Talk:maths

IS there some reason this British word isn't indicated as British? --Connel MacKenzie 02:12, 6 Feb 2005 (UTC)

What do you mean, "isn't" ;) - TheDaveRoss 19:32, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

Apostrophe

I was always taught at school that this should be written "math's" with the apostrophe denoting the missing letters from "mathematics" (cf. "isn't", etc.) There seems to be no mention of this form. Has "maths" without the apostrophe now become so prevalent that "math's" is out-dated? I'm British, BTW. 193.130.11.17 09:48, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

math's is wrong. it is maths.

Yes, apparently "maths" is the typical way it is written in Britain, not "math's". Just like how in the United States we write it as "math" and not "math'". 2600:1006:B154:B536:0:4C:9A19:101 21:15, 18 March 2024 (UTC)

Australia

Australians follow the English abbreviation of Mathematics and use "Maths" when referring to any kind of Mathematics, plural or not. I can see the logic of using an apostrophe to denote missing letters, but most Australians would not include the apostrophe.

North America

While this use is plausible, I don't recall ever hearing it. Relative to math (used to mean multiple math courses) this is very rare. Is 'maths' more common in Canada? Is that why it isn't isn't tagged as 'rare'? --Connel MacKenzie 06:59, 25 May 2007 (UTC)

• Nobody in my corner of Ontario uses "maths". --Bran

North America

Please provide a citation that there is actual colloquial usage of 'maths' in North America as the plural form of 'Math Course'. The term 'maths' is often mistakenly used as the plural for math, as a result of the speaker improperly assuming the plural of 'math' is 'maths' and ignoring the fact that 'mathematic' is the full word and therefore 'mathematics' is the correct plural form. British literature is rife with the usage of 'maths' as the plural to 'math course', however the same cannot be said about North American literature. Perhaps it's the geographical reference that is incorrect here.

The terms math (US) and maths (UK) are short forms of the same singular word - mathematics. I don't believe that the word "maths" is ever used as a plural (anywhere). SemperBlotto 21:36, 29 May 2011 (UTC)

Currently the definition includes 'maths' as the colloquial usage for a plural form of 'math course'. This is what I am contesting. Under the second noun definition of 'maths' either the geographical reference is incorrect or the definition itself is incorrect.

I have come across the colloquial usage of 'maths' in North America, in mocking sarcastic usage when commenting on the poor mathematics skills of another person. However the usage is intended to be incorrect as it is intended to mock not correct. Eg. 'Their maths is no good.' Normally the term 'maths' in this usage is paired with intentional grammatic mistakes to accentuate the mocking tone of the sentence.

(Apologies I started this initially on the feedback page, perhaps it should be here)Mifdeath 22:13, 29 May 2011 (UTC)

The usage 'maths' as a colloquial plural usage for 'math course' would in this case makes 'maths' countable as in; "I am taking 6 maths." or, "How many maths are you taking?" Frankly this lends itself more to erroneous word usage than to colloquial speech. - Mifdeath 23:15, 29 May 2011 (UTC)

The word "Maths" makes perfect sense when you create a sentence such as: "How many maths classes are you taking this year?". Maths includes several types of mathmatics such as algebra, geometry, calculus and statistics. That is why maths is plural and has an "S" on the end of it.

Feedback

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This discussion is no longer live and is left here as an archive. Please do not modify this conversation, but feel free to discuss its conclusions.

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maths

Please provide a citation that there is actual colloquial usage of 'maths' in North America as the plural form of 'Math Course'. The term 'maths' is often mistakenly used as the plural for math, as a result of the speaker improperly assuming the plural of 'math' is 'maths' and ignoring the fact that 'mathematic' is the full word and therefore 'mathematics' is the correct plural form. British literature is rife with the usage of 'maths' as the plural to 'math course', however the same cannot be said about North American literature. Perhaps it's the geographical reference that is incorrect here.

• The terms (deprecated template usage) math (US) and (deprecated template usage) maths (UK) are short forms of the same singular word - (deprecated template usage) mathematics. I don't believe that the word "maths" is ever used as a plural (anywhere). SemperBlotto 21:36, 29 May 2011 (UTC)

Currently the definition includes 'maths' as the colloquial usage for a plural form of 'math course'. This is what I am contesting. Under the second noun definition of 'maths' either the geographical reference is incorrect or the definition itself is incorrect.

I have come across the colloquial usage of 'maths' in North America, in mocking sarcastic usage when commenting on the poor mathematics skills of another person. However the usage is intended to be incorrect as it is intended to mock not correct. Eg. 'Their maths is no good.' Normally the term 'maths' in this usage is paired with intentional grammatic mistakes to accentuate the mocking tone of the sentence.

I copied and pasted the above into the discussion page under 'maths' Mifdeath 22:16, 29 May 2011 (UTC)