Hello! Would you please tell me what you imagine when you hear the expression "at Michigan" in the following sentence?
The young man called him to say that he had gone through Harvard and was now teaching at Michigan.
I wonder which university the word Michigan refers to. Or is it that you cannot tell which university is meant just by "at Michigan"?
I really appreciate your help in advance.
LP
The young man called him to say that he had gone through Harvard and was now teaching at Michigan.
I wonder which university the word Michigan refers to. Or is it that you cannot tell which university is meant just by "at Michigan"?
I really appreciate your help in advance.
LP
Hello! Would you please tell me what you imagine when you hear the expression "at Michigan" in the following sentence? ... it that you cannot tell which university is meant just by "at Michigan"? I really appreciate your help in advance.
It could be this one
http://www.msu.edu /
(¯`·. ®óñ© © ²°¹° .·´¯)
Hello! Would you please tell me what you imagine when you hear the expression "at Michigan" in the following sentence? ... the word Michigan refers to. Or is it that you cannot tell which university is meant just by "at Michigan"?
I'd take the default meaning of "I'm now teaching at X" to be "The University of X" or "X University".
If the reference is to a similarly-named institution in this case, probably "Michigan State University" one would expect the statement to be "I'm now teaching at Michigan State".
A similar situation exists with "The University of Oxford" and "Oxford Brookes University". "I graduated from Oxford" definitely implies the former, and cases where "Oxford" is used to refer to a "different" university in Oxford are invariably seen as intentionally misleading.
Cheers, Harvey
CanEng and BrEng, indiscriminately mixed
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Hello! =A0Would you please tell me what you imagine when you hear the expression "at Michigan" in the following sentence? ... the word Michigan refers to. =A0Or is it that you cannot tell which university is meant just by "at Michigan"?
It means the "University of Michigan". Not Michigan State or any other college or university in Michigan. Often certain universities are so dominant that the location is adequate identification.
Consider: Leiden; Jena; Bologna. I do not even have to mention the country; the university is identified.
GFH
Hello! Would you please tell me what you imagine when you hear the expression "at Michigan" in the following sentence? ... the word Michigan refers to. Or is it that you cannot tell which university is meant just by "at Michigan"?
This is a colloquialism generally specific to a particular group of people in each state. Each state in the U.S. has a college or university containing the state's name, that is THE place for a particular area of endeavor. That could be football, music, math, science, law or whatever. For example, The University of Michigan might have the preeminent law school, but Michigan State University might have the preeminent science program in the state. Which school "at Michigan" refers to would depend on who was making the statement to whom the statement is being made, and the subject context in which the statement is made.
Work is the curse of the drinking class.
I can't agree with it referring equally to either University of Michigan or Michigan State University.
It is, without doubt, the University of Michigan.
If you said you studied "at Penn" it's the University of Pennsylvania, not Penn State.
You would say "Michigan State" or "Penn State" or Florida State," etc.
I'm willing to bet money that if you surveyed 100 people who grew up in the state of Michigan and asked them which university "I teach at Michigan" referred to, not a single one of them would say it refers to Michigan State.
It is, without doubt, the University of Michigan.
If you said you studied "at Penn" it's the University of Pennsylvania, not Penn State.
You would say "Michigan State" or "Penn State" or Florida State," etc.
I'm willing to bet money that if you surveyed 100 people who grew up in the state of Michigan and asked them which university "I teach at Michigan" referred to, not a single one of them would say it refers to Michigan State.
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(Email Removed) wrote Re Re: at Michigan:
That may well be so. However, knowing the meaning depends on locality. Ask 100 people in Alabama or Mississippi and they would have no idea.
Work is the curse of the drinking class.
I'm willing to bet money that if you surveyed 100 people who grew up in the state of Michigan and asked them which university "I teach at Michigan" referred to, not a single one of them would say it refers to Michigan State.
That may well be so. However, knowing the meaning depends on locality. Ask 100 people in Alabama or Mississippi and they would have no idea.
Work is the curse of the drinking class.
I'm willing to bet money that if you surveyed 100 ... one of them would say it refers to Michigan State.
That may well be so. However, knowing the meaning depends on locality. Ask 100 people in Alabama or Mississippi and they would have no idea.[/nq]I think most Americans understand that saying you're going to teach at Michigan means you're going ot teach at a school called either Michigan University or the University of Michigan. Not least because sports news refers to universities that way. For instance, if a sports news announcer said, "USC will be at Arizona tomorrow" it would be understood almost anywhere in the country to mean the University of Southern California is playing a game against the University of Arizona at the latter school's facilities.
Were the game going to be at Arizona State University it would be announced as either "USC will be at Arizona State tomorrow", or, at least for viewers in the American West it might be "USC will be at ASU tomorrow". it may not be that viewers back East would automatically know "ASU" means Arizona State University but might refer to the University of South Carolina. Of course, the only time both USCs might compete against each other is in a March Madness basketball tournament since they normally play in different conferences.
** DAVE HATUNEN (Email Removed) ** * Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow * * My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *
Yeah, but what about the other 47 states?
And in the case of Michigan there is no Michigan University. I don't know of any state or city that has both.
BTW, my brother went to Indiana University which about half the population keeps calling the University of Indiana (which doesn't exist) and I went to the University of Chicago, which about half the population keeps calling Chicago University, which I'm pretty sure doesn't exist. They get them both backwards.
Good to know. I thought it was Astin Simpson University.
I don't know about that. I think that school is called "South Carolina" both in the east and the certainly in the west where they are even more likely to think USC means Univ. or S. California.
Posters should say where they live, and for which area they are asking questions. I was born and then lived in Western Pa. 10 years
Indianapolis 7 years
Chicago 6 years
Brooklyn, NY 12 years
Baltimore 26 years
I think most Americans understand that saying you're going to teach at Michigan means you're going ot teach at a school called either Michigan University or the University of Michigan. Not
And in the case of Michigan there is no Michigan University. I don't know of any state or city that has both.
BTW, my brother went to Indiana University which about half the population keeps calling the University of Indiana (which doesn't exist) and I went to the University of Chicago, which about half the population keeps calling Chicago University, which I'm pretty sure doesn't exist. They get them both backwards.
least because sports news refers to universities that way. For instance, if a sports news announcer said, "USC will be ... be at ASU tomorrow". it may not be that viewers back East would automatically know "ASU" means Arizona State University
Good to know. I thought it was Astin Simpson University.
but (USC) might refer to the University of South Carolina.
I don't know about that. I think that school is called "South Carolina" both in the east and the certainly in the west where they are even more likely to think USC means Univ. or S. California.
Of course, the only time both USCs might compete against each other is in a March Madness basketball tournament since they normally play in different conferences.
Posters should say where they live, and for which area they are asking questions. I was born and then lived in Western Pa. 10 years
Indianapolis 7 years
Chicago 6 years
Brooklyn, NY 12 years
Baltimore 26 years
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