1. Kita

    Kita New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 18, 2012
    Messages:
    126
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Northern Ireland

    Mile or Kilometre?

    Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by Kita, Jul 20, 2013.

    I'm currently writing a short story with an American MC. I know in the UK we use Miles as a distance measurement but is it the same in America?
     
  2. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 1, 2008
    Messages:
    23,826
    Likes Received:
    20,815
    Location:
    El Tembloroso Caribe
    The same, miles. Kilometers might be used if the setting and the actors are military, but the laymen will always use miles in the U.S.
     
  3. Kita

    Kita New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 18, 2012
    Messages:
    126
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Northern Ireland
    Thanks! That helps a lot.
     
  4. Thomas Kitchen

    Thomas Kitchen Proofreader in the Making Contributor

    Joined:
    Nov 5, 2012
    Messages:
    1,248
    Likes Received:
    448
    Location:
    I'm Welsh - and proud!
    They use miles. :)
     
  5. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2013
    Messages:
    18,385
    Likes Received:
    7,080
    Location:
    Ralph's side of the island.
    Miles, yes. But this thread goes to my question, I'm using 'kilometers' in my story because it makes more sense as a future measure. But the following phrase sounds better to me than the second one and I'm wondering if it's just unfamiliarity that makes the second not sound right.

    ...for miles in all directions.

    ...for kilometers in all directions.

    Is there another way one would word the second phrase?
     
  6. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 1, 2008
    Messages:
    23,826
    Likes Received:
    20,815
    Location:
    El Tembloroso Caribe
    I think it's just unfamiliarity. I know how many lbs. are involved when someone says, "I'm at least a good two stone overweight!" but it still slaps my reading ear as strange.
     
  7. Ian J.

    Ian J. Active Member

    Joined:
    Nov 27, 2012
    Messages:
    298
    Likes Received:
    8
    Location:
    London, England
    I've heard 'clicks' used as an abbreviation for kilometres, I think in U.S. based movies with military language.
     
  8. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 19, 2007
    Messages:
    36,161
    Likes Received:
    2,827
    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    That's 'klicks', although 'clicks' seems to be growing in popularity. It's slang, so spelling is more convention than sanction.

    Also, nobody mentioned 'kilometres' vs 'kilometers' I believe the former is preferred in most UK-derived dialects of English, but the latter is the American spelling. Canada appears to have picked up a bit of an American habit as well, although both spellings are acceptable in Canadian English.
     
  9. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2013
    Messages:
    18,385
    Likes Received:
    7,080
    Location:
    Ralph's side of the island.
    I see that it's 'klicks' as it probably derived from kilometers.

    But, "for klicks in all directions", sounds even worse. It seems like 'klicks' demands a number in front of it.



    Is that because you said stone instead of stones? Because it doesn't sound wrong to my ear otherwise. I do know what a stone's weight is but even if I didn't, the sentence itself still sounds OK.



    Edited to add: I just Googled "can see for kilometers in all directions" with the quotes and got lots of returns so the problem must just be how it sounds to my ear.
     
  10. erebh

    erebh Banned Contributor

    Joined:
    Jan 12, 2013
    Messages:
    2,642
    Likes Received:
    481
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    That's mad, I always though a click used in military circles was for some kind of knob that literally makes a clicking sound when turned, each turn/click representing a specific measurement. We use to have a wheel at work (on a building site) for measuring long distances (longer than a tape measure), the diameter of the wheel was 1 metre and we'd push the wheel, attached to a pole/handle and each time it clicked was 1 metre.

    Having googled it tere is a nice story about the Australians using a click to measure as well http://usmilitary.about.com/od/theorderlyroom/f/faqklickdef.htm all rumour or urban myth of course but nice stories all the same
     
  11. B93

    B93 Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2012
    Messages:
    302
    Likes Received:
    33
    >the diameter of the wheel was 1 metre
    As a pedantic note, I'm pretty sure the circumference was 1 meter.

