Lego or Legos?

[LEGO Historian]

People can call it anything they want... but when I hear someone say Legos (or any similar plural)... I tend to think... "Hmmmm, a brick building/collecting newbie...."

There's that adage about "first impressions"....

[LEGO Guy Bri]

It should also always be all-caps. For example, LEGO bricks.

I was afraid of this... Only 6 months until I can correct my name

[LEGO Historian]

I was afraid of this... Only 6 months until I can correct my name

That's a Faux Pas that's acceptable.... lol...

When I started my LEGO Collectors Guides they (TLG) told me...

1) always capitalized

2) never just LEGO... but LEGO bricks or LEGO company (although TLG is OK).... etc.

TLG already set a precedent for lower case "LEGO"... back after they started the first LEGOLAND in Billund in 1968, they came out with a 1x4 printed brick found in many 1970s sets (in red, white, blue, yellow or black)... that had it spelled "Legoland".

[LEGO Guy Bri]

That's a Faux Pas that's acceptable.... lol...

When I started my LEGO Collectors Guides they (TLG) told me...

1) always capitalized

2) never just LEGO... but LEGO bricks or LEGO company (although TLG is OK).... etc.

Pardon my blunder

I had no clue how serious they were when it comes to properly speaking typing about LEGO products

[BrickPicker]

I try and write LEGO bricks/sets, but I sometimes slip and call them "LEGOS" when speaking. Sorry, shoot me...It's a hard habit to break after 35+ years.

[SheepEater]

One of LEGO's biggest licensing partner, Warner Bros, don't seem to have a problem calling them legos.

Proof...

Look at the tab to the right, "The Lord of the Rings Legos"

http://www.wbshop.com/category/wbshop_brands/the+lord+of+the+rings.do

(By the way, as a side note this is the best way to buy LOTR sets (minus Orc Forge) for Canadian, UK, Australian and NZ residents since they charge us USA MSRP prices!)

[Big Cam]

I was afraid of this... Only 6 months until I can correct my name

I corrected it for you.

I'm amazed how many people keep posting Lego even right after someone reminds us it's LEGO.

All CAPS people!

[LEGO Guy Bri]

I corrected it for you.

I'm amazed how many people keep posting Lego even right after someone reminds us it's LEGO.

All CAPS people!

Git' it, got it, good!

Thanks Bad Cam

[Capt. Bluebeard]

I say LEGO. To me, saying "LEGOs" is like saying "sheeps" or "fishes"; it just sounds wrong.

Bluebeard, out-

[Legogal]

LEGO can call them what they want, and so can we. After all we are the PAYING customers, aren't we?

If I remember to do it, the letters will be all caps. If not, tough tidly winks. No company is paying me to spell it or use it a certain way.

Can't we just enjoy our toys? Anyway this forum is not owned or managed by LEGO, is it?

Let's welcome folks who call it whatever they want; especially those newbies, who need to feel welcome.

When my friends correctly identify my toys as "Legos," I am so happy that 1) I jump up and down cheering them, and 2) they know what my toys are (most Americans don't); I would never correct them to leave off the "s" for the plural form.

Let's enjoy life...it is too darn short.

[SheepEater]

LEGO can call them what they want, and so can we. After all we are the PAYING customers, aren't we?

If I remember to do it, the letters will be all caps. If not, tough tidly winks. No company is paying me to spell it or use it a certain way.

Can't we just enjoy our toys? Anyway this forum is not owned or managed by LEGO, is it?

Let's welcome folks who call it whatever they want; especially those newbies, who need to feel welcome.

When my friends correctly identify my toys as "Legos," I am so happy that 1) I jump up and down cheering them, and 2) they know what my toys are (most Americans don't); I would never correct them to leave off the "s" for the plural form.

Let's enjoy life...it is too darn short.

Completely agreed.

[BrickG]

I understand Lego's concern but I don't really care.

"Lego Bricks"

"Legos"

One of those is shorter and easier to say. I tend to not say "Legos" in Lego forums just because I've gotten crap for it before. But I'll say "Legos" anywhere else.

[alois]

Since I'm not employed by lego, I can call the little bricks by whatever name I want. I prefer not using caps, since it's a name and not an acronym. I never use the plural 'legos' since it's not common in my native language (dutch) to use the plural, but I can't be bothered by people who do. Now I'm gonna play with my legos, or lego.

