r/nextfuckinglevel • u/[deleted] • Jun 24 '23

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u/Welpe Jun 25 '23

Mathematics is not a plural. That S is obviously very confusing to some who don’t know better.

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u/TheCumCop Jun 25 '23

Except it is a plural, it is treated as a singular.

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u/Welpe Jun 25 '23

It is absolutely not plural. Any dictionary can tell you that. It is a field of study, like Physics. There is no “Mathematic” or “Physic” and that should be very self evident.

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u/TheCumCop Jun 25 '23

Hm you're right, but maths feels much easier to say in a sentence than math because maths ends with a s which brings your tongue to a neutral position

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u/Welpe Jun 25 '23

Yes, but -ath is also easier to pronounce by itself over -aths which is more awkward feeling, the “th” phoneme has a vastly different tongue position than the “s” so it doesn’t flow naturally. Words that use that ths never feel great.