Date: Thu, 22 Jan 1998 14:36:05 EST

From: Michael Montgomery N270053[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]VM.SC.EDU

Subject: No subject given



A student has raised a question about English grammar that I am not sure

I can answer: why does _fiche_, which certainly seems to be a count noun,

have a zero plural? That is: one fiche, fifteen fiche, etc. I do not

see that the noun is a reduction from a phrase such as "xx page(s) of

(micro)fiche." Another student puckishly suggested that _fiche_ so

behaves because of its closeness in pronunciation to _fish_. Additions

to the language are not supposed to have zero plurals, are they?



Michael Montgomery

Dept of English

Univ of South Carolina

Columbia SC 29208