The Barrier of a Common Language
Can one of you US-based GR people tell me whether, in American English, the word 'shelved' has two meanings: to put a book on a shelf, but also to set aside, or remove from discussion, a proposal?
I ask because an American friend, who until recently was running the translation unit at the International Court in The Hague, told me how astonished she was to discover that English English and US English give totally opposite meanings to the verb 'to table'. She found out just in time to prevent some horrific misunderstandings.
I ask because an American friend, who until recently was running the translation unit at the International Court in The Hague, told me how astonished she was to discover that English English and US English give totally opposite meanings to the verb 'to table'. She found out just in time to prevent some horrific misunderstandings.
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Lisa
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Mar 10, 2011 06:19AM
Zina, yes, you are correct about the U.S. English meanings of "shelved." If I were discussing a proposal that was set aside, though, I would use "tabled"... though I see in my (Webster's) dictionary, too, that "table" means the exact opposite in British English, to put an item on the agenda rather than take it off.
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Quite. That's why I was worried about shelving as well!
And we use "quite" a little differently, too!
We don't use it the way you did in your comment to me (above), to show agreement. The last usage on the Cambridge dictionaries site (here) also sounds quite (!) British to me.
That's right. 'Quite' on its own, or 'quite so' is agreement, with emphasis. In the middle of a sentence it's a qualifier - with multiple nuances. 'quite nice' means ok-ish. 'quite awful' means really bad. How is anyone supposed to understand!
Yes, "quite" can be confusing: I was very surprised years ago when a British friend explained that "quite nice" isn't very enthusiastic. To us (or at least me), "quite nice" falls between "okay" and "very nice," though intonation might upgrade things.As for our usages. Using the Cambridge page as a reference, I'd say the "completely" use is the same here, as is the "not quite" use. But we generally don't use "quite" on its own for emphasis or agreement.
The last use -- "It was quite the worst dinner I have ever had" -- sounds also very British to me. I often say things like "That was quite a dinner," offering context and intonation to indicate whether I mean "quite" in a good way or a bad way. I don't know if my usage is common or not!
"It was quite the worst dinner" is not only very British - but here comes something else very British - it's class-related. No working class person would ever say that. "That was a quite a dinner" (approbation, I assume)...not sure. We might say, "That was quite some dinner" in the same way, but with a consciousness that it's an Americanism.
I got buried in email and never responded to this last comment, Zina: your last line is especially interesting because Americans might say something like "Quite" simply because it sounds British!
