In one of my recent conversations with a student, we talked about the name of the metropolitan system of underground trains.
In English, there are several words for Ukrainian "метро", depending on where you are or who you are talking to.
- In 1863 in London, the first city train system was build underground – that’s why it was called The Underground. Nowadays, Brits mostly call it The Tube (with the article), because the trains go inside a tunnel (a tube).
- In the USA, the first underground trains started running in New York exactly 118 years ago. The underground railway system in the US is commonly called "subway" (sub = under, way = road). If you say "the train", most New Yorkers would understand it, too.
- In Canada, people also often call it "the train" (unlike SkyTrain what runs above ground). In French-speaking Montreal, it's called "metro", like in Paris.
- Interestingly, Glasgow (which is in the UK) uses the word "subway", but in the rest of Great Britain "subway" is an underground passage for pedestrians to cross under a road or street = підземний перехід.
- "Metro" is used in some European countries and many other parts of the world (Paris, Moscow, Madrid, Shanghai, Beijing). But "subway" is used in Tokyo, and "Metropolitan Subway" is used in Seoul.
Some other names for "metro" around the world:
- Hong Kong MTR (Mass Transit Railway)
- SMRT in Singapore (Singapore Mass Rapid Transit)
- In Melbourne (Australia) they call it The City Loop
But basically, if you say "metro" [ˈmetrəʊ] (notice that the first syllable is stressed, not the second one like in Ukrainian), you'll probably be understood in any part of the world.
In my city, we don't have an underground train system. I can't even remember the last time I used the Kyiv metro - it was probably at least 5-6 years ago.
What about you? Does your town/city have a subway?
When was the last time you used it?
Take care of yourself,
Tania.
PS: If you would like to work with me on improving your spoken English, fill out this application and we'll meet to discuss what you need and how to get there.
0 comments