LL-L: "Little words" [E] LOWLANDS-L, 01.OCT.1999 (02)

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From: Ted Harding <Ted.Harding at nessie.mcc.ac.uk>
Subject: "through"

This is possibly not an LL question strictly speaking, though I'm
sure it has LL links.

US English usage very commonly has the likes of

  "Open from 10 am through 4 pm daily"

which would never happen in British English (where "through" would
be replaced with "to" or "until").

I've been intrigued for a long time as to where this usage of
"through" may originate from, and how it got into US English.

Interestingly (and I dare say this is mainstream LL), in the
North of England (especially Yorkshire) there is another form
("while" instead of "until") used in specch, as in

  "I'll be busy while four this afternoon"

Any cognates for this one in other places?

Best wishes to all,
Ted.

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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Little words

Ted,

Having grown up mostly with non-American English, I too found the use of
"{time} through {time}" strange at first, and I still resist the pressure of
using it, saying "from {time} until/till/to {time}" instead.

There are many such cases where the usage of "little words" is different
between American English and non-American English, and in my experience
non-American speakers living in America tend to avoid adopting some of those
that seem "simply too odd" to them.   A good example is "different than"
rather than "different from."  The other day I said to my English (Manchester)
dentist, "I noticed that after all these years you still don't say 'different
than,'" and she answered, "There are some things you just can not make
yourself say."  Mind you, her speech is rather American if seen from a British
point of view.

Regards,

Reinhard/Ron

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