Re: Corpora: "hash" (was "at sign")

From: Mary Califf (mecalif@ilstu.edu)
Date: Fri Oct 12 2001 - 14:28:58 MET DST

  • Next message: Dilworth B. Parkinson: "Corpora: At sign"

    Actually, # is used in American English as an abbreviation for pound
    (as well as for number), and I believe that that usage predates the
    existence of keyboards.

    On Fri, 12 Oct 2001, Harold Somers wrote:

    > On the subject of names of ligatures and other characters, I have
    > noticed that some Americans call the # sign "pound". AM I right in
    > thinking this is because its key is in place of the GBP £ sign (shift-
    > 3) on the keyboard?
    > I call it "hash", though I have also heard it called "hatch" which
    > would be more (etymo)logical (a hatch being a door made of
    > crossbars).
    > Anecdotally, I remember being confused as a kid when I first came
    > across the usage of # to mean "number" (as in Issue #5). In British
    > English (at least at that time) its use was restricted to musical
    > notation ("sharp").
    >
    > Not sure what any of this has do with corpora however, but it is a
    > sunny Friday lunchtime here in Manchester!
    >
    >



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