Around these parts...
One- and two-digit routes are pronounced as you would expect.
KY 1 -- one
US 68 -- sixty-eight
I-75 -- seventy-five
Things get interesting once you get past 99.
Three-digit routes that are multiples of 100:
KY 100 -- one hundred
US 400 -- four hundred
Other three digit routes:
KY 101 -- one oh one
KY 110 -- one ten
KY 498 -- four ninety-eight
Four digit routes x000-x009
KY 1000 -- one thousand
KY 1009 -- one thousand nine
KY 2001 -- two thousand one (or two thousand and one)
Four digit routes x010 and above:
KY 1010 -- ten ten
KY 1571 -- fifteen seventy-one
KY 2024 -- twenty twenty-four
KY 3068 -- thirty sixty-eight
How is it elsewhere?
In the Austin, Texas area, there is a route 'twenty-two twenty-two'. that's the only four-digit route I've heard pronounced by locals.
A friend who used to live in Lake Jackson TX commuted to work on (FM) "two thousand four". I don't know that I've heard anyone anywhere say route numbers in a way different from what you listed. Though I don't deal with them often my inclination would be to say the name of four-digit routes as a pair of two-digit numbers, such as "twenty-one sixty".
Sounds a little like, how are you saying the current year (two thousand thirteen or twenty thirteen)?
Around here I think it's pretty much as hbelkins says. The only four-digit number I can ever recall being used with any regularity was the now-decommissioned "7100" for the Fairfax County Parkway (now VA-286) and it was pronounced "seventy-one hundred."
As far as Interstates go, it seems to be a crapshoot whether a given person says "I" before the number (e.g., "eye-three-ninety-five" versus just "three-ninety-five"). For non-Interstates I usually just hear the number. Sometimes people add "Route" (usually "rout," not "root"). I never hear anybody say "Highway" the way some folks out west do–it's either "15," "US-15," or "Route 15," never "Highway 15."
I suppose you could ask the same question as to street addresses or ZIP codes or area codes. Lots of four-digit addresses here; some newer neighborhoods use five digits. I grew up hearing most four-digit addresses pronounced the way The High Plains Traveler suggests (e.g., "eighty-three seventy-eight" for 8378). If I have to give my address over the phone I give each digit separately, though, in part because three digits are the same and it avoids ambiguity if I just do it that way. (Frankly, I've also found that giving each digit separately is the easiest to understand for people who don't speak English as their first language.) I usually have to spell my street name too.
As to ZIP codes, I've always said each digit, but I hear a lot of people who live in DC pronounce a ZIP code like "20005" not as "two zero zero zero five" but instead as "two thousand five." That always bugs me a bit because to me "two thousand five" means "2005," i.e., one zero short of a full ZIP code. I always say each digit for area codes as well, but a lot of people in Maryland say "four ten" instead of "four one zero." I suppose in a phone number it should be clear to anyone familiar with the North American numbering format that it's "410," but the way some people pronounce "ten" makes it sound a little like "fourteen."
I always spell out anything which is three digits or more. the only real variation is whether I say "oh" or "zero" - I cannot detect a pattern to it.
I have never been exposed to four digit highway numbers in places I dwelled, but in Kentucky, Texas, or Louisiana I would always assume that the way we say three digit numbers would apply.
For example: In Houma, LA http://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/8503641703/in/photostream I would just say LA thirty forty or in Texas http://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/8503948094/in/photostream/ FM sixteen ninety-six.
In New England, anything less than an interstate is referred to as "Route", whether it be US or state highway. Any interstate is referred to as I-xx. As far as numbers, no routes go into 4 digits; so anything under 100 is just the number; anything above 100 is x-xx (ie one ten for 110, or one twenty-eight for 128). I know in western NY they put the word "the" before the "I" in an interstate highway. The NY Thruway in that area is "The I-90"
The only variation I've heard is the pronouncing of some three-digit numbers saying each digit separately. For example, I'd say 875 as "eight seventy-five," but a few people say it as "eight seven five." FM 2005 I pronounce as "two thousand five."
Most people here say "highway" for farm-to-market roads, state highways, and US highways. "Farm road" and "US" are rarely heard. I've never heard anyone say "state highway"(except in traffic reports), "Texas highway," or "route." Loop and spur roads that have city street names are referred to by name rather than by number. Business routes are usually referred to by street name. An oddity is Waxahachie, which has "Business 287" and "Highway 77," portions of which don't have street names and are referred to by number.
Quote from: wxfree on March 05, 2013, 07:53:22 PM
An oddity is Waxahachie, which has "Business 287" and "Highway 77," portions of which don't have street names and are referred to by number.
I used to live at an apartment complex in Hachie where I had the address xxxx US Hwy 287 Bypass, Waxahachie, TX, 75165. I always pronounced it, and heard everyone else pronounce it as, "two-eighty-seven".
In at least my part of northeast Ohio the usage seems to be roughly:
I-77: "I-77"
US 224: "route 224" and occasionally "US 224"
OH 18: "route 18", occasionally "state route 18"
while in Indiana the state routes would go by "state road 18", not "route". US routes seem to be identified as such, and the same with Interstates. In both, it seems most common to refer to county numbered routes as "County Road XX". Maybe the "route" vs. "road" thing is a more urban vs. rural thing?
One relief on TV lately is that with the new Gannett graphics package at WKYC, the out-of-place Florida-style green/white "Toll 80" shield used on the Ohio Turnpike in maps has been replaced by a normal Interstate shield.
The "20005" being pronounced "two thousand five" reminds me of a couple people I knew who a few years back were referring to the then-future year 2010 as "twenty oh ten" as if in sequence with "twenty oh eight" (2008) and "twenty oh nine" (2009). I finally joked with them that I thought they were referring to something happening 18,000 years from now!
I've always pronounced ZIP codes by all five digits. My ZIP is 41311 and I pronounce it "four one three one one." Only once have I heard it pronounced differently, by someone in Lexington who said "four thirteen eleven."
I do find myself saying "oh ten" every once in a while- if I'm referring to an event that happened, I've heard myself say "back in oh ten"- "back in ten" sounds like something completely different, and "back in 2010" makes me feel like I'm talking about something a hundred years ago.
People here in Wichita do things a little differently.
In the rest of the country, people would pronounce 135 as "one-thirty-five".
Here, however, they pronounce 135 as "eye-thirty-five".
I-35, on the other hand, they pronounce as "the turnpike".
:-D :-D
Up here, the standard for three digit numbers seems to be to pronounce the hundreds, then the rest. i.e. Hwy 132 is "one thirty-two." and Hwy 417 is "four seventeen." The exception is when the middle digit is zero; the digits are then pronounced separately. Hwy 202 is "two oh two", Hwy 401 is "four oh one."