    Most people in the US who don't work in scientific areas or travel the world will have no concept of kilometers, and will only recognize them as a foreign thing, or something used in scifi. We're pretty uneducated on average, no matter how much schooling we've been through.
     
  12. erebh

    erebh Banned Contributor

    Joined:
    Jan 12, 2013
    Messages:
    2,642
    Likes Received:
    481
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    DOH!
     
  13. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 1, 2008
    Messages:
    23,826
    Likes Received:
    20,815
    Location:
    El Tembloroso Caribe
    Oddly enough, those for whom the word is a common part of local vernacular often (perhaps even usually) leave the word unchanged for singular or plural. ;)
     
  14. erebh

    erebh Banned Contributor

    Joined:
    Jan 12, 2013
    Messages:
    2,642
    Likes Received:
    481
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    We say a lot of things in the singular

    weight - 10 stone 4
    money - 29 pound 99
    distance - 5 and a half mile
    volume - plural for some strange reason :(
     
  15. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 1, 2008
    Messages:
    23,826
    Likes Received:
    20,815
    Location:
    El Tembloroso Caribe
    Yup. :) Learned that when I was stationed at RAF Chicksands in Bedfordshire. ;)
     
  16. erebh

    erebh Banned Contributor

    Joined:
    Jan 12, 2013
    Messages:
    2,642
    Likes Received:
    481
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    was that when you were ordering 10 pints of lager? :D
     
  17. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 1, 2008
    Messages:
    23,826
    Likes Received:
    20,815
    Location:
    El Tembloroso Caribe
    I'm not much of a drinker. 10 pints would have erased the better part of my fond memories of the place. :D
     
  18. The Peanut Monster

    The Peanut Monster New Member

    Joined:
    May 9, 2013
    Messages:
    124
    Likes Received:
    16
    Location:
    New Zealand
    Even though we use kilometres, we would still say some thing goes "on for miles and miles". So I think your first phrase is ok, even your story uses kilometres.
     
  19. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2013
    Messages:
    18,385
    Likes Received:
    7,080
    Location:
    Ralph's side of the island.
    Really? That's the first I've heard that. Wow.

    I mean that, thank you.
     
  20. Ian J.

    Ian J. Active Member

    Joined:
    Nov 27, 2012
    Messages:
    298
    Likes Received:
    8
    Location:
    London, England
    How about phrasing like:

    'I could see for several klicks in all directions.'

    ??

    Or for greater distances:

    'I could see for hundreds of klicks in all directions.'
     
  21. UnrealCity

    UnrealCity Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 21, 2013
    Messages:
    112
    Likes Received:
    7
    Location:
    Australia
    I use both miles and kilometers in my story as the two main characters live in Australia and England. I will have to switch between the two depending on who's talking in dialog, or perhaps state both measurements in narrative to try and make the language accessible to all eventual readers (if any) from different parts of the world.
     
  22. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

    Joined:
    Nov 21, 2006
    Messages:
    19,150
    Likes Received:
    1,034
    Location:
    Coquille, Oregon
    or just 'far'?
     
  23. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 19, 2007
    Messages:
    36,161
    Likes Received:
    2,827
    Location:
    Massachusetts, USA
    and 'wicked far' for longer distances...
     
  24. Selbbin

    Selbbin The Moderating Cat Staff Contributor Contest Winner 2023

    Joined:
    Oct 16, 2012
    Messages:
    5,160
    Likes Received:
    4,243
    Location:
    Australia
    If they're talking then it all depends on what their background is. If it's part of the general text, then it depends on your primary readership and the context/setting of the story.
     
  25. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2013
    Messages:
    18,385
    Likes Received:
    7,080
    Location:
    Ralph's side of the island.
    For me, readership will be American but I want to be true to a future world where people from multiple cultures live on a new planet after leaving Earth. Metric makes sense as the adopted system on a new planet.
     

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice