 15/06/2017 9:08 AM, Michael Lewis wrote:
Treating "software" as a count noun rather than a mass noun is, indeed, common to non-native speakers. There are many comparable examples, including one I mentioned a while back - "pant" having become a singular noun in quite widespread usage, because "a pair of pants" seems to refer to those generous tailors (no "Y" there, Janet!) who sell a suit with a single jacket and a second pair of trews. The mass/count noun distinction really doesn't exist in many east Asian languages, especially those that don't have "articles" such as a/an and the, so speakers of those languages don't have the habits of thought that make the distinction seem natural.
As for "onboarding", it's a result of a legitimate process by which new words enter the language and, having entered, start to behave like other longer-standing words. Perhaps current political issues will lead to "underthecountering" in the near future . . .
Michael Lewis
On 15/06/2017 09:51, Janet Taylor wrote:
Where on earth did you see that?
I’m still reeling from ‘onboarding’.
Bye…
*From:*austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] *On Behalf Of *Nick Shears
*Sent:* Thursday, 15 June 2017 8:47 AM
*To:* Aus Tech Writer (austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx) <austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
*Subject:* atw: "A software"?!
Hi Austechies,
I know it’s been quiet here, but perhaps I can change that.
Am I the only person who winces when I see the phrase “a software”?
I tend to use “software”, “a software package”, or “an app”.
I know that language evolves, and “a software” may become standard, but for now it reads as if English is not the writer’s native language.
Am I alone?
Cheers,
Nick