Quote from: corco on March 05, 2013, 11:21:19 PM
I do find myself saying "oh ten" every once in a while- if I'm referring to an event that happened, I've heard myself say "back in oh ten"- "back in ten" sounds like something completely different, and "back in 2010" makes me feel like I'm talking about something a hundred years ago.
I think I read somewhere that the linguistic experts said that the proper way to pronounce the years of the last decade was "twenty oh X," as in "twenty oh four." And 2010 is pronounced "twenty ten," which is the pattern the rest of the century will follow. But in the middle part of the last century, early years were pronounced as "nineteen two" or "nineteen four." I'm not sure what changed or if there even is a "correct" way to say it.
Quote from: Dr Frankenstein on March 05, 2013, 11:32:14 PM
Up here, the standard for three digit numbers seems to be to pronounce the hundreds, then the rest. i.e. Hwy 132 is "one thirty-two." and Hwy 417 is "four seventeen." The exception is when the middle digit is zero; the digits are then pronounced separately. Hwy 202 is "two oh two", Hwy 401 is "four oh one."
I don't find the exception to be an exception. I find "oh two" to be the correct way to pronounce the two-digit pair 02 in the same way I find "thirty-two" to be the correct way to pronounce the two-digit pair 32.
That is to say, I could write out 02 as a hyphenated number, "oh-two", where the
oh- functions in same way as the
thirty- functions in 32.
To me, that's perfectly natural.
Quote from: kphoger on March 05, 2013, 11:28:57 PM
People here in Wichita do things a little differently.
In the rest of the country, people would pronounce 135 as "one-thirty-five".
Here, however, they pronounce 135 as "eye-thirty-five".
I-35, on the other hand, they pronounce as "the turnpike".
:-D :-D
Well, only the folksy or ignorant around here do that... LOL. I never got that... does the "1" look THAT much like an "I"? ROFL. Wichitans... gotta love us.
And for the record: my folks and grandparents made that mistake, too.
ICTRds
In Columbus people just say the number if it is a freeway. I-71 is seventy one, SR 315 is three fifteen, etc. I think SRs 161 and 104 are the only non freeway roads that get called a number, and that's because they are Dublin-Granville Rd. and Columbus-Portsmouth Rd or Jackson Pike or whatever the hell 104 is called. But yeah, we just say the number like it's a price.
Edit: oh yeah, US 33 is thirty three and should be a highway anyway.
Well, then there's the well-known policy on Kansas state routes of saying "K" first....
"kay fifteen"
"kay sixty-one"
"kay one fifty-six"
ICTRds
FM 2001 goes from I-35 east to Niederwald TX. I don't live very close but I have driven there once or twice. I have heard it referred to as "Niederwald Road" or "Niederwald Strasse" and - rarely - "twenty-oh-one."
For Zip Codes, it was interesting to hear announcers on game shows reading the addresses for tickets..."nine zero zero three six" versus "nine double-oh three six"...guess that wasn't necessarily part of the copy that was required to be read a certain way and was up to the discretion of the announcer.
Growing up near Boston, certain route numbers were pronounced in interesting ways.
I-93 = "route 128" or "route 3" or "the Southeast Expressway" or "the Central Artery" or upon rare occasion, "93"
I-95 = "route 128" unless it's way north or south
I-90 = "the Pike" or "the Mass Pike" but rarely "I-90"
US 3 = MA 3 = "route 3", as for any other numbered route including 495
This sign I got a picture of in August 2010 includes the uncommon use of "route" with an Interstate shield on a paddle sign (http://www2.uakron.edu/genchem/CIMG1981.JPG) (yes, it was a paddle sign--notice the old holes in the sign and the remaining breakaway paddle sign post base still in the ground)...I don't know if anyone would call either road "route 95" or "route 90" in this area, especially "route 90" for the Pike. "Route 95" is debatable but everyone knows that you are entering Route 128 there with access to the Mass Pike.
One other peculiarity that I saw even in writing was that US 1 north of Alfalfa Circle (if anyone calls it that, Exit 50 of I-95) was referred to by certain vintage folks as "Old Route 1" which made no sense to me until I learned that the current I-95 north of there was planned as a new relocated Route 1. So even though the original US 1 is still US 1, there are people out there who call the actual US 1 by "old Route 1".
QuoteSRs 161
161 is an interesting beast. I was born in Columbus, my folks lived in Dublin right off the 270/161 interchange for many years, my grandfather still lives off Olentangy River Rd and my Mom lived in that house for a while and she lived within a couple miles of 161 in various locations from the early sixties until the late 80s. She has a well above average sense of navigation.
A couple years ago, I was leaving my grandparents house in the car by myself for some reason to head down to my aunt's in Pickerington and was talking on the phone with my Mom as I was leaving, with a general idea as to where I was going- I hadn't driven in Columbus with or without passengers before, but had been on the road many times as a younger fella, though it had probably been 6 or 7 years since I'd been on this particular stretch. I got to the intersection of Olentangy and Dublin-Granville, not realizing it was 161, and on the phone I said "Mom, does Dublin-Granville connect to 315?" and she said "No, I don't think so- from their house it's best just to go down to 161"
So, I ended up going down to Bethel, knowing that was a major enough road that it would probably connect before I said "screw it" and cut over to 315, thinking I must have accidentally passed 161. (Side note- it's amazing how well treed Olentangy is- you can drive large portions of it and have no idea you're a hundred feet from a major freeway)
I told my Mom about this later, and she said she had no idea. It's amazing what the mind doesn't notice when it doesn't need to notice it. Basically 30 years in Columbus, and she never knew the road was called "Dublin-Granville"
So yes, 161 is referred to by number.
Quote from: WichitaRoads on March 06, 2013, 12:07:59 AM
Well, then there's the well-known policy on Kansas state routes of saying "K" first....
"kay fifteen"
"kay sixty-one"
"kay one fifty-six"
ICTRds
Ditto for Michigan with the "M" said first.
Em twenty-six (M-26)
Em five (M-5)
Em fourteen (M-14)
Em two-oh-three (M-203)
"One twenty-seven" or "You ess one twenty-seven" (US-127)
"Ninety-four" or "Eye ninety-four" (I-94)
In northern Illinois, it's a bit different.
"Route fifty-nine" or "Fifty-nine" (IL-59)
"Route thirty" or "Thirty" (US-30)
"Eye fifty-five" or "Fifty-five" (I-55)
Then there's Chicagoland where route numbers disappear.
Ryan Expressway (I-90/94)
Harlem Avenue (IL-43)
Northwest Highway (US-14)
Then we have Wisconsin.
