Monday, September 08, 2008

Bringing, taking, going away

I had a long-distance relationship with a woman who lived on Long Island several years ago and it sharpened my awareness of the difference in word choices between Midwesterners and people on the East Coast.

Like bring/take. New Yorkers, especially, flip the use of these words. I would say, "I will take my laptop with me when I go to the mountains," because "take" means to carry something away from the location of the speaker and "bring" means to have something in one's possession while away from where it normally belongs.

She would reverse the usage.

And then there is "going away," which I gather is the operative term for traveling, going out of town, going on vacation, etc. The first time I heard it, it sounded so mysterious and final, sorta like, "I am going to disappear."

And it's clear that New Yorkers don't understand the distinction between "garbage" and "trash." They don't realize that garbage is food waste and trash is everything else you throw away, or take away, or bring away.

I'm going to go away.

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