Omission of definite article

[Kelli Slimp]

Hi all!

I'm a M.Phil student of Linguistics at Trinity College Dublin and just
joined the list serve a few days ago.

It's been entertaining following the various conversations, and I'd love to
hear your feedback on a little question of my own...

I've noticed that the British and Irish press, as well as speakers in casual
conversation, use the phrase "in hospital," effectively omitting the
definite article, much the way we would say someone is "in prison" or "in
jail," while Americans would more generally say someone is "in *the*hospital.

Is the US press beginning to drop "the" as well? What about citizens in
casual speech? What have you all noticed?

Thanks in advance for your musings.

Regards,

Kelli Slimp

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