Highway Em (County M)
Highway sixteen (Wis-16)
Highway one fifty-one (US-151)
Highway ninety-four (I-94)
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on March 05, 2013, 05:37:39 PM
In New England, anything less than an interstate is referred to as "Route", whether it be US or state highway. Any interstate is referred to as I-xx. As far as numbers, no routes go into 4 digits; so anything under 100 is just the number; anything above 100 is x-xx (ie one ten for 110, or one twenty-eight for 128).
With regards to pronunciation of Interstates in New England; not everybody states
I-XX or I-X-XX for an Interstate. For years, I've heard people simply say
Route 95, 93, 4-95, 1-95, 2-95, 2-90, etc. when pronouncing Interstates in Mass. & Rhode Island; so it goes either way.
Quote from: Brandon on March 06, 2013, 06:50:56 AM
"Route fifty-nine" or "Fifty-nine" (IL-59)
And that's
rowt, not
root.
Quote from: Brandon on March 06, 2013, 06:50:56 AM
Ryan Expressway (I-90/94)
Harlem Avenue (IL-43)
More commonly:
The Ryan, or
The Dan Ryan; and just
Harlem.
I think in LA or TX the 4 digit routes are rarely spoken out unless the highway really has no other name. In Shreveport I hear equally "thirty one thirty two" or the Inner Loop.
Near me in Denton FM 2164 runs north-south from Denton to Sanger. I've heard a friend of mine from Sanger say "twenty one-sixty four." There's not another name for it until it's Locust St in Denton city limits.
I am sure this is not particularly interesting, but FM 1960 in Houston is called, (not surprisingly,) "nineteen-sixty."
NJ/PA as well is Route (any number), as in Route 295, Route 80, Route 18, etc.
About the only time you don't hear it often is when referring to I-95, in which case it's simply "95".
Otherwise, unless someone has a fancy nickname for a route (ie: NJ 55 is the Double Nickel to some), the numbers are simply Fifty-Five, Ninety Five, Two Ninety Five, Eighteen, etc.
Insofar as four digit routes in Louisiana are acknowledged by their numbers (most BR residents could never tell you that Siegen Lane is LA 3246, for example), they are generally pronounced as a pair of two digit numbers. So LA 1145 would be "eleven forty-five." Usually this is prefaced by "highway", or less often "LA."
This is more typical in rural areas. In cities the street name is generally used.
Quote from: hbelkins on March 05, 2013, 03:15:42 PMHow is it elsewhere?
In the UK, pretty similar.
A1 = a one
A13 = a thirteen
A43 = a forty-three
A123 = a one-two-three
A1230 = a twelve-thirty (note pairs)
A413 = a four-one-three
A410 = a four-ten
A404 = a four-o-four
A400 = a four hundred
A440 = a four-forty
A4000 = a four thousand
A4001 = a four thousand and one
A4004 = a forty-oh-four (I guess both types are used with the double-oh four digits, though not forty-oh-four)
A4011 = a forty-eleven (four digits typically pairs, though the pair is split into singles to avoid a umpty-ump formation)
A4200 = a four-two-hundred
A4201 = a four-two-oh-one
A4210 = a four-two-ten
A4221 = a four-two-two-one
Quote from: corco on March 05, 2013, 11:21:19 PM
I do find myself saying "oh ten" every once in a while- if I'm referring to an event that happened, I've heard myself say "back in oh ten"- "back in ten" sounds like something completely different, and "back in 2010" makes me feel like I'm talking about something a hundred years ago.
This side of the pond years went two-thousand, two-thousand-and-one, ... two-thousand-and-nine, two-thousand-ten / twenty-ten (both were popular, the former more so), twenty-eleven / two-thousand-eleven (both were popular, the former more so), twenty-twelve (universal thanks to it being bashed in our head since the 6th of July 2005, if not before). The BBC, in about 2006, tried making it so references to the naughties years go 'two-thousand, twenty-one, twenty-two...' it wasn't liked, though the 'two-thousand-and-' formation (with or without the 'and') is dying, replaced with a 'twenty-oh-' formation. 'Twenty-x' is used by a couple of big name BBC presenters and it always jars: Paxman on University Challenge is worst "in twenty-six, what person started being a massive cock and give the years confusing numbers?" "are we talking 1926, or 206, or 26 or what?" "did they not teach you to count at school?" "thankfully I had a different teacher to you, or I wouldn't have got into university you patronising muppet" (OK, that's how I wish it should go - when one of the contestants answers back at Paxman's rant that these students didn't know some obscure 60s/classics/literature reference, its newsworthy).
In about 03 we stopped saying 'two-thousand' all the time when saying the year and just made it 'oh-nine' or whatever. We don't do that with this decade though - it's still 'back in twenty-eleven' rather than 'back in eleven'. Hence 'twenty-twelve' Olympics, rather than just 'twelve' (cf Atlanta '96). I think this happens every century (the Titanic sunk in nineteen-eleven, not eleven - though in the nineteen-ohs they were happy to call the years nineteen-one from the bat).
Quote from: wxfree on March 05, 2013, 11:36:24 PM
I think I read somewhere that the linguistic experts said that the proper way to pronounce the years of the last decade was "twenty oh X," as in "twenty oh four." And 2010 is pronounced "twenty ten," which is the pattern the rest of the century will follow. But in the middle part of the last century, early years were pronounced as "nineteen two" or "nineteen four." I'm not sure what changed or if there even is a "correct" way to say it.
I grew up in the middle of the 20th century, and I
never heard anyone pronounce the early years of the century as "nineteen two" or "nineteen four." Most said "nineteen oh two" or "nineteen oh four." Some very old folks, or ones trying to imitate old folks might say "nineteen aught two" or "nineteen aught four."
Quote from: theline on March 06, 2013, 02:23:39 PM
I grew up in the middle of the 20th century, and I never heard anyone pronounce the early years of the century as "nineteen two" or "nineteen four." Most said "nineteen oh two" or "nineteen oh four." Some very old folks, or ones trying to imitate old folks might say "nineteen aught two" or "nineteen aught four."
I was watching a movie the other day, and it included a film clip recorded in the 1940s or so. the narrator said "nineteen five". I remember thinking that to be very odd, and possibly the first time I had ever heard such a thing.
the movie, btw, is Bombay Beach. the clip is very near the beginning.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1758576/
I knew my great-great aunt very well when I was younger, who was born in 1906- she'd say "Nineteen and six" to refer to her year of birth
I've heard some people refer to 200x years in the form "two oh seven," "two oh eight," etc., but always in situations where the context was clear (example: "We had a strong year in two thousand six, but two oh seven wasn't as good.").
I've also heard some people say "oh ten" in reference to 2010, but usually when they do it they're referring to another year as well, such as the "oh nine/oh ten season" when referring to hockey.
