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<P>I say "quarter till" by itself and "quarter to" with a number - i.e., "quarter to 6." My roommate always says "quarter of," which I dislike because half the time I mishear and think she said "quarter after."<BR><BR></P></DIV>
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<DIV></DIV>From: <I>Beverly Flanigan <flanigan@OHIO.EDU></I><BR>Reply-To: <I>American Dialect Society <ADS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU></I><BR>To: <I>ADS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU</I><BR>Subject: <I>Re: "until" vs "before" or "to"</I><BR>Date: <I>Tue, 17 Jul 2007 00:09:53 -0400</I><BR>---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------<BR>Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU><BR>Poster: Beverly Flanigan <flanigan@OHIO.EDU><BR>Subject: Re: "until" vs "before" or "to"<BR>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR><BR>At 10:46 PM 7/16/2007, you wrote:<BR>>---------------------- Information from the mail
header<BR>>-----------------------<BR>>Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU><BR>>Poster: sagehen <sagehen@WESTELCOM.COM><BR>>Subject: Re: "until" vs "before" or "to"<BR>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR>><BR>> >Did the announcer say "until" or "till"? "Till" is more common, and the<BR>> >standard term in the Midland (and South, I believe). It goes way back,<BR>> >noted in early travel journals as of Scotch-Irish origin. Dictionaries<BR>> >cite it as a separate lexical item, if I'm not mistaken, more related to<BR>> >"to" than to "until." (I don't have my sources here at home, but I've<BR>> >cited this in
my Encyclopedia of Appalachia entry of 2006, and Michael<BR>> >Montgomery has discussed it long before that.) As a common daily usage, it<BR>> >goes deep: I always tell my students that I, a Northerner born and bred,<BR>> >will always say "quarter to," but my Indiana/Ohio son will forever say<BR>> >"quarter till." The third option is usually "quarter of"; I've never heard<BR>> >"quarter before" (or 15 minutes before). This seems to me simply<BR>> >dialectal, not semantic. I forget where you live, Sage Hen?<BR>> ><BR>> >Beverly Flanigan<BR>> >Ohio University<BR>> ><BR>> >At 08:02 PM 7/16/2007, you wrote:<BR>> >>---------------------- Information from the mail header<BR>> >>-----------------------<BR>> >>Sender:
American Dialect Society <ADS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU><BR>> >>Poster: sagehen <sagehen@WESTELCOM.COM><BR>> >>Subject: "until" vs "before" or "to"<BR>> >>------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR>> ------<BR>> >>-<BR>> >><BR>> >>(a) It is now 25 minutes until 6.<BR>> >>(b) It is now 25 minutes before 6.<BR>> >>(c) It is now 25 minutes to 6.<BR>> >> ~~~~~~~~~~~<BR>> >>What's the difference?<BR>> >><BR>> >> (a) feels wrong to me, unless sthg important is going to happen at 6.<BR>> >><BR>> >> (b) & (c) as simple announcements of the time seem right.<BR>> >><BR>> >>Is this just me, or do
others have the same sense? I would probably never<BR>> >>have thought of this if one of our local radio announcers didn't use the<BR>> >>"until" form regularly, catching my attention. Most of them say "before."<BR>> >>AM<BR>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~<BR>>This particular announcer definitely says "until." The station is in<BR>>Canton NY, but its personnel come from all over the country.<BR>>I myself would be more likely to say "25 of 6" or "quarter of" than "<BR>>till" or "to" or "before." I grew up in Lincoln NE.<BR>>AM<BR>><BR>> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^<BR>>W stands for >:< War
____Waste___Wiretaps____Witchhunts >:<<BR>>^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^<BR>><BR>>------------------------------------------------------------<BR>>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org<BR><BR>Sounds like Broadcast Speak--a hypercorrection of "till" probably intended<BR>to please all.<BR><BR>------------------------------------------------------------<BR>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org<BR></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></div><br clear=all><hr> <a href="http://g.msn.com/8HMAENUS/2755??PS=47575" target="_top">More photos, more messages, more storage—get 2GB with Windows Live Hotmail.</a> </html>
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