[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