Here in Massachusetts, route numbers are pronounced as "nine", "ninety-five", "one-twenty-eight", "four-ninety-five", etc.
I've never heard the "Interstate" prefix used, either by traffic reporters or in general conservation, in this area, but I've heard the "I" prefix ocassionally used in general conservation. Traffic reporters use "Route" to describe any numbered route, be it Interstate, US, or state.
However, use of the "Route" prefix is inconsistent. Traffic reporters will use it some of the time - usually referring to some roads with the prefix and referring to others without the prefix within the same report. As for general conservation, it's about a 50-50 split.
Personally, when giving directions and in casual conservation, I almost always refer to Interstate routes as "I", and all other routes as "Route".
The only time I've ever heard a route number "spelled-out" - apart from Sarah (my GPS unit), who calls Route 128 "Highway One-Hundred-Twenty-Eight", in the Boston area is when routes are referenced in local National Weather Service broadcasts (i.e. "Interstate Four-Hundred-Ninety-Five").
Quote from: roadman on March 06, 2013, 07:57:53 PM
The only time I've ever heard a route number "spelled-out" - apart from Sarah (my GPS unit), who calls Route 128 "Highway One-Hundred-Twenty-Eight", in the Boston area is when routes are referenced in local National Weather Service broadcasts (i.e. "Interstate Four-Hundred-Ninety-Five").
Same reason, too–NWS broadcasts are generated with text-to-speech software.
Now that I think of it, in French Canada, the rules are similar and different at the same time.
0-99 = normal. (quinze [fifteen], quarante [fourty], soixante-treize [seventy-three])
100-199 = normal, too. (cent-un [one hundred and one], cent dix-sept [oen hundred and seventeen], cent soixante-quinze [one hundred and seventy-five])
Zero middle digit = normal. (deux cent deux [two hundred and two], quatre cent un [four hundred and one])
The last two rules are probably this way because "cent" is just one syllable.
Other 3-digit routes: Varies between normal and separate hundreds+rest. It seems to depend on the person. (One person will say "trois trente-cinq" [three thirty five] and the other will say "trois cent trente-cinq" [three hundred and thirty five])
Quote from: Dr Frankenstein on March 06, 2013, 09:48:43 PM
Now that I think of it, in Alanland, the rules are similar and different at the same time.
Ontario pronounces its route numbers as Dr Frank says, one distinction is that a freeway route is usually prefaced by "the"
so it's "the four-oh-one", "the four-hundred" or "the one-fifteen".
For at-grade roads its "Highway 7" or "Highway 2".
Quote from: kphoger on March 05, 2013, 11:28:57 PM
People here in Wichita do things a little differently.
In the rest of the country, people would pronounce 135 as "one-thirty-five".
Here, however, they pronounce 135 as "eye-thirty-five".
I-35, on the other hand, they pronounce as "the turnpike".
:-D :-D
I wonder if that's a holdover from when I-135 used to be I-35W.
BTW, what is the accepted way of pronouncing suffixed routes? Thirty-five double-you, seventy enn, etc?
Thirty-one dub.
Quote from: roadman on March 06, 2013, 07:57:53 PM
Personally, when giving directions and in casual conservation, I almost always refer to Interstate routes as "I", and all other routes as "Route".
I give directions over the phone pretty much every day at work. I usually say "route" for a state route (outside Kansas, for which I say "K-"); "highway" for a US highway; and "I-" for an interstate. For county roads, I say "county road". When I'm in Texas, I identify FM roads as "farm road".
Examples:
Take Route 59 from Gentry to Decatur. (I don't know how they're referred to in Arkansas.)
Turn left on Highway 71 Business to Lowell. (I believe it's just called "71 Business", "Old 71", or even just "71" in Arkansas.)
It's near I-80 and 60th Street in Omaha. (I don't know how it's referred to in Nebraska; incidentally, I usually omit the I- for the 3dis such as 580.)
Turn right on Broyles Street in Farmington, which is also County Road 648. (I believe they're referred to as "highways" in Arkansas, but I'm not sure.)
Take County Road 8 from Waverly to I-94. (In Minnesota, this would be called "County 8", "Wright County 8", or even "Wright 8", although the latter is more common with multi-syllable county names.)
At Pearsall, take exit 101, which is Farm Road 140. (I'm not sure how they're referred to in Texas.)
"Thirty-five Ee or Thirty-five Dubya"
I always call interstates "I"
I've noticed that when I'm giving directions to people who are familiar with an area, I omit prefixes entirely ("Take 55 up to 95 up to 12") but if I'm not I use the word highway for state highway and US for US routes ("Take Highway 55 to US 95 north to US 12 east")
In Oregon people will look at you funny if you say "route". It's "Highway Two-Seventeen", "Highway Two-Twenty Four", "Highway Ninety-Nine West (or East)", "U. S. Twenty-Six" (or "The Sunset Highway"), and the Interstates are with the "I" ("Eye Five", "Eye Two Oh Five", "Eye Four Oh Five", "Eye Eight-Four" (or "The Banfield")).
But if you use "Highway Eight", "Highway Ten", "Highway Two-Ten", don't expect anyone to know what you're talking about. It's "T.V. Highway", "Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway" or "Farmington Road" (depending on whether you're east or west of downtown Beaverton), "Scholls Ferry Road"...
If you're referring to state highways in Washington it's OK to either call them "Highway" or "S.R." (short for 'state route', but this phrase seems to be going away by everyone including WSDOT). For example, "S.R. Fourteen", "S.R. Five-Hundred")
I've noticed listening to Portland traffic reports that that's how they usually differentiate highways on the Oregon side from the Washington side- on the Oregon side it's usually either name or number, but Washington is always SR xx.
I haven't heard the SR pronunciation as often once you get outside of Portland/Vancouver- it's still there, but not everybody uses it. I've heard plenty of people call it "Highway 512" for example.
Regarding the pronunciation of years starting with 2010 ... I'm a stickler about saying "twenty ten", "twenty eleven", and so on. I had a phase in the '00s (I pronounce that decade "the zeroes") when I would say things like "zero-six" instead of "oh-six" to describe something that happened in '06 for instance. Since then, I've just gotten into saying things like "oh-three" if I don't feel like saying "two thousand three". I never got into saying "twenty-oh-five" or "twenty-zero-five".
You can always tell when producers of TV shows and movies are unfamiliar with the east coast or when a traffic report is done outside of the local area - people out here do not say "the" in front of freeway names. "Traffic is backed up on the I-95" said no one ever.
Traffic backed up on 95, or on I-95, or the JFK, sure. (I feel like the JFK is rare though - probably encouraged by a radio station).
