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Roadgeek Grammar Nazism

Started by Molandfreak, March 01, 2014, 04:13:13 PM

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Molandfreak

Sometimes I'm tempted to reply to people that they shouldn't capitalize cardinal directions :-D

"Dude, Interstate 85 is in The South, but you never go Southbound on Interstate 85. You can, however, go southbound on Interstate 85."

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on December 05, 2023, 08:24:57 PM
AASHTO attributes 28.5% of highway inventory shrink to bad road fan social media posts.


NE2

Otherwise it's impossible to disambiguate Main Street South from Main Street south(bound) when talking about signs.
pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".

hotdogPi

Some people think "US 31 East" is not allowed, and that it has to be "US 31E". Other people think "US 31 East" is allowed though.
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

Alps

Some people insist "3di" is used by everyone who speaks English to mean "3 digit route of any sort".

hbelkins

The use of "east" or "west" for a suffixed route is one of my pet peeves. I don't know how many times I've heard a newscast reference "US 25 West" or "US 25 East" when they really mean 25E or 25W. Especially when the story is about a wreck and they talk about a vehicle traveling northbound on US 25 East.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

NE2

pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".

corco


US81

Quote from: Alps on March 01, 2014, 10:04:47 PM
Some people insist "3di" is used by everyone who speaks English to mean "3 digit route of any sort".

On a related note, I accept that the initialisms are written as "3di" or "2dus" but I don't understand why neither the "i" nor the "us" are capitalized. Is there any reason, other than accepted usage?

empirestate

Quote from: hbelkins on March 02, 2014, 12:09:03 AM
The use of "east" or "west" for a suffixed route is one of my pet peeves. I don't know how many times I've heard a newscast reference "US 25 West" or "US 25 East" when they really mean 25E or 25W. Especially when the story is about a wreck and they talk about a vehicle traveling northbound on US 25 East.

Worse, for me, is when the cardinal direction refers to neither a direction of travel nor a route suffix, but rather a location relative to an assumed starting point. A widely-known example would be "Route 93 North" for the portion of I-93 north of Boston; I-95, US 1 and MA/US 3 are often similarly referred to. That's not so bad because it's well-established practice, but when a small-time business in a one-horse town advertises its location as being on "Route 123 North" (of said podunk town), even if it's actually on the southbound side of the road, that really grinds my gears.

wxfree

I've had a bit of trouble with capitalization.  From childhood, I capitalized "Interstate," I think because I read it that way somewhere.  A lot of people don't.  I'm referring to use such as "an Interstate highway," not such as "Interstate 95."  For a short while, I stopped capitalizing it because so many others don't, and then started again after thinking about it.

To me, it's the name of the system, although not the full official name, still a proper noun.  My reasoning is that US 30 is an interstate highway, but not an Interstate highway.  I-345 is an Interstate highway, but not an interstate highway.  One is a name, and the other is a description.

Obviously, "US" is capitalized, but I don't capitalize "state highway" unless referring to a particular one, as a name.  Texas has a State Highway system, and by my reasoning above I think it would be proper to refer to a particular road on it as a State Highway.  Maybe the difference is that there's no such thing (that I can think of) as a generic state highway while there are many generic interstate highways (a highway in more than one state).  If I'm wrong for capitalizing the generic form of one ("I'll be driving on the Interstate") but not capitalizing the other ("I'll be driving on the state highway"), I think where I'm wrong is by not capitalizing "state highway," the official name of the system (in this state although not in all states).
I'd like to buy a vowel, Alex.  What is E?

J N Winkler

In regard to Wxfree's comments:

*  I also capitalize Interstate in the phrase "Interstate highway."  The colloquial usage of interstate (uncapitalized) as a synonym for freeway makes me break out in hives.

*  Sentence-case State highway is a dated usage that summons up 1930's issues of CHPW and mental images of dignitaries showing up for highway openings in three-piece suits.  State Highway makes sense as a reference to a part of the state-maintained highway system in a given state, in which case it is being used effectively as part of a proper noun.
"It is necessary to spend a hundred lire now to save a thousand lire later."--Piero Puricelli, explaining the need for a first-class road system to Benito Mussolini

Pete from Boston


Quote from: J N Winkler on March 02, 2014, 01:13:28 PM
In regard to Wxfree's comments:

*  I also capitalize Interstate in the phrase "Interstate highway."  The colloquial usage of interstate (uncapitalized) as a synonym for freeway makes me break out in hives.

You could fight against it, but it'd only end up being a band-aid effort – mere scotch tape.  Just relax with any brand of coke you like rather than crying into your kleenex about it. 

hbelkins

I-64 is an Interstate highway. US 60 is an interstate highway.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

J N Winkler

Quote from: Pete from Boston on March 02, 2014, 02:27:29 PMYou could fight against it, but it'd only end up being a band-aid effort – mere scotch tape.  Just relax with any brand of coke you like rather than crying into your kleenex about it.

This is why I don't bring up this concern outside of boards such as this--nobody likes a nitpicker, especially when the matter being nitpicked is considered fairly esoteric.

Quote from: hbelkins on March 02, 2014, 02:31:23 PMI-64 is an Interstate highway. US 60 is an interstate highway.

