"Train Station"?

[DarloRich]

while we are on ( OT - Sorry) i get really teed off about people saying, for example, can i get a single to wolverton. Can i get a double venti mocha chocca docka skiny frapocino.

NO - in English we say please may i have

arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!

 

[LE Greys]

Does it really matter what its called?

Well, if it was called Alice...

 

[Wath Yard]

My bad. I don't visit this forum much so I missed it. No further replies necessary.

So you hate the term train station but are quite happy to use 'My bad'. :roll:

 

[LE Greys]

while we are on ( OT - Sorry) i get really teed off about people saying, for example, can i get a single to wolverton. Can i get a double venti mocha chocca docka skiny frapocino.

NO - in English we say please may i have

arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!

Why certainly, if you just come round the counter, the machine's over there.

 

[DarloRich]

Does it really matter what its called?

it does to me

 

[PinzaC55]

So you hate the term train station but are quite happy to use 'My bad'. :roll:

You've got me.

 

[marks87]

while we are on ( OT - Sorry) i get really teed off about people saying, for example, can i get a single to wolverton. Can i get a double venti mocha chocca docka skiny frapocino.

NO - in English we say please may i have

arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!

There's absolutely nothing wrong with "Can I get...?"; well, at a push you could say the correct form is "Can I have...?". But to say that we should always be saying "Please may I have...?" is a bit extreme.

 

[Badger]

At least you said you've, not you.

To be honest I can't recall ever using train station or railway station really. On signs it's usually the national rail sign with "station" or the name of the station, and I don't say "I'm at the railway station", I say "I'm at [station name]" or "the station" if needs be, heh.

If I had to it would probably be "I'm in a station" or "I'm at a station" depending on whether I'm platform side.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with "Can I get...?"; well, at a push you could say the correct form is "Can I have...?". But to say that we should always be saying "Please may I have...?" is a bit extreme.

Both are grammatically wrong - as the answer will always be "yes". (Annoyingly I've been getting that response almost unanimously at shops when I say "can I have". The attendant then walking away.)

 

[Bungle73]

There's absolutely nothing wrong with "Can I get...?"; well, at a push you could say the correct form is "Can I have...?". But to say that we should always be saying "Please may I have...?" is a bit extreme.

"Can I get" is definitely not correct. "Can I get" means you want to get it yourself.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

At least you said you've, not you.

To be honest I can't recall ever using train station or railway station really. On signs it's usually the national rail sign with "station" or the name of the station, and I don't say "I'm at the railway station", I say "I'm at [station name]" or "the station" if needs be, heh.

If I had to it would probably be "I'm in a station" or "I'm at a station" depending on whether I'm platform side.



Both are grammatically wrong - as the answer will always be "yes". (Annoyingly I've been getting that response almost unanimously at shops when I say "can I have". The attendant then walking away.)

What if there's more than one kind of station in the locality?

 

[LE Greys]

What if there's more than one kind of station in the locality?

One assumes that railway stations have primacy, especially since they were there first. If I said, "I'm at the church", would you assume it was the 14th Century C of E or the 19th Century Baptist one?

 

[Bungle73]

One assumes that railway stations have primacy, especially since they were there first. If I said, "I'm at the church", would you assume it was the 14th Century C of E or the 19th Century Baptist one?

I wouldn't have clue which one you were at.

I got a lift the other month, and the person was told I needed to be dropped off at "the station". They wanted to know which station because the place (Chatham) has a railway station and a bus station.

 

[johnnychips]

I got a lift the other month, and the person was told I needed to be dropped off at "the station". They wanted to know which station because the place (Chatham) has a railway station and a bus station.

if you were suddenly struck dumb - which I pray never happens - I bet they would have dropped you at the rail station.

- which I've just realised is the term that came straight to my head without thinking 'train' or 'railway'. Sorry for making this discussion worse.

 

[Temple Meads]

For some bizarre reason (which I suspect could be being a rail enthusiast), I think of the Train Station as the "Station" and the Bus Station as just that (Bus Station)...

 

[whhistle]

I say either. Whichever comes out. Usually train station as it's easier to say.

I prefer "Underground Station" - which does , after all, describe it better than "tube station"

But then surely if you like to say "Railway Station" then you should be referring to it as "Underground Railway Station"?
On this one, I just say "The Underground".


Don't Americans also call the platforms "roads"? "Road 6 for the 10:45 Amtrack service to Washington".

If you cut a potato into rectangular strips and fry them in batter are they "chips" or "fries"?

That depends on the cut.

Chips - Normal "British" cut.
Fries - Thin cut (like McDonalds).
Steak Chips / Chunky Chips - Thicker than normal.
Crinkle Cut - Normal, but crinkly.

Chips or Fries is the style of cut, NOT the product description (realistically speaking, that would be potato in the form of ***** (chips, fries, baked, mashed...).



This also can be said for that appliance you use to suck things up from the carpet. What is it? Not a Hoover, that is a brand. The appliance is a vacuum cleaner. Many people call yellow diggers "JCB's" when in actual fact, it may not be a JCB.

 

[Green Lane]

Don't Americans also call the platforms "roads"? "Road 6 for the 10:45 Amtrack service to Washington".

The Rock Island Line is a mighty good road.