[BrickG]

There's a lot of controversy here about the usage of "Legos" which is basically what it's called in North America by everyone who isn't a hardcore lego fan or a lego Ambassador or employee. So basically like 99% of people here refer to the collective individual elements of LEGO sets as "Legos".

Now there's a lot of "you're wrong" that goes around. Heck, an Ambassador has said I'm just wrong and acted like they were an English teacher. However the use of "Legos" is a matter of language and grammar and locality. And it's not incorrect to use (at least in the respective countries, USA and probably Canada but I'll talk only about the use in the USA here).

First off the Lego Group is basically worried about their trademark. Some companies in the past, who's names have become synonymous with a certain type of product to the degree that all products of that type are called it's trademark, even ones not made by the company, have had trademark isses because of their trademark becoming genericized. This can weaken the trademark considerably to the point of losing the trademark.

Examples of this happening include Aspirin, Heroin and Yo-yo.

Companies sometimes find themselves having to go on campaigns to avoid genericization. Band-Aid, Xerox and Lego have all gone on those campaigns and have so far been successful at avoiding the loss of their trademark.

Lego has been practicing this for a while, asking consumers to refer to their Lego elements as Lego bricks, Lego toys, etc so that the emphasis is on the brand name and the element separately reducing the risk that as many people generalize all similar products like Mega Bloks, Block Tech, and any of those "Lego-like" things into "Lego" or "Legos".

I admit, a lot of people do this. And it is a problem for Lego.

Now such actions are understandable. Lego doesn't want to lose it's trademark and then see all it's competitors use the name "Lego" on their products. But this isn't about that. This is about the grammar and usage.

Now, there's been word going around that the use of "Legos" is incorrect. It is not.

It's time to face the facts. The Lego Group, a large company, does not control language.

In the vernacular at least (native language or dialect of a specific population) "Legos" is correct. Lego might not want to hear that, heck it outright says it's wrong and discourages it in any way possible. But again, this is LANGUAGE which is not within The Lego Group's reach.

First lets look at the word "Lego". It's a brand name, a proper noun. I understand why people think it's weird to say "Legos" because that might feel like saying "Microsofts" or "Googles".

However, the evolution of the name, at least in places like the USA, has gone past that.

First off there is no rule that a proper noun or a brand name cannot be used in such a fashion. Have you heard your grandma say "Nintendos"? I sure have. Heck, even about things that are Sony or Microsoft. Yes, she might be factually wrong about the Sony and Microsoft things however the use of "Nintendos" is absolutely NOT grammatically incorrect.

In fact the practice of turning proper nouns and brand names into countable objects is a common practice! From "Macs" to "Toyotas" to "BMWs" to, yes "Legos".

There is absolutely nothing incorrect grammatically about doing that to a brand name despite what Lego would want you to believe (because they fear genericization). Heck, a lot of brands do this THEMSEVLVES especially car brands.

This is a grammatical FACT. This is language. This is how language works. It might not be ideal for the Lego company but it's just the facts.

The fact that Lego officially names the proper terms also does NOT affect the language. No matter what the "official grammar" is the unofficial grammar of "Legos" is still very much grammatically correct. Again, deny it all you want. But language is not dictated by a company or the hardcore fans.

Brand names, despite what a lot of people believe, can be turned into countable objects as long as there are actually countable objects. This is the biggest case I see against "legos"... but factually it's not actually a rule. You CAN grammatically do this.

So basically, the vernacular of using the word "legos" is 100 grammatically correct. Vernacular makes it sound weird and off in some regions (basically everywhere outside of the USA and possibly Canada). But that's irrelevant. The Lego Group has attempted to control the use of the word "Legos" and to say what's correct and incorrect, but that's also irrelevant as they have no real power over language.

Grammatically there's absolutely nothing wrong with using "Legos", "Nintendos", "BMWs", etc. Though hopefully you're actually referring to the correct products, otherwise it's incorrect (factually, not grammatically). So no calling Mega Bloks "Legos" as that's factually wrong (they're not the same brand) but still, grammatically correct.

Legos is both grammatically correct and factually correct because you're referring to a single company's products. You could say it's not a fact because Lego says it's not. You could say it's not grammatically correct because they say it's not. But it is. Again, they do not control language.

Legos = Grammatically correct.

Legos = A vernacular term most often used in the USA and correctly according to it's language.

Now, Lego is a fine company and if you want to help them keep their trademark, that's fine. I usually try to say "Lego bricks" and stuff specifically when online (I don't bother in "real life" since nobody here does).