Yup.  And before it was an interstate highway, US 60 was an inter-state highway (another dated 1930's usage).
"It is necessary to spend a hundred lire now to save a thousand lire later."--Piero Puricelli, explaining the need for a first-class road system to Benito Mussolini

jeffandnicole

The Interstate 97 is an intrastate interstate.

hotdogPi

Quote from: jeffandnicole on March 02, 2014, 03:12:31 PM
The Interstate 97 is an intrastate interstate.

As well as 2, 17, 19, 27, 45, and more.
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

sammi

Quote from: jeffandnicole on March 02, 2014, 03:12:31 PM
The Interstate 97 is an intrastate interstate.
* intrastate Interstate. :P

hotdogPi

Anything involving "Federal Route" is a problem, if talking about the United States.
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

vdeane

Quote from: US81 on March 02, 2014, 07:34:25 AM
Quote from: Alps on March 01, 2014, 10:04:47 PM
Some people insist "3di" is used by everyone who speaks English to mean "3 digit route of any sort".

On a related note, I accept that the initialisms are written as "3di" or "2dus" but I don't understand why neither the "i" nor the "us" are capitalized. Is there any reason, other than accepted usage?
Readability?

Quote from: 1 on March 02, 2014, 03:32:08 PM
Anything involving "Federal Route" is a problem, if talking about the United States.
Not for Viatologists.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

sammi

Okay, I feel like bringing this up here. You're making your plurals wrong.

Quote from: agentsteel53 on March 03, 2014, 12:30:55 PM
radius -> radii
virus -> viri
Prius -> Prii
penis -> penii

The first two are right. The third one is debatable.
As for the last one, penii would be the plural of penius.

There are patterns though. -us -> -i, -ius -> -ii, -is -> -es. (Which means the plural of penis would be penes.)

But by extension,
Quote from: 1 on March 03, 2014, 12:44:46 PM
3dus -> 3di
:-D

CNGL-Leudimin

Quote from: sammi on March 03, 2014, 01:44:30 PMThere are patterns though. -us -> -i, -ius -> -ii, -is -> -es. (Which means the plural of penis would be penes.)

Which in turn is the correct plural in Spanish :-D.

I have a massive headache about how to translate the Spanish words autopista and autovía into English. Highway, motorway, expressway, freeway... Usually I see autopista translated into motorway and autovía into expressway, however all Spanish autovías built from mid-90s onwards have been identical to an autopista, and as such I refer to them as motorways too. Since in the USA the term motorway isn't oficially used, in this forum I use the term expressway instead. I avoid the term freeway due to confusion (As some people think that a tolled freeway is an oxymoron), and I see highway as a synonim of road.
Supporter of the construction of several running gags, including I-366 with a speed limit of 85 mph (137 km/h) and the Hypotenuse.

Please note that I may mention "invalid" FM channels, i.e. ending in an even number or down to 87.5. These are valid in Europe.

hotdogPi

Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on March 03, 2014, 03:38:57 PM
Quote from: sammi on March 03, 2014, 01:44:30 PMThere are patterns though. -us -> -i, -ius -> -ii, -is -> -es. (Which means the plural of penis would be penes.)

Which in turn is the correct plural in Spanish :-D.

I have a massive headache about how to translate the Spanish words autopista and autovía into English. Highway, motorway, expressway, freeway... Usually I see autopista translated into motorway and autovía into expressway, however all Spanish autovías built from mid-90s onwards have been identical to an autopista, and as such I refer to them as motorways too. Since in the USA the term motorway isn't oficially used, in this forum I use the term expressway instead. I avoid the term freeway due to confusion (As some people think that a tolled freeway is an oxymoron), and I see highway as a synonim of road.

Do autovía and autopista mean the exact same thing, or is one on a higher level than the other?
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

CNGL-Leudimin

In theory autopista is of an higher standard than autovía (i.e. no roundabouts/rotaries/traffic circles or at-grade intersections, slow vehicles are forbidden, etc), but in practice both are essentially the same. Although there are a few autovías which indeed have at-grade intersections and even roundabouts.
Supporter of the construction of several running gags, including I-366 with a speed limit of 85 mph (137 km/h) and the Hypotenuse.

Please note that I may mention "invalid" FM channels, i.e. ending in an even number or down to 87.5. These are valid in Europe.

Pete from Boston


Quote from: sammi on March 03, 2014, 01:44:30 PM
Okay, I feel like bringing this up here. You're making your plurals wrong.

Quote from: agentsteel53 on March 03, 2014, 12:30:55 PM
radius -> radii
virus -> viri
Prius -> Prii
penis -> penii

The first two are right. The third one is debatable.
As for the last one, penii would be the plural of penius.

There are patterns though. -us -> -i, -ius -> -ii, -is -> -es. (Which means the plural of penis would be penes.)

But by extension,
Quote from: 1 on March 03, 2014, 12:44:46 PM
3dus -> 3di
:-D

I started high school the year they dropped Latin class.  Only these many years later do I finally feel the loss. 

agentsteel53

Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on March 03, 2014, 03:38:57 PM

Which in turn is the correct plural in Spanish :-D.

but the singular is "pene", no?

also: 3dus -> 3di.  any examples other than 395 to 580 in Nevada?
live from sunny San Diego.

http://shields.aaroads.com

jake@aaroads.com



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