- Interstates are usually by number, although there's the occasional name (like the JFX - for Jones Falls Expressway - for the part of I-83 south of the beltway).
Toll roads are by name (example: The ICC)
US highways are by name or number. US 1 - Belair Road (pronounced Blair or Buh-lair). US 40 around Baltimore is 40 West or 40 East, depending on which side of the city you are.
Boulevards and Parkways are usually referenced by name (BW Pkwy, MLK, Perring)
State routes are either by number or name. More likely by name if they are less significant.
Quote from: Laura Bianca on March 07, 2013, 09:41:48 PM
You can always tell when producers of TV shows and movies are unfamiliar with the east coast or when a traffic report is done outside of the local area - people out here do not say "the" in front of freeway names. "Traffic is backed up on the I-95" said no one ever.
Traffic backed up on 95, or on I-95, or the JFK, sure. (I feel like the JFK is rare though - probably encouraged by a radio station).
- Interstates are usually by number, although there's the occasional name (like the JFX - for Jones Falls Expressway - for the part of I-83 south of the beltway).
Toll roads are by name (example: The ICC)
US highways are by name or number. US 1 - Belair Road (pronounced Blair or Buh-lair). US 40 around Baltimore is 40 West or 40 East, depending on which side of the city you are.
Boulevards and Parkways are usually referenced by name (BW Pkwy, MLK, Perring)
State routes are either by number or name. More likely by name if they are less significant.
I have heard someone say "the 495" before. I wanted to throw the radio out the window.
Quote from: sp_redelectric on March 07, 2013, 12:57:42 PM
In Oregon people will look at you funny if you say "route". It's "Highway Two-Seventeen", "Highway Two-Twenty Four", "Highway Ninety-Nine West (or East)", "U. S. Twenty-Six" (or "The Sunset Highway"), and the Interstates are with the "I" ("Eye Five", "Eye Two Oh Five", "Eye Four Oh Five", "Eye Eight-Four" (or "The Banfield")).
The use of "route" or "highway" seems to me to be mostly an east-west split. I don't know of any particular place where it changes, but in general, the further east you go you hear "route" more often and the further west you go you hear "highway" more often. I know here in Nebraska and the middle of the country in general, "highway" is definitely preferred. You will always hear "Highway X" instead of "Route X". "Route" still is used for the totality of the roads you take to get somewhere, like "which route are you taking?"
When I lived in Chicagoland, we lived on Route 38, so I'm guessing the change takes place somewhere in either Illinois or Iowa
Quote from: Laura Bianca on March 07, 2013, 09:41:48 PM
Toll roads are by name (example: The ICC)
Though annoyingly, MdTA has not one ICC sign on any of its BGS panels leading to the ICC. Only Md. 200.
And all or very nearly all of the signs that read "JFK Highway" are gone (there used to be one on Moravia Road, I think).
I don't think there are any of those distinctive "Bay Bridge" signs left in Maryland (there are some in Delaware).
Quote from: Laura Bianca on March 07, 2013, 09:41:48 PM
US highways are by name or number. US 1 - Belair Road (pronounced Blair or Buh-lair). US 40 around Baltimore is 40 West or 40 East, depending on which side of the city you are.
Boulevards and Parkways are usually referenced by name (BW Pkwy, MLK, Perring)
State routes are either by number or name. More likely by name if they are less significant.
Similarly, in the D.C. area, U.S. 50 is frequently qualified as "the John Hanson Highway" on the Maryland side, and "Arlington Boulevard" on the Virginia side.
U.S. 1 seems to be usually called just that, with a geographic qualifier to make clear which part of the road is being discussed.
U.S. 301 is usually just called "301" or sometimes "U.S. 301," but almost never "Crain Highway,"
Quote from: cpzilliacus on March 08, 2013, 10:58:45 AM
....
I don't think there are any of those distinctive "Bay Bridge" signs left in Maryland (there are some in Delaware).
I haven't been through Baltimore in a while, but the last time I went that way I seem to recall there still being some signs listing "Annapolis" and "Bay Bridge" as control cities for I-895 and I-97.
Quote from: cpzilliacus on March 08, 2013, 10:58:45 AM
....
U.S. 301 is usually just called "301" or sometimes "U.S. 301," but almost never "Crain Highway,"
During Tuesday night's weather forecast, Channel 4 weatherman Veronica Johnson called it "I-301" (complete with a text box reference on the screen behind her).
Quote from: cpzilliacus on March 08, 2013, 10:58:45 AM
I don't think there are any of those distinctive "Bay Bridge" signs left in Maryland (there are some in Delaware).
There are on the peninsula:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm9.staticflickr.com%2F8064%2F8220560933_b1e1ba27f0.jpg&hash=2ede9863675a22e8bbd572f1473f7b6ba6853818)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm9.staticflickr.com%2F8204%2F8220559675_06f5979c30.jpg&hash=352b275454eb4f2e948ab514a92ad9be75cdc218)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm9.staticflickr.com%2F8061%2F8221638030_8b05324cb5.jpg&hash=c962610f92178a8db9a901ae222b670979dbfe07)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm9.staticflickr.com%2F8060%2F8221637038_8cdd2b9a68.jpg&hash=a3b0fe7544cd3acb95b95fb34e44f04f6e54dc87)
These were taken last October.
Quote from: huskeroadgeek on March 08, 2013, 04:01:21 AM
Quote from: sp_redelectric on March 07, 2013, 12:57:42 PM
In Oregon people will look at you funny if you say "route". It's "Highway Two-Seventeen", "Highway Two-Twenty Four", "Highway Ninety-Nine West (or East)", "U. S. Twenty-Six" (or "The Sunset Highway"), and the Interstates are with the "I" ("Eye Five", "Eye Two Oh Five", "Eye Four Oh Five", "Eye Eight-Four" (or "The Banfield")).
The use of "route" or "highway" seems to me to be mostly an east-west split. I don't know of any particular place where it changes, but in general, the further east you go you hear "route" more often and the further west you go you hear "highway" more often. I know here in Nebraska and the middle of the country in general, "highway" is definitely preferred. You will always hear "Highway X" instead of "Route X". "Route" still is used for the totality of the roads you take to get somewhere, like "which route are you taking?"
Does anyone call the famous Chicago-to-the-coast road "Highway 66"?
^^ And that is another item with the Wis-Ill rivalry. Wisconsin uses highway while Illinois uses route.
Quote from: PurdueBill on March 06, 2013, 12:19:57 AM
This sign I got a picture of in August 2010 includes the uncommon use of "route" with an Interstate shield on a paddle sign (http://www2.uakron.edu/genchem/CIMG1981.JPG) (yes, it was a paddle sign--notice the old holes in the sign and the remaining breakaway paddle sign post base still in the ground)...
