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I recently though about words that have multiple forms as real objects. For
example a ticket can be a paper slip, or an email receipt.

Does the way of counting them change based on what it is, or does the unit
word belong purely to the word itself (with the traditional meaning)? For
example, are 2 tickets emailed to me still 2枚きっぷ if it's not printed?
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2018-08-04T21:58:06.627
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counters
Do unit words belong to a word or a specific object?
I would say that counters apply to words, or more accurately, the concepts
that those words represent, whether in the literal or abstract sense. The
words ticket and きっぷ both represent a flat object which would use the 枚
counter. A digital representation of or a substitute for two tickets is still
considered two tickets, especially if you yourself actually use the word
'ticket'.

I really don't see this as a Japanese-language specific question, as in
English the same question could be asked. For an example, if you show up to a
theater with a digital receipt and say 'I have two tickets to the show' is
anybody going to misunderstand that you meant it in the abstract sense?
Further, if I sent you an image of two pencils and asked you how many pencils
there were, I would be justified to think you a bit too literal if you
answered 'There are no pencils, only one image'.

About your email example, you received one email (一通）for the digital
equivalent of two tickets （きっぷ2枚）. If you want to present it differently (more
literally), you can say 2名分の入場券(1通).
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Counters apply to words. I was unable to find a specific reference for
electronic tickets, but from a [related discussion regarding electronic
books](https://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q10156570315)
it is clear that the Kindle store and other vendors use the normal counter for
real physical books (冊).

Beyond books and tickets, my personal impression is that unit words relate to
the **original idea** , and not to the various physical or virtual embodiments
of that idea. Consider large animals, which are counted using the big-animal
counter 頭. One example is alpacas, which are [counted as usual on Japanese
Wikipedia using
頭](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A2%E3%83%AB%E3%83%91%E3%82%AB)
：「1頭のアルパカ」, but [small stuffed alpaca toys are also counted using
頭](https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%80%90%E3%83%81%E3%83%A3%E3%82%A4%E3%83%8F%E3%83%8D%E3%80%91%E3%83%93%E3%82%AF%E3%83%BC%E3%83%8B%E3%83%A3%E3%81%AC%E3%81%84%E3%81%90%E3%82%8B%E3%81%BF-40cm-1-VARIATION-
CAYHANE-RBUP9821-01/dp/B00OB4VG4U)：「頭数が少ない」. The counter 頭 when used for
stuffed animals is not directly related to the size of the stuffed animal, but
is instead related to the idea of the original alpaca.
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answer