alexander koryagin wrote to Roy Witt:

 ak>>> "There is a man in the street."

 RW>> This would be correct for someone who is actually in the street.
 RW>> There is also a correct way to say 'the man on the street' as a
 RW>> general term as a news reporter doing remote radio or TV
 RW>> broadcasting.

 ak>    I read in a dictionary that it is an American variant. The British
 ak> say "in the street."

I forget who it was or which morning TV program it was, but they featured
'the man on the street' way back in the 1960s...he interviewed the people
on the street on a daily basis. They were actually on the sidewalk,
outside the TV studio where the show was being broadcast.

 RW>> In the above example, a pedestrian crosswalk is in the street and a
 RW>> pedestrian should be in the crosswalk.

 ak>>> But what if I tell about a point, a place, where something has
 ak>>> happened? Can I use "at"? IMHO it is quite logical, especially
 ak>>> when I tell about the place:

 ak>>> "Where is John?" "He is at the market" "Where is his monument?"
 ak>>> "It is at Trafalgar Square."

 RW>> Quite correct. However, he can also be in the market, shopping. You
 RW>> could also get more specific with: 'It is at Trafalgar Square, next
 RW>> to George Washington's statue.'

 ak>    But look at the example at
 ak> http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/square_...

 ak>    "She lives in Hanover Square."

 ak>    Can she live AT Hanover Square?

Yes, she can live at 12 Hanover Square, which would be more specific than
saying she lives in Hanover Square.

 ak>>>>> The most reliable shelters against Russia's nuclear rockets are
 ak>>>>> under American banks.
 RW>>>> The most reliable shelter against Russian nuclear bombs are in
 RW>>>> the vaults of Georgian banks.

 ak>>> Where are they? In Georgia, the Caucasus? 

 RW>> Where are the banks in Georgia? I have no idea as I've never been
 RW>> there. The above was just an example of your statement. American
 RW>> banks do have underground vaults, but many bank vaults are above
 RW>> ground in such places that have no basements.

 ak>    When I said that the American banks are the most safe place in
 ak> case of Russian attack I just meant a humorous statement that those
 ak> thieves in Russia, who rule the country, keep their booty and buy
 ak> property somewhere in the US. So, if Russia bombs the US there will
 ak> be some places they spare. 

Now see, I wouldn't have known that unless I was a Russian insider like
you are.

 RW>>>> Russian rockets would be intercepted and destroyed by American
 RW>>>> satellites using rocket killer lasers from space.
 ak>>> Can we have in Russia laser killers for the American satellites?
 ak>>> 

 RW>> Probably... just as America has spy satelites looking in your
 RW>> bathroom window. 8^)

 ak>    As Snowden would said "look who's talking!" ;-)

Apparently he's a smart guy, but he's not very smart! Know what I mean?
8^)

Iceland has offered him a welcome there and there's no extradition treaty
between them and the USA. In Iceland he'd be able to walk the streets
without fear of being picked up and extradited. Now he just sits in a
holding area while Putin thumbs his nose at Obama.

More power to Snowden as far as I'm concerned.

 ak> They say when he wants to swear at CIA he does it the Sheremetyevo
 ak> bathroom holding the douche as a telephone handset. ;=)

There are douche' bags in Russian bathrooms for men?

 ak>>>>> If you want your guests to be off, ask them for money. If you
 ak>>>>> want them to stay, ask for advice.
 RW>>>> If you want your guests to leave, ask them for money. If you want
 RW>>>> them to stay, ask them for advice.
 ak>>> I wonder, maybe "be off" is more rude, and therefore is more apt
 ak>>> when it applied to annoying guests? 

 RW>> No, I think 'be off' is a British way of saying 'leave' in American
 RW>> English.

 ak>    I need something nasty. Maybe this:

 ak>    "If you want your guests to buzz off ask them for money...." 

How about: If you want your unwanted guests to flee the party, tell them
one of the drunken party-goers pissed in the punch bowl. Those who have
been drinking the punch will be out of there with a flash...

 RW>> You should be aware that all English dialects are not the same.
 RW>> American, Australian, British, Canadian and Hong Kong English are
 RW>> just a few of them. All are spoken and written with differences
 RW>> only a native English speaker can detect and understand, Even then,
 RW>> some of it has to be explained to us. Sometimes, I have to have a
 RW>> New England American citizen repeat themselves because their speach
 RW>> is too often not understood in Texas, or the rest of the country
 RW>> for that matter.

 ak>    I heard the same about dialects in the UK. They say that some
 ak> Englishmen don't understand each other even in the UK. They have
 ak> different meanings, different pronunciations.

I would believe that. I once worked alongside a Scottsman who I couldn't
understand a single thing he said. He used to get mad when I asked him to
repeat himself, slowly. Then I'd ask him again, even if I got it on the
2nd go around.

 RW>> For instance the use of 'mate' in British, Australian and perhaps
 RW>> Canadian means 'friend' in American English. The little English
 RW>> that I've heard spoken in Hong Kong has been over Chinese news
 RW>> casts by satelite TV and they speak English there the same as the
 RW>> CNN or FOX news channels here in America. You would think that
 RW>> they, being a former British colony, would speak English with a
 RW>> British accent, but they do not.

 ak>    I sometimes watch their satellite channels CCTV9 and CNC World
 ak> English. They try to have native speakers there. But when I hear
 ak> native Chinese speaking English they IMHO have a notable, specific
 ak> accent.

I too watch CCTV9 and the English spoken on that channel is the same
English spoken on American news channels like CNN, FOX, etc.. Which, btw,
is the same English that I speak, so it is very understandable to me and I
do not detect any accent. Except for the occasional British way of using
or pronouncing a word.



         R\%/itt


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