BlackBerrys re-write the English language

Posted
by
Kyle McInnes
on December 7, 2006, at 1:17 PM
in News
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Comments: 6 responses
6 Comments

pander.jpgApparently. Take a gander at this little laugh of a piece on ZDNet UK. The piece, entitled “Pandering to BlackBerrys needs”, examines use of the term “BlackBerrys” and asks the question – why not “ies”? Journalist Richard Thurston writes

“Call me an egotistical pedant, but surely the plural of BlackBerry – both the fruit and the ever-popular email device – is BlackBerries.

Not that I wish to have a bite at his Excellency Andrew Donoghue (ZDNet UK’s Executive Editor) but Mr Donoghue, along with many thousands of others seems to have coined the term BlackBerrys (pronounced Blak-Berris, in my book).”

I suppose ol’ Mr. Thurston doesn’t understand proper names. If I’ve got two friends named Barry and I tell the wife I’m going to hang out with them, I wouldn’t leave her a note saying “Hanging with the Barries”, now would I? Looks like someone needs to make a trip to the grammar rodeo.

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  • http://www.blackberryforums.com/ d_fisher

    I guess this is why you NEVER see RIM refer to the BlackBerry as BlackBerries or BlackBerrys. The proper way to refer to multiple devices is BlackBerry handhelds (or devices/smartphones/etc).

  • http://www.blackberryforums.com d_fisher

    I guess this is why you NEVER see RIM refer to the BlackBerry as BlackBerries or BlackBerrys. The proper way to refer to multiple devices is BlackBerry handhelds (or devices/smartphones/etc).

  • L. M. Lloyd

    I have always referred to more than one BlackBerry as BlackBerries. Of course the above poster is actually correct, and the proper way is to call them BlackBerry devices, thus sidestepping the whole problem.

  • L. M. Lloyd

    I have always referred to more than one BlackBerry as BlackBerries. Of course the above poster is actually correct, and the proper way is to call them BlackBerry devices, thus sidestepping the whole problem.

  • jibi@bbf

    I’m with Doug on this one. I always avoid pluralizing the single word and prefer the added ‘handhelds’ or ‘devices’ when referring to more than one.

  • jibi@bbf

    I’m with Doug on this one. I always avoid pluralizing the single word and prefer the added ‘handhelds’ or ‘devices’ when referring to more than one.