TOILET / UNITAZ

[Kim Braithwaite]

In my youth (western U.S.), all through grade school, junior high and high 
school the term was "lavatory."

Mr Kim Braithwaite, Translator
 "Good is better than evil, because it's nicer" - Mammy Yokum (Al Capp)

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Emily Saunders" <emilka at MAC.COM>
To: <SEELANGS at BAMA.UA.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2008 7:49 PM
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] TOILET / UNITAZ


> According to the American English I grew up with:
>
> At someone's home you would ask to use the bathroom or toilet with the 
> former being slightly more polite.  You could also ask to use "the  little 
> girls' room" but this sounds joking.
>
> Out in public you would use the restroom, bathroom, ladies' room,  mens' 
> room, or "facilities."
>
> Washroom is rare, but some do use it -- could possibly be regional or 
> generational.
>
> Slangily speaking one can also "hit the head" - a naval term that I 
> believe is shared in both the U.S. and U.K.
>
> Definite non-American English would be W.C., water closet, and  lavatory 
> (though on airplanes the toilet is commonly referred to as  the lavatory - 
> why the distinction, I'm not sure).
>
> And I think it is definitely worth footnoting that whereas toilet does 
> double-duty in English, there are two words in Russian denoting the  room 
> and the device.  I found out the difference only after about 5  years 
> worth of Russian and felt duly embarrassed given the nature of  the error 
> that elicited the correction.
>
> Regards,
>
> Emily Saunders
>
> On Aug 26, 2008, at 5:12 PM, Charlotte Rosenthal wrote:
>
>> Dear John,
>>
>> We actually say "bathroom" because in the US the toilet is usually 
>> located in the same room as the sink, shower, etc.
>> We also do say "restroom."  We also say "ladies' room" and "men's  room" 
>> because in public places most often there are two rooms, one  for women, 
>> one for men.
>> Charlotte
>>
>> Charlotte Rosenthal, Ph. D.
>> Associate Professor of Russian
>> Dept. of Modern & Classical Langs. and Lits University of Southern  Maine
>> Portland, ME 04104-9300 U.S.A.
>>
>> crosenth at usm.maine.edu
>>>>>
>
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