Is the word 'breasts' singular? The linguist's answer.

In her blog, linguist Olga Vasilyeva explained the grammatical peculiarity of the word 'breasts'. She clarified whether this word is singular and which word should be used to denote one breast.

Many people are confused about how to express the word 'breasts' in the singular. Usually, people refer to the Russian language or try to create a word that suits this case.

The word 'breast' in the singular is considered colloquial, according to dictionaries. Professor Kateryna Horodenska recommends using already accepted phrases, depending on the situation: in formal contexts - 'to feed the child with breasts', in informal ones - 'to give the child a nipple'.

However, Kateryna Horodenska does not provide an answer to the question of how to correctly refer to the left or right breast in formal language. This becomes a problem in certain linguistic situations when the word 'breast' needs to be used.

Olga Vasilyeva gives the example of a woman who consulted a doctor about her child latching only onto the left breast. She cannot say 'to the left one of the breasts', as this creates difficulties in understanding. Therefore, she suggests using the word 'breast' as colloquial to denote one of the breasts.

It is worth noting that Olga Vasilyeva previously explained when it is necessary to write 'birthday' with a capital letter and when it can be with a lowercase. She notes that notable people's birthdays, such as Simone de Beauvoir or Louis Braille, can be written with a capital letter, as they hold special significance for certain groups of people. However, she also points out that the birthday of a close or dear person is not a historical holiday and can be written with a lowercase letter.

Previously, Olga Vasilyeva had also spoken about the correct use of greetings - 'Good morning!' or 'Have a good morning!'. She emphasizes that claiming the incorrectness of 'Have a good morning!' while stating the correctness of 'Have a good day!' and 'Have a good evening!' is incorrect.

Recently, Olga Vasilyeva also expressed her criticism regarding a segment on the '1+1' television channel that dealt with the topic of feminine forms. She believes that the expert assessment of her colleague Oleksandr Avramenko was unprofessional.