Klarinet Archive - Posting 000304.txt from 2004/03

From: Tony Pay <tony.p@------.org>
Subj: Re: [kl] English and American
Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2004 11:54:28 -0500

In message <007a01c402ca$d6c99140$3920030a@------.local>
"Fred Wilson" <fred.wilson@------.edu> wrote:

> From: "Joe Fasel" <jhf@------.gov>
>
> > I keep hearing other Americans being amused by "Mind the gap", and I must
> > say, I don't get it. This strikes me as perfectly good usage in
> > anybody's variety of English.

I once played in the course of a young composer's workshop at Princeton a
piece by an American, Mark Zaki, called precisely that. But it turned out he
was actually alluding to its use on the London Underground.

> The point is that it has no cultural basis in the States. It is a logical
> use of words, to be sure. No reason I know of exists why it is funny or
> wrong. But since it is not used in the State, and is ubiquitous in England
> it takes some getting used to.

[snip]

> ... it's representative of the cultural differences that make language less
> powerful to communicate.

Or of the charming diversity of language that calls to attention a cultural
difference -- in this case, the necessity in weirdly-laid-out London to build
subway lines that often curve significantly even within stations, thus
creating the gap.

But, you do say, "mind the step", don't you? Anyway, my main point would be
that there are many examples the other way.

One I enjoyed noticing on a recent visit to the US was the aiport sign, "Kiss
and Fly".

After working out its probable meaning, I wondered whether, had I been in a
taxi, I would have found the driver taking that particular exit to drop me
at the terminal; and also whether it had ever occurred to a taxi driver with
a different sort of passenger to wonder wishfully whether she (or he) might
take the injunction literally.

Or do I still misunderstand?

Tony
--
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... Misspelled? Impossible. My modem is error correcting.