What's in a name? A lot when it comes to Sierra Nevada

[rlown]

nice to point out.. good luck changing behavior.

[BSquared]

Nevertheless, these forms are so frequently found in the very
best works of literature and science that it would perhaps be pedantic to deny their admissibility.

And the problem with being pedantic would be.... ?

[Hey, I'm a professional pedant; somebody has to stand up for us, eh?]

[Snow Nymph]

B2, those aren't my words. I copied that section. I keep seeing "Sierras" and being a secretary I always want to correct it.

rlown, I can't change the way people talk. Change is the hardest thing with adults. People might not know the difference, and I'm guilty of that. Years ago I called it the Sierras, until someone posted it on the Mammoth Forum. Since then its the "Sierra", and no longer sounds wierd to me.

There's the tank just south of Lone Pine saying "Welcome to the Eastern Sierra". The artist originally put "Welcome to the Eastern Sierras", and had to re-do it.

[fedak]

IMHO, this is being more than a bit pedantic.

It is very common to refer to the collection of individual mountains in a range using the plural form of the surname of the range.

i.e. The Rockies for the Rocky Mountains, the Cascades for the Cascade Range, etc.
Shortening the "Sierra Nevada" to "the Sierras" follows a similar lexical pattern.
(Though technically it is the "Nevada" portion that should be pluralized since "Sierra" translates to mountain)

In the end, the purpose of language is to communicate effectively. Usage of the term "Sierras" accomplishes this.

Formal signage/documentation should probably use the formal grammar/lexicon- but to get overly rigorous/pedantic about this in casual communication seems pointless.

[ERIC]

B2, those aren't my words. I copied that section. I keep seeing "Sierras" and being a secretary I always want to correct it.

rlown, I can't change the way people talk. Change is the hardest thing with adults. People might not know the difference, and I'm guilty of that. Years ago I called it the Sierras, until someone posted it on the Mammoth Forum. Since then its the "Sierra", and no longer sounds wierd to me.

There's the tank just south of Lone Pine saying "Welcome to the Eastern Sierra". The artist originally put "Welcome to the Eastern Sierras", and had to re-do it.

Bugs the crap out of me, too. But then again, I'm easily annoyed sometimes.

[wshawkins]

This is great stuff, thanks. I never call the "Sierra Nevada" the Sierras again. Thanks for the history lesson.

[Cross Country]

This was certainly interesting and enlightening for me. I never thought about it although I have known this. I will, from now on, make every effort to say and write it correctly.

[Troutdog 59]

I had a geology Prof at CSUN that pretty much beat it into us. I told him I loved the Sierras and he responded "which one." :retard: :retard: Sometimes in field camp we got bored, so we would use the plural on purpose just to get him going, but he caught on pretty soon and started doing it back to us!!!

[freestone]

Or we could just call it The Range of Light as John Muir did. He kept it singular as well.

[Cross Country]

I always called them the Sierras. I incorporated "Sierra" here immediately. I like "the Sierra". I'll never go back, but then I've always changed easily in the face of reality. I'm easy to enlighten.