Re: [YAEUT] Lexical variation survey

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kelly Drinkwater" <mizunomi@...>
To: <CONLANG@...>
Sent: Sunday, May 04, 2008 6:41 PM
Subject: [YAEUT] Lexical variation survey



> Date of birth:
1974

> Sex:
Male

> Where do you currently live? (city, state/province, country)
Worcestershire, UK

> Please list the places you've lived between age 4 and age 18, with the
> most recent first:
Worcestershire UK, Birmingham UK

> Occupation:
"Internal Sales Supervisor" & Translator

> Highest level of education completed:
BA (Hons)

> Ethnic heritage:
English


> What is/are your native language(s)?
English (specifically British English, Even more Specifically
English-Midlands English)


> Roughly how many years have you been conlanging or studying linguistics?
15 Years


> How many years ago did you first encounter / begin reading (not
> necessarily join / begin posting on) an online conlanging community?
Cannot recall. 4-5 years ago maybe?

> For each of the following items, please choose which word you use most
> often, or put the word you do use if it's not a choice. Feel free to
> leave comments if some aspect of your usage is noteworthy (eg if you
> are

> 1. the metal device over a sink or bathtub that controls the flow of
> water:
> faucet, spigot, tap
'Tap'


> 2. the apparatus from which you'd get a drink of water in a public place:
> bubbler, drinking fountain, water fountain
I know what these are, and I've come across a few, but they are very few and
far between over here. First thing that usually springs to mind when I do
see one is "ah, one of those American drinking fountain things' - 'drinking
fountain' being the American term used when I first saw one (in a US film) -
there isn't really a BE term I know of, on account of there not being any
when/where I grew up.

> 3. the device that firefighters attach their hoses to:
> fire hydrant, fire plug
Just 'Hydrant'. (NB - this term to me is un underground tap the firemen
access via a small (approx 6" square) metal flap in the ground, by extension
I occasionally use the term in reference to the metal flap itself. I also
use the term "fire hydrant" - but only to refer to the American thing that
is installed permanently above ground which you are not allowed to park next
to!)


> 4. the container in which you'd put water for washing the car or the
> floor:
> bucket, pail
'bucket'

>
> 5. a machine that performs banking services:
> ATM, automated teller, bank machine, cash machine, cash point,
> guichet, hole in the wall, money machine, commercial name (eg MAC
> machine, Instant Teller, Instabank)
'cash point'/'cash machine', both terms equally and interchangeably. A free
standing unit however (as ooposed to a hole-in-the-wall type affair) is more
likely to be 'cash machine', although it could be a 'cash point' too

>
> 6. stuff you throw away:
> garbage, rubbish, trash
'rubbish'


> 7. the wheeled conveyance you put your groceries in while shopping:
> basket, buggy, cart, trolley
'(shopping) trolley'


>
> 8. a shallow pan for frying eggs or meat:
> fry pan, frying pan, griddle, skillet, spider
'frying pan'

>
> 9. a piece of chocolate, 4-6 inches long:
> bar, candy bar, chocolate bar
Distal: 'bar of chocolate' (e.g. 'If you're going to the shop, could you get
me a bar of chocolate?'). Proximal "chocolate" (e.g. 'What have you got
there?' 'Some chocholate'). Generally, it might also be referred to as
'(some) sweets'

> 10. a carbonated, non-alcoholic beverage, like Coke or Sprite:
> coke, cola, cold drink, fizzy drink, pop, soda, soda pop, soft drink,
> tonic
'(fizzy) pop' as a general term, or when being specific the actual brand
name of the product, or 'coke' (for coke, pepsi or any similar) /
'______ade' (e.g. lemonade, orangeade, cherryade, raspberryade etc)

> 11. cooking outside over a charcoal grill in the summertime:
> barbecuing, grilling, grilling out, having a cookout
'(having a) barbecue'

> 12. a cold sandwich on a foot-long roll:
> sub(marine), hero, hoagie, grinder
A recent American import here, and very welcome! In the context of the
American style sandwich, purchased from Subway/Quiznos, I'd say 'sub'.  When
growing up in pre-subway days, a long thin sandwich would be a 'roll'
(implies a soft crust, 4" - 6" long), 'baguette' (implies a crusty crust, 6"
or longer) or even just 'sandwich'.

>
> 13. the sweet, creamy layer on top of a cake:
> frosting, icing
'icing'

>
> 14. your main evening meal:
> dinner, supper
'dinner' (hot and later evening) or 'tea' (hot and early evening, or cold
any time)

>
> 15. food picked up and taken home to eat:
> carry-out, take-away, take-out
generally 'take-away', but it is usually referred to specifically by the
type, e.g. 'fish and chips', '(an) Indian' '(a) Chinese' etc

>
> 16. an appliance on which you heat food in saucepans:
> cooker, range, stove
'cooker' / 'oven'

>
> 17. knives, forks, and spoons:
> cutlery, flatware, silverware, utensils
'cutlery'

>
> 18. contact someone by telephone:
> call, phone, ring, telephone, buzz
'call' or 'phone' - pretty much equally and interchangeably.  Ocasionally
also 'give someone a bell' (e.g. 'I'll give you a bell later to sort out the
details''). This last term is only used very colloquially and feels like a
Birmingham term to me - I certainly don't tend to use it with anyone not
from that area.

>
> 19. the toilet facilities in a public place:
> bathroom, facilities, ladies' room / men's room, lavatory, loo,
> restroom, toilet, washroom, WC, john
'toilets'

>
> 20. athletic shoes worn with jeans as casual footwear:
> gym shoes, plimsolls, runners, running shoes, sneakers, tennis shoes,
> trainers, brand name (eg Adidas)
'trainers'

>
> 21. a sweatshirt with front pockets and a hood:
> hooded sweatshirt, hoodie, kangaroo jacket, bunnyhug
Previously just 'sweatshirt' whether or not it had a hood.  In the last 18
months/2 years the term 'hoodie' has started to come into use though too,
but with very negative connotations (being the garment of choice for young
muggers and the like).

>
> 22. a piece of furniture that seats 3 people:
> couch, chesterfield, davenport, divan, settee, sofa
As a child 'settee'. Since being married 'couch', this being the term used
by my American wife and now also my kids.

>
> 23. a piece of furniture with drawers for socks, underwear, etc.:
> bureau, chest (of drawers), drawers, dresser, highboy
'chest of drawers'.  As a kid, I always misheard/reproduced the term as
'Chester drawers', thinking it must be something to do with the town of
Chester!

>
> 24. the last letter of the alphabet:
> zed, zee
'zed'

>
> 25. the place where you pay for something in a store:
> cash, cash register, cashier, check-out, till
In a supermarket, with conveyor belt etc: 'checkout'.  In any store either
'counter' or 'till'

>

Pete.