LL-L "Lexicon" 2007.09.17 (01) [E]

[Lowlands-L List]

L O W L A N D S - L  -  17 September 2007 - Volume 01
Song Contest: lowlands-l.net/contest/ (- 31 Dec. 2007)
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From: Paul Finlow-Bates <wolf_thunder51 at yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: LL-L "Lexicon" 2007.09.16 (02) [E]

Hi Ron,

For me at least, those words aren't exactly synonymous.

A "basement" suggests some sort of practical use - living space, workspace,
even car parking.   A "cellar" conjours up a rather dank hole in the ground
for throwing things in, that you can't think what else to do with.

We have "basement flats" in many English and Scottish cities, apartments
below street level.  You wouldn't get many takers for a "cellar flat".

I percieve "corridors" to be necessarily much longer than they are wide;
"hallsways" could be almost square - though that's just a personal take on
it.

Paul Finlow-Bates

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From: Paul Finlow-Bates <wolf_thunder51 at yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: LL-L "Lexicon" 2007.09.16 (04) [E]

  From Ron:

 Furthermore, I wonder about the distribution of the following.

In Europe (not only in English), generally "first floor" (or "first
stor(e)y") is what at least in parts of North America is "second floor,"
while "ground

floor" is "first floor" in North America.

This is a bit like the Millennium debate: do you start counting at 1, or
zero?
I've noticed that two former Empire colonies have different usage: Hong Kong
follows British/Australian usage of Ground, One Two etc, whereas Singapore
starts with One at ground level.

In some respects the British way seems illogical - a building with only one
floor is still called a single-storey structure.  On the other hand, if
you're on the ground level and want to get to the 3rd Floor,  you know you
have three sets of stairs to climb, not two as Americans would have it!
Maybe Americans are more likely to take the lift.. Sorry, elevator :)

Paul Finlow-Bates

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From: "Brooks, Mark" <mark.brooks at twc.state.tx.us>
Subject: LL-L "Lexicon" 2007.09.16 (02) [E]

Ron wrote: Most US Americans understand "cellar" and "corridor."
I live in Texas and I would call that underground part of the house a
basement.  Back when I was a kid, Fort Worth, Texas (I lived in Dallas) had
a night club called The Cellar which had all kinds of goings on.  Of course,
none of us had ever witnessed the lascivious behavior purported to take
place there, but it was the thing of legend.  You know…just far enough away
to have lots of mystery.  In that regard, I image that most of us would have
loved to have a cellar under our house.

I'd also call that long narrow area linking one room to another in a house
the "hall."  The word "hallway" seems a little stilted to my ear, but I
would certainly understand it.

I definitely would not call that long narrow area a "corridor."  A corridor
would be something more "official" like "the corridor from Austin to San
Antonio has grown more populous."  It would be a government kind of thing.
In fact, right now we have a controversy here in Texas about what the
Governor calls the Trans Texas Corridor.  It would be several long strips of
land that would have highways, railways, oil and gas pipelines, running side
by side across the state.  It has something to do with NAFTA.  Anyway, I
would use the word "corridor" for something like that, but not an area
inside my house.

Mark Brooks
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