Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: British words not (much) used in the US

Quite an interesting list. I wasn't aware that most of these wouldn't
be understood in the US,
and in some cases would not have known the US version.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_English_words_not_used_in_American_English

 wrote in message
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Most of them would indeed be foreign to Americans.
The word "cobbler" was until recently very common here, meaning
"shoemaker". Now even the word "shoemaker" is disappearing, because
there are very few shops where shoes can be repaired.
A word not on the list is "luna park", which at one time was used here
to mean "amusement park". My parents, from Ireland, used "luna park"
rather than "amusement park". "Luna park" was also used in Italy for
"amusement park", but I don't know if it is still common. I am curious
about the origin of "luna park". There was a fabled amusement park at
Coney Island in New York called "Luna Park" in the first half of the
last century. It was said that the lights of Luna Park were so bright
that ships approaching New York saw the lights of Luna Park before the
lights of New York City. Is this the origin of "luna park" in English
and in Italian?
Joe from Massachusetts

 "amusement park", but I don't know if it is still common. I am curious
that's interesting. I've always thought "luna park" was an exclusively 
Italian expression...
In fact, Garzanti dictionary says
Etimologia Comp. di luna, nel sign. di 'luogo fantastico', e l'ingl. park 
'parco'
On the other hand, wikipedia reports the full story about the Coney Island 
Luna park
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_Park%2C_Coney_Island
Lorenzo 

 Joe from Massachusetts
bye
Gennaro 

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Grazie Adam! Molto interessante.
-- 
Ciao,
Anna

"Gennaro" <MC7...@MCLINK.IT.HELL> wrote in message 
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You're quite right . Nowadays , though , the term 'theme park' is probably 
more common in the UK than 'amusement park' . Alton Towers is usually 
referred to as a theme park , though very often both terms are used about 
the same place ; the Pleasure Beach at Blackpool , for example , which 
claims to be Britain's No 1 such attraction , uses both terms in its 
advertisements .
Just in case Joe's post left anyone unsure whether 'luna park' was used in 
British English , it isn't and I don't think it ever has been . I've always 
understood the origin of the term (met in American and Italian texts) to be 
, as Joe says , from the Coney Island park .
Mike 

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There is another word we use in the US, "carnival", to refer to those
itinerant places of amusement which you in the UK call "funfairs", a
word which is not used here.
We use "theme parks" for the large parks such as Disneyland or Six
Flags (or Gardaland).
Coney Island still has some smaller-scale amusement parks, none of
which display the grandeur of the Coney Island of the first half of
the last century.
Coney Island, which is actually part of New York City's borough of
Brooklyn, was home to a number of amusement parks which have left an
impression on American culture. Besides "Luna Park", there was another
one called "Dreamland", just as lavish as "Luna Park", and another
called "Steeplechase Park". The owners of "Dreamland" even
commissioned a song ("Meet me Tonight in Dreamland") to be written to
accompany its grand opening, and the song has outlived the park, which
burned to the ground about 10 years after its grand opening. My mother
used to sing this song, although the park had burned to the ground
long before she came to America from Ireland. I don't know if she
learned the song in Ireland or after she arrived here..
Henry Burr, a prolific Canadian tenor, recorded a version of this
song, not long before "Dreamland" was destroyed by fire in 1911. The
mp3 can be found here.
http://www.archive.org/details/HenryBurr
Joe from Massachusetts

 It seems to me that "Luna park" is still quite common here in Italy.
Absolutely. That would be an itinerant one, a big one like Gardaland or 
Mirabilandia is "parco divertimenti".
Tabhall


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Perhaps Luna Park's greatest claim to fame was the public execution of
an elephant named "Topsy", who had killed one of her handlers. Thomas
Edison had interests in a power company which promoted the use of DC
for the transmission of electrical power, and in an effort to show the
dangers of his competitors' AC current, he volunteered to execute the
elephant using AC current, hoping the horror would turn the public
against AC power. He succeeded in executing the elephant, but failed
to stall the decline of DC for the transmission of power. The horrific
execution is often seen in documentaries about the history of Coney
Isand, and can be viewed at the Coney Island Museum.
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/pet/topsy.html
Consolidated Edison, the New York City power utility founded by Thomas
Edison, while using
AC power for long-distance power transmission, continued to supply DC
power to consumers in parts of New York City until the mid-1960s,
requiring manufacturers for many years to make appliances, such as
refrigerators and radios, compatible for operation on both AC and DC
power sources. Even today, some old buildings which had been built
when DC power was the only power available in the neighborhood, must
rely on conversion of AC to DC to power old elevators and other
motorized equipment.
http://www.nyarm.com/april01/dc.html
Joe from Massachusetts

 against AC power. He succeeded in executing the elephant
[...]
It's _revolting_. I don't blame the "messenger", of course.
FB


It is indeed a shame. Edison killed also many stray dogs and cats in public 
display to show the (alleged) dangers of alternating current. This is all 
the more disturbing if one considers that Edison was moved entirely by 
economic reasons; the invention of the electric chair by Edison's team and 
its first (mis)use was another very dark moment in the history of 
techological developement.
L.

 public display to show
mmm, "on public display" I think

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Because he had economic interests in companies developing DC power, he
fought against Nicolai Tesla and George Westinghouse, who had
developed the precursor of our modern commercial AC power generation
and transmission line systems. New York suffered greatly, because once
Edison built his DC plants in the city, it was not economically
feasible to replace them with AC generating plants until many decades
later.
Joe from Massachusetts

 amusement park.
In quel caso direi "giostre"...
"Mamma, mi porte alle giostre?"
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 USA.
Edilizia verticale vs. orizzontale.

  elevators (or lifts?)
Il primo è americano, il secondo britannico. In Australia che diranno?
Tschüss,
Enrico il Pentolaio.
--
"People say sometimes that Beauty is only superficial. That may be so. But 
at least it is not as superficial as Thought is. To me, Beauty is the wonder 
of wonders. It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances. The 
true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible." (Oscar Wilde, 
The Picture of Dorian Gray) 

 "Mamma, mi porte alle giostre?"
Vero!
[...]
ciao
Gennaro 

 > "Mamma, mi porte alle giostre?"
Mi correggo: "mi portI...", of course!
-- 
Enrico C
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