Apparently the word "the" is out of vogue in some places - and by some places I mean San Francisco, and by out of vogue I mean not used in reference to freeways. A friend of mine visited recently, and when I mentioned that we would be taking "the 5" he said that he'd forgotten we do that down here... that being putting "the" before the freeway number. Rather than getting on "the 5" up in the land of really big bridges I guess they just get on "5."
I can't even type it out without feeling weird.
So is this "the" business just a southern California thing? Do you people articulate your articles when ambulating? Is this where The The got their name???
Please to be disambiguating now.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
An Article about Articles
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10 comments:
Get on the 5, then merge on the 805. The the is so important to the subject of your conversation! Get on the 5? One could be "getting on" many things in multiples of fives! I think collisions are going to increase in SF.
Boo.
I just have a problem talking about anything that is only one syllable. One syllable is either too simple (and I mean that in the "He's a uhh.. simple fellow") or too blunt. Take names for instance... Biff, Bob, or Lou. Don't those guys sound sort of small-town and, well, simple? What about sex, c*&!, or f#$%? Too blunt those words are. Now, a nice two syllable word or phrase is much more refined. Take Erin, Lauren, or Susan. Such nice elegant names. "Erin, won't you please take the five with me to my chateau where we shall sip champagne and waltz all night long?" The Five. Beautiful.
It's not just SF, I think. Apparently we're the the-ing freaks of the nation.
Lauren, if you've been holding out on a chateau you are officially ON NOTICE.
My name is three syllabus- I must be most refined.
Hairy wongs.. lol
I think the "the" is very much a Southern California thing.
No one on the east refers to the freeways (oh wait--most of them aren't free there) by their numbers.
I think it's especially true for "The Pike" (either the 90 in MA/NY or 80 in PA, OH.)
There may be a few exceptions, but I can't think of any from the east.
I think the "the" is very much a Southern California thing.
That's what P-C said! I thought everyone else was supposed to talk like us, dammit. ;)
Hm.
Well, here in Chicagoland, we'll use "the" when referring to the name of an expressway ("The Eisenhower", "The Kennedy"), but numbers don't usually get a "the" ("Take I-94 up to Milwaukee").
numbers don't usually get a "the"
That seems to be the pattern. It's, like, stupid how mind-blown I am about this. I think I need to get out more. Heh.
In Nor. Cal. we say take 85 to 87 to 17 to Santa Cruz. We don't but "the" in front. When I came down to So. Cal. I had to get use to the "the" thing. Strange.
Ooh, I forgot that you were a Northern Californian. That must have taken a while to get used to. I now have yet another reason never to move!
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