Tom in London United Kingdom Local time: 17:32 Member (2008) Italian to English
Jul 13, 2010
The only English-speaking country in the Eurozone is Ireland. I'm Irish.
In Ireland. the official term for a multiple of € is "Euro" in the singular. This is the term used in all mainstream Irish media, such as TV news etc., e.g. "thirty billion Euro".
So why do the British (who are not in the Eurozone) use "Euros" in the plural?
In written form I find "Euros" very strange-looking. It looks like a Greek word.
What's correct? Who decides? Is there an official EU ruling on this? What word do official EU interpreters use?
[Edited at 2010-07-13 08:36 GMT]
Subject:
Comment:
The contents of this post will automatically be included in the ticket generated. Please add any additional comments or explanation (optional)
Teresa Borges Belgium Local time: 18:32 Member (2007) German to Portuguese + ...
Euro or Euros?
Jul 13, 2010
In all EU legal texts, the nominative singular spelling must be 'euro' in all languages ('ευρώ' in Greek alphabet; 'евро' in Cyrillic alphabet). Plural forms and declensions are accepted as long as they do not change the 'eur-' root. http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/euro/cash/symbol/index_en.htm
Subject:
Comment:
The contents of this post will automatically be included in the ticket generated. Please add any additional comments or explanation (optional)
Tom in London United Kingdom Local time: 17:32 Member (2008) Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
Useful
Jul 13, 2010
Teresa Borges wrote:.....Plural forms and declensions are accepted as long as they do not change the 'eur-' root.....
Thanks Teresa- that's a really useful link. From it I deduce that both "Euro" and "Euros" are acceptable as the plural. Since "Euro" comes more naturally to me I'll stick with it, for the singular *and* the plural.
Many thanks.
Subject:
Comment:
The contents of this post will automatically be included in the ticket generated. Please add any additional comments or explanation (optional)
Victor Dewsbery Germany Local time: 18:32 German to English + ...
Going round in circles?
Jul 13, 2010
Hi Tom,
Thanks for the interesting facts about English usage in Ireland.
Linguistically, it would seem that if we say "ten euro" (or capitalised "ten Euro") we should also say "ten dollar" and "ten pound" (or "ten Dollar" and "ten Pound"). The uninflected plural "euro" (or Euro) in some cases in English originates from a general multilingual directive that the currency should not take a plural _s in any language. My assumption was that this was decided by people whose native language is not English and who therefore did not realise how incongruous this appears (appeared?) in native English.
I have seen various EU style guides which try to provide pragmatic guidance on this. The central proposal I remember from earlier documents is to use an uninflected plural in documents intended for use by EU bureaucrats, but to use "euros" (inflected and not capitalised) for general readers.
(P. 30/31)
3.2 Always use figures with units of measurement that are denoted by symbols or
abbreviations:
EUR 50 or fifty euros
3.3 With hundred and thousand there is a choice of using figures or words:
EUR 3 000 or three thousand euros but not EUR 3 thousand
(P. 88)
20.8 The euro. Like ‘pound’, ‘dollar’ or any other currency name in English, the
word ‘euro’ is written in lower case with no initial capital. Where appropriate,
it takes the plural ‘s’ (as does ‘cent’):
This book costs ten euros and fifty cents
However, in documents and tables where monetary amounts figure largely,
make maximum use of the € symbol or the abbreviation EUR.
Your report on Irish usage offers an interesting new perspective on this debate.
Subject:
Comment:
The contents of this post will automatically be included in the ticket generated. Please add any additional comments or explanation (optional)
Tom in London United Kingdom Local time: 17:32 Member (2008) Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
General usage
Jul 13, 2010
Victor Dewsbery wrote:
Hi Tom,
Thanks for the interesting facts about English usage in Ireland.
Hi Victor- if you click on the link posted by Teresa and scroll down, you'll find there's an official pdf you can download.
That pdf clearly states that in English, the plural of "euro" is "euro" .
I also note from these links that "euro" is NOT capitalised.
[Edited at 2010-07-13 09:42 GMT]
Subject:
Comment:
The contents of this post will automatically be included in the ticket generated. Please add any additional comments or explanation (optional)
Teresa Borges Belgium Local time: 18:32 Member (2007) German to Portuguese + ...
Euro or euros
Jul 13, 2010
Rules for expressing monetary units
When to use the name (euro)
When a monetary unit is referred to generally but an amount is not included, it is written in letters, except in tables (see ‘When to use the ISO code (EUR)’):
A fully featured online CAT tool and TMS, with no installation required, and a simple, intuitive interface. Maximize linguistic assets by sharing in real time as you collaborate with colleagues. Make use of next generation, cloud-based translation technol
Start and finish your translations faster than ever with Fluency Translation Suite 2011. TMs, Terminology, and Online Resources are all fully integrated and only a click away. Download a free trial today!
The translation workplace 