I strongly suspect that the original "paddle" sign (official MassHighway/MassDOT nomenclature is D6/D8 - the D6 is the larger top mounted (paddle) sign, and the D8 is the smaller 'strapped' sign mounted beneath it) read "TO ROUTES 95 (or perhaps 128?)-90" - without any shields. More than likely, the District engineer who ordered the replacement sign years ago changed the 95 and 90 numerals to shields (per the MassHighway D6/D8 design standards adopted in 1994), but didn't realize "ROUTES" was redundant and could be removed.
BTW, if it hasn't happened already, this sign will shortly be replaced with a new panel reading 'TO 95 90 (shields)", but without "ROUTES", as part of the Recreation Road overpass rehab nearing completion. In fact, the base you noted may be for the new sign.
Quote from: theline on March 08, 2013, 01:59:00 PM
Does anyone call the famous Chicago-to-the-coast road "Highway 66"?
Does "Route 66" pass in, around, or near Oregon? Nope.
Quote from: sp_redelectric on March 09, 2013, 01:05:51 AM
Quote from: theline on March 08, 2013, 01:59:00 PM
Does anyone call the famous Chicago-to-the-coast road "Highway 66"?
Does "Route 66" pass in, around, or near Oregon? Nope.
Yes, of course it does. It is also called the Greensprings Highway, and it connects Ashland to K-Falls. Duh... :ded:
I generally pronounce zero as "oh" when it occurs in the middle of a 3-digit route.
405 = "Four Oh Five"
505 = "Five Oh Five"
But 710 would be "Seven Ten," not "Seven One Oh."
In Texas, I hear "I-Nn" or occasionally the word spoken in full, eg "I-35" or "Interstate 10." On rare I occasions I hear "US-Nn" eg "US 281" but far more often I hear "Highway Nn" to refer to US or TX routes without differentiation. "Farm Road" and "FM" used interchangeably, as far as I can tell, in east TX but "Ranch Road" and "RM" in west TX. Where they overlap in the Hill Country, I think I hear "Farm Road/FM" slightly more often than "Ranch Road/RM." I hear "County Road Nn" or occasionally, "[Name] County Nn" eg "Hill County 3102," but never "CR."
There is a definite age-related variation: Younger people tend to use names and older people tend to use numbers.
In West Virginia:
Interstates are always "I **", but the West Virginia Turnpike is always "the turnpike" never called an interstate, despite no remaining signage that says "turnpike" other than at the ends of it.
US Routes will vary between "Route **" and "U S **". US Routes built under the Appalachian Regional Commission are generally "Corridor *" despite almost no signage for that, and the route number will not be used. In casual converation the nearest one will simply be "the corridor".
State and County routes are always "Route **", never "West Virginia **" .
The "fractional numbering" of minor County Routes is never used except by internal DOH accounting. People will call the road after a local name, such as "Sand Creek Road".
No one actually calls any thing named after anybody or anything, including Byrd, by that. Roads are just called Route whatever. Bridges, to the extent they need diferentiation, are named after the street (i.e. The Sixth Street Bridge in Huntington) or the towns they connect (i.e. the Nitro-St. Albans Bridge). Two bridges which have not collected a toll since the mid-70s are still called "The Winfield Toll Bridge" and "The Dunbar Toll Bridge". People in Point Pleasant still say "The Silver Bridge" (actually the replacement for the one that colapsed) to mean "the bridge across the Ohio" and "The Blue Bridge" (actually a green colored replacement) to mean "the bridge across the Kanawha".
One and two numbers will be pronounced such that Route 10 will be "Route TEN". Three numbers will be pronouced with the first number alone such that Route 460 will be "Route FOUR SIXTY".
Zip codes, etc will be each number seperatly, as TWO FIVE FIVE SIX OH, with OH always being used in place of ZERO.
Quote from: corco on March 08, 2013, 10:19:38 AM
When I lived in Chicagoland, we lived on Route 38, so I'm guessing the change takes place somewhere in either Illinois or Iowa
Odd. When I lived in Chicagoland, I lived on Roosevelt. :thumbsup:
Growing up in Eastern Ohio/Western PA, I always used "Eye Seventy-Nine" or "Eye Five Seventy-Nine", etc. Non-freeways were always called "Route Eighteen", "Route Nineteen", etc. "Highway" was never used at all. A road might be a 'high way', but it's always called by it's Route (not root) number.
Now, in Ohio, it's always Route Eleven, Route Seven, Route One Ninety-Three, etc.
Once I started going around the country, I began to lose my localized pronunciation and started using basic vernacular.
Every road just became it's number. Denver to Chicago would be: Take Seventy-Six to Eighty to Eighty-Eight, to Two-Ninety, for instance.
EXCEPT with California. Whenever I'm in California, it's always the way the natives speak for their freeways.
It's "The Five", "The Sixty", "The Ninety-One", "The Four-Oh-Five", "The Two-Fifteen", etc. Other non-freeways still get the simple treatment from me (The Fourteen, to Three-Ninety-Five, to Six). I do not call CA58 "The 58", rather it's just "Fifty Eight", because it's not all freeway. Ninety-Nine, on the other hand, is always referenced as "The Ninety-Nine".
For toll roads, the only toll road I call by the numbers is Interstate 44 in Oklahoma (Because it has three names). That's "Forty-Four". And, I guess also "Ninety" in Illinois or the "Two-Ninety-Four". NY is always the Thruway, OH is always the Ohio Turnpike or "the Turnpike", Indiana is always "The Toll Road", Pennsylvania is always "The Turnpike", unless I'm differentiating segments (Take Seventy-Six to Breezewood to Seventy East).
For four-digit routes (KY and TX mostly), It's always in two groups of two digits (FM 1462 becomes FM Fourteen Sixty-Two). Although, that would just be "Mines Road".
In NYC, no interstate numbers are used by me. I always, always, always call it by the preferred name. When going to Long Island, I always reference the bridge if connecting to "the LIE" (not Long Island Expressway), the Whitestone, Throgs Neck, Triborough, Verrazano, etc. But, it's always Cross Bronx, Bruckner, Sheridan, the LIE, the BQE, State Island Expressway, the Goethals, the Outerbridge, the GW, Major Deagan, etc.
Quote from: kphoger on March 09, 2013, 01:12:43 PM
Quote from: corco on March 08, 2013, 10:19:38 AM
When I lived in Chicagoland, we lived on Route 38, so I'm guessing the change takes place somewhere in either Illinois or Iowa
Odd. When I lived in Chicagoland, I lived on Roosevelt. :thumbsup:
We were pretty far west- just east of Randall Rd. I guess the road is still technically called State St out there (it may not have been in the 90s) but we just called it Route 38. I was too young to talk when we moved out there, but my parents always called it that presumably because when we moved there in '89 there was absolutely nothing out there. I don't even think there was a light at Randall Rd when I think back on my earliest memories.
