Forum Discussion
eLearning, E-learning, E-Learning or e-Learning?
Tried REALLY hard to resist joining in on this thread but as it's a term I have to use every day the inconsistency of use is annoying to say the least. Clearly like all languages English is constantly developing but making stuff up just so you can be consistent in your own organisation is not a brilliant way to go.
Hyphenation is an accepted solution in English for creating new hybrid words. E-mail and e-learning are examples where the hyphen has a role to play. See below:
"As ‘e’ represents ‘electronic’, e-mail is formed from two words, so this suggests that we should not then run one into the other to form ‘email’. It is a compound noun, where the first adjectival element is reduced to a single letter, just like T-bone steak and not Tbone!" Source: http://www.future-perfect.co.uk/grammar-tip/is-it-e-mail-email-e-mail-or-email/
Most dictionaries seem to use e-learning as the main entry but list other spellings too. Eventually these words might lose their hyphens - email for example is listed in the OED as email with e-mail listed as an alternative usage so clearly in that case the tipping point has been reached.
I personally prefer to keep the hyphen, for now at least, but what I really don't like (and Tom Kuhlmann agrees) is 'eLearning' or indeed 'e-Learning'. There is no precedent in the English language (wherever you are on planet Earth) for inserting a capital letter into a noun. This is something only marketing people do when dreaming up trendy new product names!
- NancyWoinoski10 years agoSuper Hero
:)