Firefreak on 28/3/2010 at 07:21
Yesterday I was visiting the technical museum and they had an exhibition about the evolution of common household items. One segment covered the introduction of electricity and in one display they were showing various wall switches for lighting. I found one side note very interesting:
The German equivalent of the phrase "to turn on the light" comes from times where light came from gas flames and you had an actual gas valve which you had to turn. But electricity doesn't need a valve; a simple switch is enough - but first switches had a 'turning' design (internally converting to a binary switch) and the phrase stuck although "to switch on the light" is equally valid and common.
The question to you English native speakers is now, is it similar in the English language? I don't mean the historical background, but whether "to switch on the light" is equally common?
I can understand why the 'turn' verb fits better for radios for example; Those (especially the car radios) have a dial that functions for both volume and power...
I find those little things interesting and I wonder whether to continue to use the old phrase of turning the light (for nostalgia) or stay in the 21st century... How about you?
(edit: title - I seem to have found the wrong time for this thread ;) )
Thief13x on 28/3/2010 at 07:23
it's not an earth hour thread is it :(
Namdrol on 28/3/2010 at 08:42
In English, both phrases are used interchangeably for any electrical/mechanical on/off action.
Thanks, others may disagree but I like this, it's a nice little quirk.
PeeperStorm on 28/3/2010 at 12:41
I thought this was going to be about the "turn off your lights for Earth Hour" thing (
http://www.earthhour.org/) yesterday.
And the correct answer is "Extinguish the lights mercilessly, like the lives of those foolish enough to oppose me".
Nameless Voice on 28/3/2010 at 13:11
Pretty much interchangeable, though I think I'd personally be more likely to use "turn" than "switch".
Kolya on 28/3/2010 at 13:21
Don't know about Austria, but in Germany "das Licht andrehen/abdrehen" is rare and sounds old-fashioned.
Clearly we're ahead of you Ösis in every regard (except ski flying).
Starrfall on 28/3/2010 at 14:46
I turn off the lights using the light switch!
steo on 28/3/2010 at 14:59
I push off my computer using the power button!
Xenith on 28/3/2010 at 15:00
If I were to translate word by word from my language to english, it would be something like "light up the light" (or "fire it up"). In romanian, the verb "to light" and noun "light" are spelled differently and it doesn't sound as awkward as it does in english.
Also, nobody want's to learn romanian. :(
SubJeff on 28/3/2010 at 16:01
latin based. harder then italian. no thanks
