Great Britain vs the United States of America
Brenin
I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask these questions; if it isn't,
please tell me where I should ask them.
Thank you.
Does "public school" mean exactly the same thing in Great Britain as it does
in the United States of America?
Is the value of "billion" exactly the same in the United States of America
as in Great Britain?
Brenin
Adrian Bailey
news:bvkdjq$e...@library1.airnews.net...
> Does "public school" mean exactly the same thing in Great Britain as it
does
> in the United States of America?
No.
> Is the value of "billion" exactly the same in the United States of America
> as in Great Britain?
These days, in most contexts, yes.
Adrian
Owain
| I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask these questions; if it
| isn't, please tell me where I should ask them.
| Thank you.
| Does "public school" mean exactly the same thing in Great Britain as
| it does in the United States of America?
A public school in Britain usually means one of the major independent
(private) schools. However, the American meaning is creeping into use.
The elite British boarding schools were styled "public" because many of them
were incorporated by (public) statute and because they were not privately
owned. Also, unlike some of the old English grammar schools, they were open,
on a fee-paying basis, to the "public" - i.e. to students from any part of
the country and not simply to children of local residents.
http://www.mala.bc.ca/homeroom/Content/Schools/Private/britps.htm
Brit: public school n : a kind of private school, often boarding, providing
secondary education, usu. college preparatory, the foremost being the ‘Seven
Public Schools’ (Eton, Harrow, Winchester, Westminster, Charterhouse, Rugby,
and Shrewsbury). Originally public in the normal sense, and traditionally
preparatory for (esp.) Oxbridge and public service.
http://cgi.peak.org/~jeremy/retort.cgi?British=public
Am: public school n : state school, non-fee paying, tax supported and
controlled by local government,
http://cgi.peak.org/~jeremy/retort.cgi?American=public%20school
| Is the value of "billion" exactly the same in the United States of
| America as in Great Britain?
According to the UK's The Economist style guide, the billion is one thousand
million.
Starting with academe, the GB billion 10^12 is more and more being replaced
by the US billion 10^9 (and likewise trillion)
http://cgi.peak.org/~jeremy/retort.cgi?British=billion
This confusion will be removed when everybody writes in megapounds and
gigadollars :-)
Owain
Gerard van Wilgen
> > Is the value of "billion" exactly the same in the United States of
America
> > as in Great Britain?
>
> These days, in most contexts, yes.
But using "billion" might cause potential misunderstandings. I would
recommend using "thousand million" or "milliard" for ten to the 9th power.
Numbers like "billion" and "trillion" for larger quantities are better
avoided at all, which is no so difficult because such huge numbers are
rather meaningless to most people.
Gerard van Wilgen
--
www.majstro.com (On-line translation dictionary / Enreta tradukvortaro)
www.travlang.com/Ergane (Free translation dictionary for Windows / Senpaga
tradukvortaro por Windows)
Adrian Bailey
news:bvm77v$igq$1...@reader08.wxs.nl...
>
> > > Is the value of "billion" exactly the same in the United States of
> America
> > > as in Great Britain?
> >
> > These days, in most contexts, yes.
>
> But using "billion" might cause potential misunderstandings. I would
> recommend using "thousand million" or "milliard" for ten to the 9th power.
Recommend to whom? The OP won't get much from using "milliard" apart from
blank looks. And I don't think your post will have much effect on the
British media.
Adrian
Django Cat
wrote:
>
>> > Is the value of "billion" exactly the same in the United States of
> America
>> > as in Great Britain?
>>
>> These days, in most contexts, yes.
>
> But using "billion" might cause potential misunderstandings. I would
> recommend using "thousand million" or "milliard" for ten to the 9th
> power.
> Numbers like "billion" and "trillion" for larger quantities are better
> avoided at all, which is no so difficult because such huge numbers are
> rather meaningless to most people.
>
> Gerard van Wilgen
> I would recommend using ... "milliard" for ten to the 9th power.
You'll be on your own then Gerard.
DC