tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294141728297871688.post5511860821408240142..comments2024-03-26T07:09:21.701+00:00Comments on linguistlaura: Toilet language Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15599735346062899537noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294141728297871688.post-12957990711301661212013-08-19T21:25:36.936+01:002013-08-19T21:25:36.936+01:00Yes, for us toilet is the actual facility, never t...Yes, for us <i>toilet</i> is the actual facility, never the room, which is a <i>rest room</i> in a public place and a <i>bathroom</i> in a house. (The claim that we call them <i>comfort stations</i> is just slander.)John Cowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11452247999156925669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294141728297871688.post-52578310609833697682012-10-19T14:13:05.656+01:002012-10-19T14:13:05.656+01:00Mm. 'Unisex' doesn't quite seem right ...Mm. 'Unisex' doesn't quite seem right either because the important point is not that both sexes will be using it - we could all be female (or all male) and the point would remain. I think if I was rewriting it I'd go with 'shared' and leave it at that. <br /><br />To me, 'bathroom' implies a place where you can wash and have a shower and stuff. I might ask in someone's house 'where's the bathroom' without implying that I was going to have a shower, but it would be because I would expect the toilet to be in the bathroom. (And then if it was separate, I'd be scuppered.) But not public toilets. I don't know if being from the west of Ireland has anything to do with it either - I know shamefully little about the dialect there. Laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15599735346062899537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294141728297871688.post-43579260375007092762012-10-19T14:05:20.215+01:002012-10-19T14:05:20.215+01:00Hmm. In that case maybe changing communal to unise...Hmm. In that case maybe changing <i>communal</i> to <i>unisex</i> would be better, since it conveys the same information but doesn't have <i>communcal</i>'s connotations of group activity. I don't know how commonly <i>unisex</i> is used in such a context, though.<br /><br />Calling public toilets a "bathroom" doesn't sound American to me, no. I'm from the west of Ireland, but I don't know if that has anything to do with it.Stanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03386875624025404452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294141728297871688.post-19875711377169496942012-10-19T12:33:05.791+01:002012-10-19T12:33:05.791+01:00Actually, in this case the distinction doesn't...Actually, in this case the distinction doesn't really exist. In general, yes, I think that would make a difference (although calling public toilets a 'bathroom' would sound weirdly American to me - not to you?). However, this particular toilet is literally just a toilet in a cupboard. It's smaller than many toilet cubicles I've been in. Laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15599735346062899537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294141728297871688.post-21710007115198585842012-10-19T09:49:26.904+01:002012-10-19T09:49:26.904+01:00Is it because toilet is commonly used to mean both...Is it because <i>toilet</i> is commonly used to mean both the toilet itself and the room it's in? The ambiguity could be sidestepped with the phrase "communal bathroom", and I wouldn't end up picturing a dozen people sitting blithely on a giant toilet seat. :-)Stanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03386875624025404452noreply@blogger.com