 

[PinzaC55]

"Don't Americans also call the platforms "roads"? "Road 6 for the 10:45 Amtrack service to Washington"."

Indeed they do. But we "invented" railways so we get "naming rights".


"Chips - Normal "British" cut.
Fries - Thin cut (like McDonalds).
Steak Chips / Chunky Chips - Thicker than normal.
Crinkle Cut - Normal, but crinkly."

Define "Normal"?

"This also can be said for that appliance you use to suck things up from the carpet. What is it? Not a Hoover, that is a brand. The appliance is a vacuum cleaner. Many people call yellow diggers "JCB's" when in actual fact, it may not be a JCB. "

As I said earlier some words are in "common usage". Strictly speaking a vacuum cleaner does not produce a vacuum, it produces an air pressure differential.

 

[WestCoast]

Language changes. If the Americans want use different terminology, they can as Britain doesn't 'own' English (far from it actually!). If language doesn't change, it dies.

Hwæt! Wé Gárdena in géardagum
þéodcyninga þrym gefrúnon
hú ðá æþelingas ellen fremedon.

That's what English used to look like 1,300 years ago, I presume everyone can understand it? Thought not. If language never changed, that would be modern day English.

 

[Bungle73]

Don't Americans also call the platforms "roads"? "Road 6 for the 10:45 Amtrack service to Washington".

I don't know about that, but the don't use platform numbers they use track numbers, ie "the train is leaving from track 2"

Edit: So I'm pretty sure the "road" in your example is referring to the track, after all Americans call the railway the "railroad".

 

[cuccir]

Railway Station is the correct term. We are NOT yanks,

That is all.

Oh please. In the 1930s the words seafood, OK and commuter were all Americanisms. Or are we not meant to use those either?

I agree that we should challenge new uses and changes. A free-for-all is not much use to anyone and is not 'totes amazeballs'. Sometimes a change in word use can make us lose a useful subtly in the language. In this case (train v railway station) the change seems pretty harmless, and pretty well accepted.

 

[WestCoast]

Oh please. In the 1930s the words seafood, OK and commuter were all Americanisms. Or are we not meant to use those either?

I agree that we should challenge new uses and changes. A free-for-all is not much use to anyone and is not 'totes amazeballs'. Sometimes a change in word use can make us lose a useful subtly in the language. In this case (train v railway station) the change seems pretty harmless, and pretty well accepted.

I agree with this entirely, but I would add it's the general population who will accept or reject changes. The Oxford English Dictionary recognises that and will enter or remove words and their usage in phrases from the log as appropriate.

Equally, there are many older English words that have been adopted by Americans and fallen out of use in Britain, such as 'period' (to mean full stop) and 'oftentimes' (to mean regularly), which all predate American independence by many years!

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

I go back a long way now and I can remember when Railway Stations were called just that. But the term "Train Station" is everywhere now. It doesn't seem to be used much here so is it just used by grockles? It makes me want to scream.

I Agree with you too. I prefer railway station.

 

[DarloRich]

Oh please. In the 1930s the words seafood, OK and commuter were all Americanisms. Or are we not meant to use those either?

I agree that we should challenge new uses and changes. A free-for-all is not much use to anyone and is not 'totes amazeballs'. Sometimes a change in word use can make us lose a useful subtly in the language. In this case (train v railway station) the change seems pretty harmless, and pretty well accepted.

well you are still wrong

It is a Railway Station NOT a train station. Proper use of the English language, like what i do, is important. To use Train station is lazy imo

 

[Badger]

So is using imo in sentences about the importance of proper English.

 

[WestCoast]

well you are still wrong

It is a Railway Station NOT a train station. Proper use of the English language, like what i do, is important. To use Train station is lazy imo

What constitutes 'proper use' though? Many Victorians would probably have been abhorred by abbreviations like 'imo' (which is modern day txt spk).

I assume you don't use any 'regionalisms' either? No slang words whatsoever?

 

[HawkeyeTheNoo]

[/QUOTE]Don't Americans also call the platforms "roads"? "Road 6 for the 10:45 Amtrack service to Washington".[/QUOTE]


Americans refer to the platform area or rather in most cases where you board from ground level as "Track"

I also refer to them as that when travelling with my wife who is American to avoid confusion! lol!

 

[starrymarkb]

 

[YorkshireBear]

Does anyone apart from those on here really care?

 

[DarloRich]

What constitutes 'proper use' though? Many Victorians would probably have been abhorred by abbreviations like 'imo' (which is modern day txt spk).

I assume you don't use any 'regionalisms' either? No slang words whatsoever?

which i also hate! but still use from time to time iirc!

I use lots of regionalisms, essentially to confuse the southerners/cockneys. It is such good fun and they are such an easy target. One has to win these small battles!

No one will ever convince me to use train station instead of railway station. I just dont think it is correct.

Lazy use of English is one of my pet hates and brings out the pedant in me.

 

[Badger]

But you're happy to use Internet acronyms frequently (iirc and so on). How is that any different to train station over railway station?

 

[DarloRich]

But you're happy to use Internet acronyms frequently (iirc and so on). How is that any different to train station over railway station?

I am not "happy" to use them, i said i used them from to to time. (I am not perfect)

How is that different? - Because i said so