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<i.works both ways. fics with english characters full of Americanisms. Like 'he walked a couple of blocks' - err no he didn't! Argh!!!!</i>
lol QAF is my only fandom ever and I asked whether this was an issue in reverse in the HP or other fandoms. :) I don't get the blocks reference. What should be said?
I do notice sometimes that "road" is used in QAF fic when "street" would be the obvious American choice. We, of course, do have roads here and use the word, but sometimes the way it's used in fic is a dead giveaway that the story was written by a non-American writer.
well you'd never ever use the term block. block as a word confuses me cause i always thought it referred specifically to cities like New york with a grid-layout but i see it used a general measurement of distence? Would that be right?
The closest thing to it I suppose would be up the road/down the road/around the corner
as in the 'The shop was just around the corner' vs 'the shop was two blocks away' but really it doesn't have a specific equivalent.
I think more often than not, it's not so much the use of the specific word but the cultural meanings it implies that are the big giveaways. As in the blocks thing, because Europeans in general don't measure distence like that, with the same exactness I think. And the grilled-cheese sandwich thing (called 'cheese on toast' or a 'cheese toastie' but never ever grilled cheese!) it is often used in particular contexts as a sort of perennial comfort food but it doesn't really have the same kind of meaning on the other side of the Atlantic. (I'm pretty sure I'm not making any sense at all! Sorry! LOL)
block as a word confuses me cause i always thought it referred specifically to cities like New york with a grid-layout but i see it used a general measurement of distence? Would that be right?
This is very interesting! I had no idea block wasn't commonly used as a reference point for indicating place. Yes, it's used a general place-locator as opposed to any exact measurement of distance; i.e., there is no standard foot/meter measurement that equals a block. If you're standing at the edge of a street, the block is the space until the next street, regardless of how long the distance is. Basically, it's corner to corner. So, to me, if I was told the address I was looking for was "two blocks up, turn right and it's almost at the end of the block," that would be a very specific instruction to me to go walk two streets north, turn and walk one street east and the address I was looking for would be almost to the next street corner, even though the distance in feet/meters wouldn't be consistent from city to city (or even area of town to area of town).
Oh, yeah. A grilled cheese and some canned Campbell's tomato soup is one of the ultimate comfort food lunches or dinners. Especially if you're sick or it's really cold outside. :)
I think we're generally a lot vaguer with our directions. but yeah if someone asked me for directions, it would be either in terms of landmarks ie. walk until you get to x and then turn left. or straight ahed and it's the third turn on the right. If i tried to give directions in terms of blocks I'd get someone hopelessly lost, possibly because roads are so 'curved' and converge into so many other roads and with so many laneways it would be absolutely impossible.
Clearly it's a whole different language of communication. Numerous occasions I've been stopped by American tourists in town looking for directions, who look hopelessly baffled when i try to explain, and then when they try to clarify by asking me how many blocks, I then get confused. It is a hopeless business.
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lol QAF is my only fandom ever and I asked whether this was an issue in reverse in the HP or other fandoms. :) I don't get the blocks reference. What should be said?
I do notice sometimes that "road" is used in QAF fic when "street" would be the obvious American choice. We, of course, do have roads here and use the word, but sometimes the way it's used in fic is a dead giveaway that the story was written by a non-American writer.
no subject
The closest thing to it I suppose would be up the road/down the road/around the corner
as in the 'The shop was just around the corner' vs 'the shop was two blocks away' but really it doesn't have a specific equivalent.
I think more often than not, it's not so much the use of the specific word but the cultural meanings it implies that are the big giveaways. As in the blocks thing, because Europeans in general don't measure distence like that, with the same exactness I think. And the grilled-cheese sandwich thing (called 'cheese on toast' or a 'cheese toastie' but never ever grilled cheese!) it is often used in particular contexts as a sort of perennial comfort food but it doesn't really have the same kind of meaning on the other side of the Atlantic. (I'm pretty sure I'm not making any sense at all! Sorry! LOL)
no subject
This is very interesting! I had no idea block wasn't commonly used as a reference point for indicating place. Yes, it's used a general place-locator as opposed to any exact measurement of distance; i.e., there is no standard foot/meter measurement that equals a block. If you're standing at the edge of a street, the block is the space until the next street, regardless of how long the distance is. Basically, it's corner to corner. So, to me, if I was told the address I was looking for was "two blocks up, turn right and it's almost at the end of the block," that would be a very specific instruction to me to go walk two streets north, turn and walk one street east and the address I was looking for would be almost to the next street corner, even though the distance in feet/meters wouldn't be consistent from city to city (or even area of town to area of town).
Oh, yeah. A grilled cheese and some canned Campbell's tomato soup is one of the ultimate comfort food lunches or dinners. Especially if you're sick or it's really cold outside. :)
no subject
I think we're generally a lot vaguer with our directions. but yeah if someone asked me for directions, it would be either in terms of landmarks ie. walk until you get to x and then turn left. or straight ahed and it's the third turn on the right. If i tried to give directions in terms of blocks I'd get someone hopelessly lost, possibly because roads are so 'curved' and converge into so many other roads and with so many laneways it would be absolutely impossible.
Clearly it's a whole different language of communication. Numerous occasions I've been stopped by American tourists in town looking for directions, who look hopelessly baffled when i try to explain, and then when they try to clarify by asking me how many blocks, I then get confused. It is a hopeless business.