Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Feb 11, 2004 13:18
20 yrs ago
German term
Also a qualified engineer
Native in: Tamil
Works in: English to Tamil, Tamil to English, French to Tamil, and 6 more.
Mäuse
German to English
Tech/Engineering
Computers: Hardware
Plural for computer terms
I feel really stupid asking. I would like to know whether the plural of mouse used in connection with computers is "mice" or "mouses". I prefer the latter. Kindly confirm. This is urgently required in a translation to be delivered very fast.
Thanks,
N.Raghavan
Thanks,
N.Raghavan
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 +8 | mice |
Tobias Ernst
|
| 4 +2 | mouse devices (if not, then mouses, but they are all accepted) |
Elvira Stoianov
|
| 3 +2 | mice |
vhz
|
| 4 +1 | I'd always say "mice" |
John Bowden
|
Proposed translations
+8
6 mins
Tobias Ernst
Germany
Germany
Native in German
Specializes in field
Germany
linguist, physicist, IP professional
Native in: German 
Works in: English to German, Ukrainian to German, Russian to German
Related KudoZ points
:
4
Selected
mice
In university translation classes (2003) we have been taught that it is "mice" for real mice, but "mouses" for computer input devices.
However, if you use an English edition of Windows and look into the hardware/device manager, it says "mice".
So basically it doesn't matter, but I'd use "mice" to keep up good usage of English :-)
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Note added at 2004-02-11 13:27:14 (GMT)
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Having read the link provided by Elvira, I have to admit that I checked on a UK edition of Windows 2000, not on a US one. Could anybody who has got a U.S. windows tell us what it says there?
However, if you use an English edition of Windows and look into the hardware/device manager, it says "mice".
So basically it doesn't matter, but I'd use "mice" to keep up good usage of English :-)
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2004-02-11 13:27:14 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Having read the link provided by Elvira, I have to admit that I checked on a UK edition of Windows 2000, not on a US one. Could anybody who has got a U.S. windows tell us what it says there?
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
tectranslate ITS GmbH
: Logisch.
0 min
|
|
Thanks. And by the way, you are 100% right, "pointing devices" is the usual term (not mouse device). But again, pointing dev. is programmer's vocab, not what I would use in a product description.
|
|
| agree |
Hermeneutica
: Neat!
25 mins
|
| agree |
i8a4re
26 mins
|
| agree |
Ingo Dierkschnieder
40 mins
|
| agree |
Armorel Young
: most product catalogues say mice
1 hr
|
| agree |
Aniello Scognamiglio (X)
: definitely "mice" from experience! Also confirmed by google: more than 1.000.000 hits for "mice, computers", only 20.700 for "mouses, computers". Nothing to add...
2 hrs
|
| agree |
Steffen Walter
2 hrs
|
| agree |
roneill
3 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "I am now convinced. Thanks for the trouble taken. "
+2
3 mins
Elvira Stoianov
Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Specializes in field
Luxembourg
Currently employed in-house
Native in: Romanian 
, Hungarian
Works in: German to Romanian, English to Romanian, Romanian to German, and 4 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
German term (edited):
M�use
mouse devices (if not, then mouses, but they are all accepted)
my thought, also confirmed by the link (small debate on this issue)
I think mouse devices avoids the issue
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Note added at 6 mins (2004-02-11 13:25:30 GMT)
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http://www.poynter.org/dg.lts/id.1/aid.42530/column.htm
One more link with a short debate, in favour of mouses
Invented in 1964 by Douglas Engelbart, the mouse remains the most common computer navigational device. If you want to see copy editors at their best (er, worst?), poll them on the plural of mouse. Most avoid it as if it were a diseased rodent. … While some favor continuing the mousy metaphor into the plural with ‘mice,’ … others argue that the computer appendage is distinguished from the animal and should follow the most common method of pluralization (adding –s or es) … just as louse become louses when it defines a group of cranky editors. Put us among the louses; we prefer mouses.”
I think mouse devices avoids the issue
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Note added at 6 mins (2004-02-11 13:25:30 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
http://www.poynter.org/dg.lts/id.1/aid.42530/column.htm
One more link with a short debate, in favour of mouses
Invented in 1964 by Douglas Engelbart, the mouse remains the most common computer navigational device. If you want to see copy editors at their best (er, worst?), poll them on the plural of mouse. Most avoid it as if it were a diseased rodent. … While some favor continuing the mousy metaphor into the plural with ‘mice,’ … others argue that the computer appendage is distinguished from the animal and should follow the most common method of pluralization (adding –s or es) … just as louse become louses when it defines a group of cranky editors. Put us among the louses; we prefer mouses.”
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
silvia glatzhofer
4 mins
|
| agree |
Tobias Ernst
: Mouse devices is of course a good way to evade the problem, But be careful - it might not fit in all contexts ("our shop offers a wide variety of mouse devices" might sound strange.
6 mins
|
| disagree |
tectranslate ITS GmbH
: Tatsächlich ist mice sehr verbreitet, schau z.B. mal bei Logitech oder MS nach cordless mice. Wenn Du die Problematik vermeiden willst, dann nicht mit mouse devices, denn mouse ist immer ein Gerät, sondern mit pointing devices -beinhaltet aber Trackballs.
6 mins
|
| neutral |
i8a4re
: Sounds kinda stiff to me.
28 mins
|
| neutral |
CMJ_Trans (X)
: mouses ??? !!!!! in ENGLISH ????
34 mins
|
|
there are 155,000 hits on Google for mouses, most of them related to computers
|
|
| neutral |
astauber
: I talked to a linguistics professor about that once and he said that both are "correct"
1 hr
|
| agree |
John Bowden
: It does seem "mouses" is possible - but half the 155,000 google hits are in languages other than English...
1 hr
|
| neutral |
Aniello Scognamiglio (X)
: good idea, however it can be misleading as mentioned by tectransDE.
2 hrs
|
+1
1 hr
I'd always say "mice"
If google hits are anything to go by - and they're not indallible by any means - there are
7440 hits for "computer mouses" and
61,900 hits for "computer mice"
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Note added at 2004-02-11 15:14:09 (GMT)
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PC World, one of the largest retailers in the UK, uses \"mice\":
www.pcworld.co.uk/ - 91k
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Note added at 2004-02-11 15:16:48 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
There\'s a heated discussion on the plural at:
http://www.poynter.org/dg.lts/id.1/aid.42530/column.htm
7440 hits for "computer mouses" and
61,900 hits for "computer mice"
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2004-02-11 15:14:09 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
PC World, one of the largest retailers in the UK, uses \"mice\":
www.pcworld.co.uk/ - 91k
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2004-02-11 15:16:48 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
There\'s a heated discussion on the plural at:
http://www.poynter.org/dg.lts/id.1/aid.42530/column.htm
Discussion
http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/innovation/ergonomics.mspx
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/CA/index.cfm?page=products...