And now..."Where AUEers Live" Part 1 (of 3): The Report
Maria Conlon
Source: A "send-an-email" survey which began on September 19, 1998, and
continued through September 22, 1998.
Findings (A Preface):
When you post a message to alt.usage.english, you may be reaching
someone in New York City, New Jersey, or Newcastle (in New South Wales).
The well-known Cambridge (England) and the lesser-known Cupertino
(California) are not outside your scope; nor is Norman, Oklahoma.
And you may be sharing an opinion with speakers of English (or at least,
readers of English) in Germany, Norway, Finland, The Netherlands, or in
Oupeye, a Belgian town just 17 miles south of a country just mentioned.
Finally, you might be talking to Tokyo...Melbourne...Sydney...and
becoming buddies with a guy in Brisbane and another in Bellthorope.
No matter where you're posting from, your message will just about circle
the globe -- all with just a little "click" on Send.
As a bonus, those same folks you're reaching, perhaps in countries which
lie a continent or two away from you, may have started out their lives
in yet other locations. Their backgrounds, coupled with yours, build an
a.u.e network where myriad aspects of Englsh usage can -- and do -- come
to the fore.
Numbers:
Of the 62 people who responded, fewer than half gave specific permission
for their names to be used. That being the case, I have not attempted to
match people with locations in the listing given below. ("Matches"
may -- or may not -- be found in excerpts from the responses; the
excerpts are in Parts 2 & 3; see the end of this message.)
5 in Australia:
(1 in Sydney {New South Wales}; 1 in Brisbane {Queensland};1 in
Newcastle {NSW}; 1 who lives in Bellthorope {Queensland} on the weekends
and in Melbourne {Victoria} on weekdays; and another 1 in Melbourne full
time.)
1 in Belgium
3 in Canada:
(1 in Vancouver, BC; 1 in London, Ontario; 1 in Ottawa, Ontario)
11 in England
(4 in or near London; 1 each in Leeds, Stockport, Warwickshire,
Hertfordshire, Borstal, Cambridge, and "a small Surrey village called
Chiddingfold.")
2 in Finland:
(1 in Jyvaskyla; 1 in Vantaa)
2 in Germany
(1 in Jena; 1 in Wolfsburg)
2 in Ireland:
(1 in Dublin; 1 now lives near Limerick city but was born in Dublin)
1 in Japan
1 in The Netherlands
1 in Norway
2 in Scotland
(1 in Edinburgh, 1 in Dundee)
31 in the United States
(9 in California {4 in southern Cal; 5 in northern}; 4 in New York; 2 in
Texas; 2 in Colorado; 2 in Michigan {1 of them just recently moved
there}; 2 in {Virginia and Maryland} suburbs of Washington DC; 1 each in
Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North
Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin)
Excerpts from survey emails:
Names accompany the excerpts if the person (1) specifically gave
permission for his or her name to be used or (2) posted the message to
a.u.e in lieu of, or in addition to, sending me an email.
Excerpts will be found in Parts 2 & 3, which are separate postings. If
Parts 2 and/or 3 don't show up on your server, just send me a request
and I will email it/them it to you.
Thanks to all.
A "conclusion" of sorts will be found at the end of Part 3.
Maria Conlon
Mark Odegard
1998 18:55:08 -0400, "Maria Conlon" <mcon...@sprynet.com> in
<6ubu2l$a73$1...@juliana.sprynet.com> wrote
|11 in England
|(4 in or near London; 1 each in Leeds, Stockport, Warwickshire,
|Hertfordshire, Borstal, Cambridge, and "a small Surrey village called
|Chiddingfold.")
Borstal? As in the prison for teenagers? The word comes to me
via Alistair Sim comedies from the 50s, where the female wardens
were of the sort that would terrify a Marine drill instructor.
Isn't there is Monty Python line somewhere about 'Butch Borstal
Boys in Bondage'.
Borstal and Dachau (a lovely German town outside Munich with a
charming historic castle) have had their names permanently
sullied by institutions named for them.
--
Mark Odegard. (Omit OMIT to email)
Emailed copies of responses are very much appreciated.
Albert Marshall
>[Posted, e-mailed] **Please note Spam Trap** On Wed, 23 Sep
>1998 18:55:08 -0400, "Maria Conlon" <mcon...@sprynet.com> in
><6ubu2l$a73$1...@juliana.sprynet.com> wrote
>
>|11 in England
>|(4 in or near London; 1 each in Leeds, Stockport, Warwickshire,
>|Hertfordshire, Borstal, Cambridge, and "a small Surrey village called
>|Chiddingfold.")
>
>Borstal? As in the prison for teenagers?
The original one --"The Borstal Institution" is just round the corner
from my house. It was named after the village that you see on the left
of the motorway as you cross the M2 Medway Bridge. Fort Borstal (19c) is
also visible, but largely hidden by trees at the top of the hill.
>The word comes to me
>via Alistair Sim comedies from the 50s, where the female wardens
???
>were of the sort that would terrify a Marine drill instructor.
--
Albert Marshall
"Look for me where the mind casts its bright shadow."
(This was the Borstal entry for the SE regional pretentiousness championships)
John Davies
<OMITo...@means.net> writes
>[Posted, e-mailed] **Please note Spam Trap** On Wed, 23 Sep
>1998 18:55:08 -0400, "Maria Conlon" <mcon...@sprynet.com> in
><6ubu2l$a73$1...@juliana.sprynet.com> wrote
>
>|11 in England
>|(4 in or near London; 1 each in Leeds, Stockport, Warwickshire,
>|Hertfordshire, Borstal, Cambridge, and "a small Surrey village called
>|Chiddingfold.")
>
>via Alistair Sim comedies from the 50s, where the female wardens
>Boys in Bondage'.
There was also an excellent autobiographical novel by Brendan Behan
called "Borstal Boy", based on his experiences in such an institution
following his conviction at the age of 16 for an attempted IRA bombing
in Liverpool.
>
>Borstal and Dachau (a lovely German town outside Munich with a
>charming historic castle) have had their names permanently
>sullied by institutions named for them.
Indeed. The Goethe Institut, Germany's official organisation for
international cultural relations, has a new HQ in Munich in Dachau
Strasse, and I remember the debate about whether some way might be found
to change their address to avoid embarrassment abroad. I left Germany
before the building was completed - does anyone know how the matter was
resolved?
--
John Davies (jo...@redwoods.demon.co.uk)
Maria Conlon
Albert Marshall wrote in message
>Albert Marshall
>
>"Look for me where the mind casts its bright shadow."
>(This was the Borstal entry for the SE regional pretentiousness
championships)
I *like* this!
Any more examples?
Maria Conlon
Mark Odegard
1998 18:51:58 +0100, Albert Marshall
<albert....@execfrog.demon.co.uk> in
<1x3bpQA+...@execfrog.demon.co.uk> wrote
[Re 'borstal']
|>The word comes to me
|>via Alistair Sim comedies from the 50s, where the female wardens
|???
|>were of the sort that would terrify a Marine drill instructor.
St. Trinian's? The one with Sim in a dual role, one in drag as
the headmistress of the beleaguered school, the other as her
brother, a Cockney crook who runs a call-girl operation out of
the school (and all this in the Lord Chancellor's 1950s!), and
where the headmistress is replaced by a *very butch* former
borstal wardenness, who of course, is destroyed by the
ever-so-sweet, ever-so-innocent, ever-so-monstrous little
English schoolgirls. A remake with Robin Williams and Bette
Midler sounds good.