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