Email or Emaille

[Erich Schildhauer <Erich -dot- Schildhauer -at- POET -dot- DE>]

Jim Chevallier wrote:

> Actually, it's French ( as in - plural - 'les emaux de Limoges' = 'enamels of
> Limoges'). I'm sure the Germans thought it was chic, though, being French.
> But when's the last time you saw a German enamel, hm? (Except maybe on a
> Mercedes)

On the use of the term "Email" (or "Emaille") in German and its origin
in French: I think it is fair to point out that it is common practice in
many languages, including German, to borrow words from other languages.
German also uses Hardware, Software, Computer, and E-Mail (just to
mention a few). In some cases there may indeed be some pretension to
sounding chic. On the other hand, it may just be the easiest way to
refer to a new thing using the names that comes with it.

On the existence of German enamel: I am certainly no expert, but I
believe this manufactuing technique is used just as widely in Germany as
it is in most places.

On the preferred spelling for electronic mail: My vote goes for e-mail.
I am not opposed to linguistic development, I just find this spelling
easier to read. However, I don't think the potential for confusing email
(spelled without a hyphen) with the German word "Email" is really a
factor, simply because the contexts for these two words are so
completely different.

Erich Schildhauer

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