But seriously, come on. Facts are facts. Grammar is grammar.

LEGOS IS FINE.

And don't discount vernacular. In some places it's fine to say kleenexes, in others it's kleenex. Both are fine grammatically.

You can say you have two Cokes. Two Oreos. Some things sound fine regionally while others do not sound fine regionally.

It's freakin' language. Lego has no control over the grammar and saying "Legos" is grammatically wrong is incorrect.

Grammar and the vernacular are on "Legos" side.

When it comes down to it there's only one issue. Whether or not you want to help Lego maintain it's trademark. But stop saying it's "incorrect" to use the word "Legos" because it's not... it's just not. Not here in the USA anyways.

[escortmad79]

This has been discussed in the past, there is a topic running on this forum regarding Lego vs Legos

[Fugazi]

This topic has been discussed time and again, the most recent thread being this one. I will merge this once members have had a chance to comment.

[RaincloudDustbin]

LEGOs is not fine. LEGOs is wrong.Tht's my opinion. LEGO has repeatedly said not to call it LEGOs so this thread is pointless. Grammatically correct or not, anyone who refers to LEGO as LEGOs are deliberately disobeying the company so why don't we all just be nice loyal fans and collectors? After the last thread, EB as a majority decided that the correct term is LEGO spelt singularly and all in Caps. Plus, it's not just based on locality as I'm a Brit and have got increasingly irritated as LEGO store employees call it LEGOs. Sorry if that came across angry as it was not. As always, it's my opinion and it's not my place to directly tell others not to do something so it doesn't bother me if you call it that but LEGO have asked us all not to and I feel we should respect that.

[Palathadric]

I really don't think it matters. Call it what you like when you like. TLG cannot tell you what to call their products anymore than Peugeot can tell freaks not to call their cars Poigots. Of course, since they asked it may be the "nice" thing to do, but it's not like it's a law or they're going to not allow you to buy their product anymore if you call it the "wrong" name. Ultimately, any exposure is good exposure, right?

For some reason "LEGOs" just doesn't sound right to me, and I have never called them that, personally, but that's just me.

[tafkatb]

I'm sure everyone here always sticks to Official Company Policy in their language, right? We never call them "slopes" because Official Company Nomenclature is "roof tiles." And we never ever use the word "bley," because we all know that color is called Medium Stone Grey. (Likewise for Nougat, Sand Yellow, and Bright Reddish Violet - certainly we would never transgress company policy by calling them flesh, dark tan, and magenta.) No one here has ever called their Series 7 Grandma Visitor minifigure "Little Red Riding Hood" either, right? We're nothing if not consistent in our insistence on following Official Company Policy, right?

[L@go]

I honestly don't understand where the need to be right comes from. You are obviously completely entitled to refer to LEGO bricks as Legos as much as you like, but you must be aware that on this forum it is generally disliked to do so, and that's not likely to change no matter how much you try to convince the majority of the forum members (more than 30,000 and counting) that they're wrong...

[BrickG]

LEGOs is not fine. LEGOs is wrong.Tht's my opinion. LEGO has repeatedly said not to call it LEGOs so this thread is pointless. Grammatically correct or not, anyone who refers to LEGO as LEGOs are deliberately disobeying the company so why don't we all just be nice loyal fans and collectors? After the last thread, EB as a majority decided that the correct term is LEGO spelt singularly and all in Caps. Plus, it's not just based on locality as I'm a Brit and have got increasingly irritated as LEGO store employees call it LEGOs. Sorry if that came across angry as it was not. As always, it's my opinion and it's not my place to directly tell others not to do something so it doesn't bother me if you call it that but LEGO have asked us all not to and I feel we should respect that.

It can't be wrong because it's factually not wrong. That's not an opinion. It's fact. You can think of it as "wrong" like an emotional wrong how it's "wrong" to take candy from a baby. I guess that's fine. But factually wrong? Impossible with the current standards of the language. Disobeying the company? The company literally has ZERO authority over this issue. EB as a majority decided the correct term? Irrelevant as the majority can and in this case IS wrong.

Grammatically it's correct. "Grammatically correct or not"? That's not how facts work. I'm sorry but it's true.

Respect is also irrelevant to this issue. All LEGO can do is offer their opinion on what the proper use of their brand is. But they have no sway over language that is created by societies as a whole.

