LL-L "Idiomatica" 2007.10.19 (02) [E]

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L O W L A N D S - L  -  19 October 2007 - Volume 01
Song Contest: lowlands-l.net/contest/ (- 31 Dec. 2007)
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From: "Ben J. Bloomgren" <ben.j.bloomgren at gmail.com>
Subject: LL-L "Idiomatica" 2007.10.18 (03) [E]

 However, it's used far less than it is in English. I wonder if the
frequency with which it is used in English has something to do with Britain
being an
island that is fairly narrow east-west but is fairly long north-south.

Possibly so. We don't use compass directions that religiously down in
Arizona, but we do use up for north and down for south as I said.
Unfortunately there are people who don't know what direction things are in
comparison to one another, and they'll say "I'm down in Oregon and you are
up in Arizona".
Ben

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From: Ed Alexander <edsells at cogeco.ca>
Subject: LL-L "Idiomatica" 2007.10.18 (09) [E]

At 02:48 PM 18/10/2007 -0700, Ben J. Bloomgren and others wrote:

In my western US English, we use map references to refer to where we are or
where we're going. "I'm down in Mexico right now." "I hope to go up to
Phoenix for my birthday in November." "My aunt used to live back east." i.a.
from others.

They all have in common that they make sense.  Two that don't are "downtown"
which was borrowed from Manhattan around the world regardless of city
orientation, and the other is the original names for the two big eastern
provinces of Canada.  Quebec, to the north, was Lower Canada, and Ontario,
to the south, was Upper Canada.  It made good sense when they named them
when you reached them pretty much via the St. Lawrence River and Lake
Ontario.  Ontario is "up river" from Quebec.

Ed Alexander
Upper Canada

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

Thanks, Ben and Ed.

(Hi there, Ed! Nice to see the squirrel come down the tree once in a while.)

"My aunt used to live back east."

This is an interesting one, since practically every US American says "back
east" in reference to the west coast, even those that never lived there or
have living relatives there. This seems to show that there's nationally
shared, "ingrained" consciousness of European colonization having begun on
the east coast and the west being "new land."

Is this so in Canada as well?

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

•

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