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From: "credoquaabsurdum" <credoquaabsurdum@yahoo.com>
Newsgroups: alt.languages.english
Subject: mobile phone numbers and land lines
Date: 12 May 2005 17:03:58 -0700
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I've been out of the States for a while now, and I'm fishing around for
inforation about what's going on in the English-speaking world
regarding the linguistic conventions of modern telecommunications.
A learner asked me the other day about something rather simple, and I
couldn't come up with a thousand percent sure answer.
Has some kind of new convention sprunt up in The World regarding
traditional, Ma Bell-type numbers?
Do we now call them something special to distinguish them from
mobile/cell(ular) phone numbers?
Back in those happy golden years when Hector was a pup, we would say:
My phone number is (212) 555-1212.
My cell phone number is ...
Given that cell phones have increased in importance in the last five
years, have we now adopted some hitherto unknown terms that used to
describe the number that connected to the thing on our walls that go
ring-ring? Regular phone, land line, etc.?
The Greeks routinely call them "stationary" phones and "mobile" phones
when they feel it necessary to distinguish twixt the two, so there is a
good deal of confusion about this. Moreover, in Greek adjectives can
act as nouns with disconcerting ease, so "Call me at/on my mobile," or
"Call me at/on my stationary," are in daily usage.
Greeks also say "regular" phones, and "regular" is a far easier
adjective to translate than "stationary," so this is the first time I'v
run up against this one in five years of teaching here.
I am aware that differing US/UK conventions might further complicate an
explanation.
Thank you for your time.
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