Legos is correct. If you want to respect LEGO and not call them that, that's fine. But I'm sick of people spreading non-truths about the facts here. This isn't Fox News. :P

[LEGO Historian]

As someone who wrote a 2,800 page Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide as a DVD/E-Book... I know what the company actually cares about and what they do not. I had to do my legal homework, and in my 6 years of writing LEGO collectors information it has not wavered from this...

1) Always Capitalize LEGO.

2) LEGO is singular and plural... never Legos or Legoes.

3) Never use just LEGO... but LEGO bricks or LEGO windows or LEGO boxes... or LEGO company (although TLG is acceptable), etc.

These 3 rules are pretty much all that TLG asks... which really isn't much... and even then, it's mainly enforceable on media and online sites. Rule #3 is pretty much invisible... folks posting online generally ignore that one, and it's pretty acceptable. And rule #1 isn't all that bothersome to LEGO fans either.

For people who post online... you can call it what you like... the websites don't enforce it, and are not required to by TLG. However, they may tell you what TLG would like... which is fine.

As for any other LEGO item or nomenclature... colors or parts... we're free to call them what we like without any comment by TLG. Bley is online slang... and most anyone who has been online knows what it is. Ditto for slopes or other parts. TLG doesn't ask us to change that.

But rule #2 (pluralization) when people in the online community hear someone say "Legos"... from my personal opinion it tells me that the person using it has not been an AFOL for all that long... or at a minimum not well versed with the product. Now that may not always be the case... but for me it's no different than when people have spelling issues online.

So call it what you may... but in the online world... you will be judged by your writing.

Edited January 27, 2013 by LEGO Historian

[Vindicare]

I never understood the stink people make about this. It's LEGO. Plain and simple. It's not Legos, LEGOs(unless with an apostrophe and speaking plural). Its just like any other company name. So yes, saying Legos is wrong. Now, I don't wash my eyes out whenever someone says it and I happen to read it.

It's as simple as LEGO asking it's supporters to do.

Edit: Err...always read a thread completely before you post...

It's not about respect? How do you figure? If someone tells you their name is John, you don't call them Johns, you call them John. It's as simple as that. And nitpicking official names of colors, really...

Edited January 27, 2013 by Legocrazy81

[daisy]

Prior to coming to EB, I had never heard of the its LEGO not Legos controversy. LEGO was a brand name. And Legos was the title for multiple toys in that brand. Although I think most use it like a contraction LEGO's instead of lego (set)s or (brick)s. for example while most I know would call the pile of bricks on the floor Legos, most would call the aisle at the store the LEGO aisle. So yes when you are speaking to people of your vernacular it is appropriate to say Legos if you want. I also find myself using it while speaking.

However EB is not a regional place with your vernacular. It has a special relationship w/ TLG. Therefore it is appropriate to kindly encourage the proper terminology. TLG is very kind to this place. Be nice.

I do agree that's its a bit annoying when people get all wound up when some random blogger or new poster uses the term Legos, but it is perfectly acceptable to expect regular EB users to use the term according to the official usage. (And since LEGO created the name they get to decide that) So, It is equally annoying when people get all wound up about a simple expectation.

And before anyone points out again that it is inconsistent because of terms like bley, there is no rule that a private board has to be consistent, it is like when you visit someone's home, you follow their rules.

[BrickG]

I guess this is more about the community than LEGO. LEGO actually handles it well and doesn't seem to talk "correct grammar" and stuff. But I've consistently seen in the Lego communities just a spreading of non-truths as the motivation behind what's simply a company trying to protect it's brand (nothing wrong with protecting your brand).

When it goes from "Lego wants to protect it's brand" to "you're not using proper grammar when you add the 's'" and "UR WRONG!".... it's just stupid.

Again, the most popular reasoning I've seen, which has already been stated annoyingly in here... is "it's a brand name, you can't pluralize it"... tons of companies do. You can. This statement that you can't is just not true. Cokes, Oreos, Toyotas, 10000x more.

And then the "Lego said so" which is also irrelevant as Lego has no control over language.

These are facts. Opinions on the matter don't matter. You can have an opinion that they're wrong but you'd have a factually wrong opinion.

There is no evidence, at least locally (in the USA), that there's anything "wrong" about saying "Legos". Absolutely none. Until someone shows some data and evidence to suggest otherwise besides "you can't pluralize brands" and "Lego said so" there is none.

I've been trying to remember to not say "Legos" on here and usually don't. I don't mind Lego wanting to protect their brand and am glad to help them. But... the false information... so annoying...