USC

[Dave Wilton]

It serves a useful function though when the nicknaming distinguishes between
campuses of large state university system. Berkeley is distinguished from
Davis or Santa Cruz. Chapel Hill is distinguished from Greensboro, etc. It's
not just snob appeal.

--Dave Wilton
  dave at wilton.net

-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of
Charles Doyle
Sent: Monday, September 11, 2006 10:10 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: USC

In one sense, nicknaming a college or university for the town of its
location seems to have a bit of snob appeal, or at least to function within
an "in-group" comprising academicians:  "Chapel Hill," "Ann Arbor,"
"Bloomington," "Berkeley."  The pattern occurs mostly with smallish cities
or "college towns."  We wouldn't likely refer to universities as
"Minneapolis" or "Philadelphia" or "Atlanta."

In another sense, the nicknaming can be general (as to social class or
whatever) but  more localized:  "He got his degree from Athens"  or
"Gainesville" or "Austin"  might be said by residents of the respective
states but probably by few outsiders.  Of course, ambiguity needs to be
avoided; I doubt if anybody much calls the University of Missouri "Columbia"
or the University of Mississippi "Oxford."

Interesting distinction:  I have on occasion (snobbishly?) referred to the
University of Illinois as "Urbana."  My wife, on the other hand, a
Chicagoan, regularly speaks of this or that nephew as being a student at
"Champaign-Urbana."  Apparently, the university's actual mailing address is
Champaign.

--Charlie

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org