• threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works
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      6 months ago

      Huh, I never thought about this. The plurality norms don’t quite match snail mail.

      • “The mail is here” (this sounds normal)
      • “The mails are here” (this sounds unusual)
      • “I got an email” (this sounds normal)
      • “I got a letter” (this sounds normal)
      • “I got a mail” (this sounds unusual)

      I guess this comes down to the fact that there is no widely-used word for a single piece of electronic mail. Perhaps “eletter” would be the analogue, but I’ve never seen it used. As a result, “email” is used for both a single piece, and the category as a whole.