Quote from: corco on March 09, 2013, 06:45:27 PM
Quote from: kphoger on March 09, 2013, 01:12:43 PM
Quote from: corco on March 08, 2013, 10:19:38 AM
When I lived in Chicagoland, we lived on Route 38, so I'm guessing the change takes place somewhere in either Illinois or Iowa
Odd. When I lived in Chicagoland, I lived on Roosevelt. :thumbsup:
We were pretty far west- just east of Randall Rd. I guess the road is still technically called State St out there (it may not have been in the 90s) but we just called it Route 38. I was too young to talk when we moved out there, but my parents always called it that presumably because when we moved there in '89 there was absolutely nothing out there. I don't even think there was a light at Randall Rd when I think back on my earliest memories.
The change from name to number varies in the west, southwest, and south suburbs. West, it seems to be at the Fox Cities. South has the change around the Will-Cook Line. Southwest has the change vary by road. I-55 changes at the Tri-State Tollway. IL-83 is known as both 83 and Kingery. Archer (IL-171) retains its name until Lockport and is never called by its number (Archer, State, Collins). 53 is interchangeable with Joliet Road south of where the two meet in Romeoville.
Quote from: hbelkins on March 08, 2013, 01:27:39 PM
Quote from: cpzilliacus on March 08, 2013, 10:58:45 AM
I don't think there are any of those distinctive "Bay Bridge" signs left in Maryland (there are some in Delaware).
There are on the peninsula:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm9.staticflickr.com%2F8064%2F8220560933_b1e1ba27f0.jpg&hash=2ede9863675a22e8bbd572f1473f7b6ba6853818)
I meant signs like this one (not sure of its location, probably somewhere in Delaware). The Maryland versions were cutout to that shape (otherwise same layout), but were black on yellow. They were once common along highways in the Eastern Shore Counties, and I recall seeing a few in Anne Arundel County (Western Shore county where the bridge lands).
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wrx900.com%2FBay%2520Bridge.jpg&hash=a4f43c0edcc4473c6689edfaeef865a258ab36ea)
Quote from: Brandon on March 09, 2013, 10:15:26 PM
Quote from: corco on March 09, 2013, 06:45:27 PM
Quote from: kphoger on March 09, 2013, 01:12:43 PM
Quote from: corco on March 08, 2013, 10:19:38 AM
When I lived in Chicagoland, we lived on Route 38, so I'm guessing the change takes place somewhere in either Illinois or Iowa
Odd. When I lived in Chicagoland, I lived on Roosevelt. :thumbsup:
We were pretty far west- just east of Randall Rd. I guess the road is still technically called State St out there (it may not have been in the 90s) but we just called it Route 38. I was too young to talk when we moved out there, but my parents always called it that presumably because when we moved there in '89 there was absolutely nothing out there. I don't even think there was a light at Randall Rd when I think back on my earliest memories.
The change from name to number varies in the west, southwest, and south suburbs. West, it seems to be at the Fox Cities. South has the change around the Will-Cook Line. Southwest has the change vary by road. I-55 changes at the Tri-State Tollway. IL-83 is known as both 83 and Kingery. Archer (IL-171) retains its name until Lockport and is never called by its number (Archer, State, Collins). 53 is interchangeable with Joliet Road south of where the two meet in Romeoville.
US34 is Ogden Ave., not sure where it becomes only 34 again, probably west of Downers Grove, though.
Quote from: djsinco on March 10, 2013, 04:26:52 AM
Quote from: Brandon on March 09, 2013, 10:15:26 PM
Quote from: corco on March 09, 2013, 06:45:27 PM
Quote from: kphoger on March 09, 2013, 01:12:43 PM
Quote from: corco on March 08, 2013, 10:19:38 AM
When I lived in Chicagoland, we lived on Route 38, so I'm guessing the change takes place somewhere in either Illinois or Iowa
Odd. When I lived in Chicagoland, I lived on Roosevelt. :thumbsup:
We were pretty far west- just east of Randall Rd. I guess the road is still technically called State St out there (it may not have been in the 90s) but we just called it Route 38. I was too young to talk when we moved out there, but my parents always called it that presumably because when we moved there in '89 there was absolutely nothing out there. I don't even think there was a light at Randall Rd when I think back on my earliest memories.
The change from name to number varies in the west, southwest, and south suburbs. West, it seems to be at the Fox Cities. South has the change around the Will-Cook Line. Southwest has the change vary by road. I-55 changes at the Tri-State Tollway. IL-83 is known as both 83 and Kingery. Archer (IL-171) retains its name until Lockport and is never called by its number (Archer, State, Collins). 53 is interchangeable with Joliet Road south of where the two meet in Romeoville.
US34 is Ogden Ave., not sure where it becomes only 34 again, probably west of Downers Grove, though.
Bizarrely, the Ogden Avenue name has been migrating west toward Oswego. The stretch of US-34 between US-30 and Naperville was known as Oswego Road for the longest time. Now, I see all the signs state that it is Ogden Avenue.
Quote from: corco on March 08, 2013, 10:19:38 AM
When I lived in Chicagoland, we lived on Route 38, so I'm guessing the change takes place somewhere in either Illinois or Iowa
My guess is that it's probably right up the middle of Missouri. Officially, MO state highways are called "routes", (i.e., Route 13), and MoDOT signs them as such when they must be spelled out in text (including the bizarre construction "Route I-44"). However, by the time you get to Kansas City, the local usage definitely favors "Highway"–north of I-49's terminus, it's "71 Highway". Of course, too far west and you get into K land.
Here in Nova Scotia, the 100 series Freeways are usually referred to as "The One Oh One" "The One Oh Two" etc...... and the 104, 105 & 106, collectively; "The Trans-Canada"
The original parallel highways; #1, #2, #3 etc are Trunk 1, Trunk 2, Trunk 3 in TIR documents but the public is more apt to say Highway 1 or Highway 2. The secondary roads are "Route 201" or "Route 345" etc (......and that's "root" )
In Newfoundland it's usually a name you hear: "The Trans-Canada" "The Trans-Labrador" "Viking Trail" "Burgeo Highway" or "Stephenville Access" ect.
In New Brunswick .....they're: Route 1, Route 2 (The Trans-Canada), Route 935 etc.
Same in Prince Edward Island ....."The Trans Canada" (Route 1) or Route 2 etc.
