Anglo-American communications studies

Jim Dixon jdd at vbc.net
Mon Jan 8 12:54:06 PST 2001


[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






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