"mah" ??

[MrSparkle]

Do people ever stop to think/wonder why communicating is becoming harder, not easier?

+

I mean nowadays you're lucky if kids type an entire sentence in more than 5 letters. ;-)

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Pronouncing it "ma"

=

I blame it two things:

1) On the advent of texting, which promotes the use of spelling everything in lower case, which has a natural progression into full-size keyboard use, and then into speech.

2) Relaxation / blurring by more current generations of the rules regarding abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms - those rules being not necessarily militant (e.g., Nazi) - but they are there for countless reasons. Scores of style manuals exist for those reasons, indeed the IEEE Standards Style Manual, germane to the topic here - but not everyone in vaping is going to have a electrical engineering degree.

Or maybe they should, considering some past history...

Anyway, it's all overridden by this:

The basic truth here is that people don't control language: it's a living thing with a single purpose, to communicate. If that is achieved, questions of propriety are moot.

Which gets run over by this:

1st world problems.

But agreed: know vaping, know the tech involved, use the correct terminology / language, don't look like an amateur. Sadly, we're all preaching to the choir here: those that are going to continue pronounce it "ma" aren't going to bother with linguistics, learning beyond basic tech to get what they need done, or even this thread.

 

[jimbodaddy74]

I have another gripe for you unwashed masses. It's pronounced R A D A R. Acronyms are completely inappropriate. And it would be better pronounced by its full name of RAdio Detection And Ranging. Get a clue!

 

[beckdg]

But agreed: know vaping, know the tech involved, use the correct terminology / language, don't look like an amateur. Sadly, we're all preaching to the choir here: those that are going to continue pronounce it "ma" aren't going to bother with linguistics, learning beyond basic tech to get what they need done, or even this thread.

TAKING THE NEXT VAPING STEP 1: CIG-STYLE to EGO STYLE: http://youtu.be/6mOlR3INHzU

And by proxy shouldn't be teaching it...

Sent from my device.

 

[Str8vision]

When I posted earlier I didn't realize this was a serious thread, thought it was just for "fun". As a retired engineer (military), I must say the correct and only way to verbally express the term milliamp-hour is to say "milliamp hour". The written abbreviation, mAh, is an initialism, not an acronym and isn't pronounced as a separate word "maw". No different for ampere-hour (amp-hour), while its written abbreviation is Ah, it's not verbally expressed as "aHHH". Nor as I mentioned earlier is the abbreviated term for miles-per-hour, MPH, verbalized as "Mmpf". A person CAN spontaneously decide to convert the written abbreviation mAh into an acronym and pronounce it "maw" but in doing so runs the risk of sounding less than credible/knowledgeable when engaged in discussions with people who know better.

Initialism ; FBI, CIA, ETA, USA, OEM.
Acronym ; NASA, NORAD, SONAR, LASER, and my favorite SCUBA.

 

[freeall]

Nah..

Oh wait, you mean mah?

nah..

 

[medic181075]

I have heard "ma" used on youtube by some of the vaping reviewers. I have accepted it, but I am not an expert. Typically, you are dealing with people who only know that more is better.

Years ago I overheard a customer in a Radio Shack store ask about a "c-phone". The salesperson told him that they don't deal in marine radios

 

[InTheShade]

I have another gripe for you unwashed masses. It's pronounced R A D A R. Acronyms are completely inappropriate. And it would be better pronounced by its full name of RAdio Detection And Ranging. Get a clue!

RADAR is an acronym, mAh is an initialism. Both are abbreviations.

 

[VaPreis]

I'm in my local vape shop, I'm looking at a battery and I ask the fellow about the capacity of the battery. I say "How many milliamp hours can this battery source?" The reply I received was "1600 mah" The "mah" was pronounced like "ma" as in mother. Mah.. Hmmm..

Now I'm in another vape shop I like to visit, I ask them about battery capacity and get a similar reply.

I've been in the electronics industry for over 45 years, and If I were ever to say "mah" it would be a bad thing. I'm curious if "mah" has become an accepted part of vaping lingo. To me saying "mah" suggests a lack of understanding.

Cheers,
Rusty

Simply put, it is easier to say "MAW", when you have no clue what mAh really stands for, or what the measurement represents.

I have heard that used in the vape store that my wife manages....and it's cringe worthy.

 

[Bunnykiller]

I have been educated!

I will no longer say maaaaaah I will now say M. A. H.

I am no longer ignorant.......





in this area, anyway


For that, I thank all you loverly folks

second time you have been educated you now age too

 

[Bunnykiller]

Soooo saying "UmPF" to verbalize the abbreviation of miles-per-hour (MPH), is out of the question?

MPH applies to when your kid jumps into your lap with that little bony knee..

 

[Bunnykiller]

Would you be well under 40?
In the age group that started adopting original words and terms to mean something totally different simply to (fit in) and confuse the older generation? Well surprise, we also did it. as we grew up we put those things aside.

Do people ever Stop to think/wonder why communicating is becoming Harder, not Easier?

dont know maaahhnn but it shure is groovy..

 

[Bunnykiller]

think Ill go re wick my aretaw and aredaw and hopefully my maw is up to snuff to handle my new coils on my PeeVee

 

[rusty zipper]

My parting words are these:

The guy who designed the anti-proton injection system at CERN says "milliamp-hours".
The guy at the vape store says "mah".

I'm frightened for the guy who asks the "mah" guy for solid info and expects to get the truth. Anyone who truly understands electrical and electronic fundamentals would never say "mah", I know I wouldn't.

L8TR
Rusty

 

[EBates]

Oh crap! Late again, what'd I miss?

 

[KYBLUE]

Pedant:

noun

1. a person who makes an excessive or inappropriate display of learning.
2. a person who overemphasizes rules or minor details.
3. a person who adheres rigidly to book knowledge without regard to common sense.