Quote from: Scott5114 on March 11, 2013, 04:53:24 AM
Quote from: corco on March 08, 2013, 10:19:38 AM
When I lived in Chicagoland, we lived on Route 38, so I'm guessing the change takes place somewhere in either Illinois or Iowa
My guess is that it's probably right up the middle of Missouri. Officially, MO state highways are called "routes", (i.e., Route 13), and MoDOT signs them as such when they must be spelled out in text (including the bizarre construction "Route I-44"). However, by the time you get to Kansas City, the local usage definitely favors "Highway"–north of I-49's terminus, it's "71 Highway". Of course, too far west and you get into K land.
But that can be helpful since there's a highway 7 (errrr, "7 highway") on each side of the metro. "K-7" leaves no doubt that you're talking about the highway that goes through Olathe and Leavenworth. "7 Highway" pretty much means the road that goes from Harrisonville to Clinton.
"___ highway" usage drifts down into Linn and Bourbon Counties a little bit where U.S. 69 is sometimes "69 Highway" and U.S. 54 is occasionally "54 Highway." But that usage is irregular compared to "71 Highway" and "40 Highway" in the metro area proper.
Some examples from the Toledo area:
I-75 = "eye seventy-five"
I-280 = "eye two eighty"
I-475 = "eye four seventy-five"
I-475/US-23 = "eye four seventy-five" :D
US-23 by itself = "twenty-three"
I-80/I-90 = "the turnpike"
OH-2 = "route two"
OH-25 = "the trail (Anthony Wayne Trail)" or "the Parkway (Greenbelt Parkway)"
Other numbered routes don't get mentioned - 99% of the time we use the street name.
Someone alluded to this earlier, but what about the pronounciation of the word "route"? What I generally do is pronounce it like [ROUT] when I'm describing the specific directions/roads I take to a destination. If I'm talking about a specific road like Route 66, I'll pronounce it [ROOT].
I live in Michigan where we pronounce our state highways [EM-{number}]. If I am referring to another state's state highways, I generally just say "Ohio 15" or "Indiana 9" or whatever it is. Even if it's a state like Illinois or New York where I know they'll say [ROOT] whatever, I still just say the state name plus the number - no "route" or "highway".
What do other people do when referring to state highways that are not in your own state? Do you adopt that state's wording or just use what you prefer?
When the route number for a primary or US route is one or two syllables (e.g. VA 10, US 1) I refer to it as "route X", pronouncing it "rout". I also say "I-X" for all 2dis. For 3dis and non-interstates with three or more syllables (US 460, VA 156) I just say the number.
I have seen the mention of how in California people always append "the" to the beginning of a route number. I think it's important to note that is strictly a Southern California thing. Up here in the Bay Area, one of the quickest way to peg somebody as being from LA is when they call a road "The 80" or "The 101". The common usage around here is to call most state routes "Highway", whether it is a freeway or not. "Highway 24" or "Highway 4". For Interstates and US-101, most people just call it by the number. "One-oh-one" "Eighty" "Six Eighty" or our favorite "Two Thirty Eight".... I have noticed that when people are talking about long-distance drives, you will hear them say "Highway 80" or "I-5" with about equal frequency.
Quote from: hbelkins on March 05, 2013, 03:15:42 PM
How is it elsewhere?
It's about the same here in Washington. People pronounce US 101 as "one-oh-one" and I-405 as "eye-four-oh-five", so not much is different. Basically, all highways that aren't Interstates are spoken as by number only. I heard that US 101 is pronounced as "the one-oh-one" and CA 1 being called "the PCH" or "coast highway" and not being pronounced by its number.
I knew someone from Mansfield (Ohio) and I noticed that she consistently shortened Park Avenue to "Park Av" when she was speaking (pronouncing the abbreviation as if it were a word). I had forgotten all about it until this past weekend, when I was in Pittsburgh for a party and heard another guest (a resident of the 'burgh, possibly a native) say something about "Friendship Av"
Anyone else ever run into this one? Or is my friend just too lazy to pronounce a three-syllable word?
Mass Av.
Quote from: 707 on March 24, 2013, 02:38:33 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on March 05, 2013, 03:15:42 PM
How is it elsewhere?
It's about the same here in Washington. People pronounce US 101 as "one-oh-one" and I-405 as "eye-four-oh-five", so not much is different. Basically, all highways that aren't Interstates are spoken as by number only. I heard that US 101 is pronounced as "the one-oh-one" and CA 1 being called "the PCH" or "coast highway" and not being pronounced by its number.
As another Washingtonian, I can confirm we call our highways by that. Sometimes, we'll use the name instead of route numbers, though (e.g. "Valley Freeway" instead of SR 167 or "Stevens Pass Highway" instead of US 2).
I've always pronounced "route" with the "ow" sound, as in "rout," never "root" (unless I decide to sing Springsteen's "Spirit in the Night" karaoke).
Quote from: djsinco on March 26, 2013, 02:39:28 AM
Signs in NYC are even more concise. Overhead signs say "2 Av".
I sure hope those aren't pronounced as "Two Av."
Note, I know they aren't. I've been in New York and I know the numbered streets and avenues are said the same as anywhere else. But I've always wondered why they are spelled that way.
Quote from: tdindy88 on April 12, 2013, 05:18:48 PM
Quote from: djsinco on March 26, 2013, 02:39:28 AM
Signs in NYC are even more concise. Overhead signs say "2 Av".
I sure hope those aren't pronounced as "Two Av."
Note, I know they aren't. I've been in New York and I know the numbered streets and avenues are said the same as anywhere else. But I've always wondered why they are spelled that way.
Brevity
Quote from: djsinco on April 13, 2013, 01:52:27 AM
Quote from: tdindy88 on April 12, 2013, 05:18:48 PM
Quote from: djsinco on March 26, 2013, 02:39:28 AM
Signs in NYC are even more concise. Overhead signs say "2 Av".
I sure hope those aren't pronounced as "Two Av."
Note, I know they aren't. I've been in New York and I know the numbered streets and avenues are said the same as anywhere else. But I've always wondered why they are spelled that way.
Brevity
Seriously. I doubt it ever confuses anyone.
Quote from: tdindy88 on April 12, 2013, 05:18:48 PM
Quote from: djsinco on March 26, 2013, 02:39:28 AM
Signs in NYC are even more concise. Overhead signs say "2 Av".
I sure hope those aren't pronounced as "Two Av."
Note, I know they aren't. I've been in New York and I know the numbered streets and avenues are said the same as anywhere else. But I've always wondered why they are spelled that way.
Conversely, I've always wondered why other cities don't sign them like New York. It's not as though people wouldn't understand it, and certainly people are familiar with things like the date being written without an ordinal clarifier ("April 2" instead of "April 2d," for example).