[Apologies for continuing this odd thread but ...] On Mon, 8 Jan 2001, Tim May wrote:
Anyway - I heard Americans on the TV last week talking about "railway" instead of "railroad". And "station" instead of "depot" (though Grand Central Station is I suppose quite old, so you must have had that one for a while)
The most interesting Britishism to suddenly invade our shores and spread rapidly is "gone missing." I'm now hearing this in American movies, t.v. shows, and, importantly, television news. "The hunt is on for the fugitives in Texas who have gone missing." This is definitely new to our shores; I'm surprised (and pleased) at how rapidly it has spread.
"At university" and "at hospital" have not become common (though "at
The more common British term is "in hospital". I don't recall ever hearing anyone say "at hospital". There are innumerable small distinctions in usage . If you are in hospital, you are ill, not a member of the staff. Your being ill may the result of an injury. That is, the same term covers both sicknesses and injuries. If you are in hospital because of a broken back, people will say that you are ill. If you are sick, on the other hand, it means that you have vomited.
college" and "at school" are fully equivalent and are common).
They aren't equivalent at all. In the UK [young] children go to "school" and "college" generally refers to something very roughly equivalent to either an American senior high school or junior college. My company has university students spending a year or so with us on placement; if you ask them when they are going back to school, they tend to be offended, thinking you are poking fun at them. Taking the mickey, that is. -- Jim Dixon VBCnet GB Ltd http://www.vbc.net tel +44 117 929 1316 fax +44 117 927 2015