Date:  Fri, 6 Oct 1995 05:40:07 -0400

From:  "M. Lynne Murphy" <104LYN[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]MUSE.ARTS.WITS.AC.ZA>

Subject: Re: Another Lexical Item



> Do any of you have any idea how common it is to use the word "sidewalk"

> to refer to the strip of concrete that runs from the street to the front

> door of a house? I had always assumed it was the standard term, but a

> a recent discussion on Words-L got confusing for a few minutes because

> I was using "sidewalk" to mean the sidewalk that comes to my door, while

> other people thought that a "sidewalk" had to be parallel to the street.

> When I asked what they called the strip of concrete that comes to the

> front door, they said "walkway." I've never heard anybody say "walkway"

> for what I call a "sidewalk." (I also use "sidewalk" for one that runs

> parallel to the street, of course.)

>  --Natalie (maynor[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ra.msstate.edu)



"sidewalk" is another thing that i didn't realize was an americanism

til i moved here. the brit/sa english is "pavement"--which i have a

hard time with, b/c they're often brick and, to me, a pavement is

concrete.



if i said "it's on the sidewalk" i'd mean the parallel one--if i

meant the one coming up to the door, i'd be more specific "it's on

the sidewalk to the house" or some such thing. i might use "walk"

or something for the one coming to the house.



lynne



---------------------------------------------------------------------

M. Lynne Murphy              104lyn[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]muse.arts.wits.ac.za

Department of Linguistics            phone: 27(11)716-2340

University of the Witwatersrand          fax: 27(11)716-4199

Johannesburg 2050

SOUTH AFRICA