See? I knew there'd be goofy language stuff...

[gnomi]

A poll, inspired by emrinalexander:

[Poll #811870]

Comments

[xochitl42.livejournal.com]

Here's another fun language question: If you're wating to, say, buy a movie ticket out in front of a theater, and there are many, many people in front of you, are you waiting

in line
-or-
on line?

I'm not spiffy enough to make polls, but maybe you can help me out with this one?

[tanaise.livejournal.com]

Despite the fact that I have always lived in the US, the first couple of times I read "Bears Discover Fire" i managed to read 'flashlight' when they talk about the bears holding torches when he's changing his tire. (It's probably due to too much Herriott as a child) So I just really didn't understand why the *fire* was the cool thing in the story, when clearly they'd already mastered using electricity as well.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

I say "in queue," but that's because I grew up saying "in line," mabfan says "on line," and we used to snarl about the other's usage. So I started using "get in queue" or "queue up."

If you want me to make a poll out of this, I can do so. :-) I enjoy making language polls.

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

Heee! Bears with flashlights! I love it.

[madfilkentist]

You can't illuminate darkness. If you illuminate it, it isn't darkness any more.

Narf.

only tangentially related

[magid.livejournal.com]

This book made me think of you.

Re: only tangentially related

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

It's a fun book. I've got a copy; the author is a Brookline resident, and she did a reading/signing at Booksmith a while back.

[michelel72.livejournal.com]

I've heard that "on line" is a New York/New Jersey usage, but that's a completely unscientifically derived impression ....

[530nm330hz.livejournal.com]

Here's my poll question: Does it bother you that LJ poll bar graphs display 0 as half the length of 1?

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

There's a line. You wait on it. What more do you need to know?

[xochitl42.livejournal.com]

Nope. You stand in a line. You do not stand upon people's heads (unless this is a super-cool acrobatic thing you do, and then I'd feel quite left-out about not being told about this!)

Anything on-line involves computers, modems, and telephone connections.

:)

As an addendum--where, regionally, did you learn most of the English that you use today? I grew up in places (namely, Texas, and some of the deep South) where we say in line--but, we also tend to add the letter R to words that absolutely don't need it (oh, like, say, warsh). Genuinely curious.

[kuroshii.livejournal.com]

ahem. you're not standing on other people's heads! the line is comprised of people, and you're one of those people. so you're part of it. so you're in it. heh.

and we can't even say it's a regional thing because we grew up with only about ten miles between us!

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

No, you see, the people who are standing are all standing on an imaginary line drawn on the ground. When I get on line, I am standing on top of that same imaginary line. That's why there's a line, and I get on it.

At least, that's how I've always envisioned it.

I grew up in Forest Hills, Queens (just like Spider-Man!) and attended a school in Manhattan from the ages of 11-17. So I picked up all my English in NYC. Which is probably why I spend most of my time in line on line. :-)

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

See my reply above...

[csbermack.livejournal.com]

But can you still cast magic missile at it?

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

Was it really only ten miles? Wow. I regret not spending more time actually seeing you in person...

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

Or a sleep spell? Narf!

[kuroshii.livejournal.com]

port washington vs. forest hills? OK maybe twenty miles. but yeah.

[xochitl42.livejournal.com]

I think michelel72 has it right--the use of on line does seem to be a NY/NJ phenomenon. I'd even say it's greater metropolitan New York/New Jersey, but that might be specifying it too much.

Whoo Spider-Man! :)

[xochitl42.livejournal.com]

Too many hit dice for a low level character.

[caryabend.livejournal.com]

But that's correct for certain values of Aleph Null.

[530nm330hz.livejournal.com]

And when Nomi takes a language poll about whether one pronounces א differently than ע (and whether one learned Hebrew in the U.S., Britain, or Yemen) that will make sense.

[michelel72.livejournal.com]

I later did a bit of web searching, and I found this map for the in/on line split. Nifty!

Meanwhile, the Columbia Guide to Standard American English labels it as a New York-originated quirk. I love finding confirmation of my tenuously supported assumptions!

Must stop websearching language questions now ....

[magid.livejournal.com]

Yes!

[eal.livejournal.com]

Sloppy research in general is annoying.

But you knew I was going to say that.

[tinnean.livejournal.com]

I have to agree with mabfan on this. I grew up in NY, and to me it's always been 'on line.' I used it in a story back in the day, and the woman who beta'd it (*not* gem225) told me it was wrong. I'm still traumatized.

But I still say 'on line.' *g*