On Jun 18, 5:32=A0pm, Charlie Pearce <charlie.pea...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> On Wed, 18 Jun 2008 14:16:57 -0700 (PDT), "Richard R. Hershberger"
>
>
>
>
>
> <rrhe...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> >On Jun 18, 4:40=A0pm, Charlie Pearce <charlie.pea...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >PLEASE.co.uk> wrote:
> >> On Tue, 8 Apr 2008 10:27:50 -0700 (PDT), "Richard R. Hershberger"
>
> >> <rrhe...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> >> >27 seems to me absurdly low. =A0I wouldn't be surprised to find that
> >> >close to 27 institutions of higher learning in my state of Maryland
> >> >have football teams. =A0That is including both colleges and
> >> >universities.
>
> >> Colleges *and* universities? =A0I always assumed they were synonyms
in
> >> the USA. =A0What's the defining difference?
>
> >They're not quite synonyms, but they're not quite not synonyms
> >either. =A0A small private institution, often in a smallish town out in
> >the country, is much more likely to be called a "college" while a
> >large institution, either public or private, is more likely to be
> >called a "university", but there are exceptions both ways. =A0Then
there
> >are "community colleges" or "junior colleges" which are typically
> >local public institutions that traditionally have two year programs,
> >often serving as feeders to four-year universities. =A0Another typical
> >distinction is that "colleges" most likely don't offer post-graduate
> >degrees, while "universities" most likely do: =A0except when it is the
> >other way around, of course.
>
> I see. =A0I think. =A0But when people talk about sending their son or
> daughter to college, that covers both, yes?
Absolutely. And Americans sending their children "to university" is
unidiomatic.
Richard R. Hershberger
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