Why n/g | Vital Football

Why n/g

The Roone

Vital Squad Member
Why are school pupils now known as students?
Why are problems now called issues?
Why is London Town now called a city?
 
Why are you asking ?

Because the way the media are changing our use of words. Pupils are in most cases children, problems are not more than just issues, for most of history London has been a town. The city of London is a different place. Our language for some reason is being distorted.
 
Why are school pupils now known as students?
Why are problems now called issues?
Why is London Town now called a city?

Have they changed?

Pupil v Student. Both still used aren’t they? Or is it different in UK now? Pupil is younger and assisted learning, student is older and studying.

Maybe there are a lot more people in higher education now than 50 years ago, so more “students” maybe?

Problems v issues? Dunno. Both used afaik. Maybe issue is a more common term in the workplace.

And I thought London was always called a City? London Town in songs and literature maybe. But I’ve always called it a City. That despite Greater London actually being a town but containing 2 cities (City of London and City of Westminster. Or is that wrong an urban myth?).
 
And I thought London was always called a City? London Town in songs and literature maybe. But I’ve always called it a City. That despite Greater London actually being a town but containing 2 cities (City of London and City of Westminster. Or is that wrong an urban myth?).

Definition of a City is a large town, usually with a cathedral although City status is now being given to former towns.

St Pauls is a cathedral and London is pretty large so I would say it qualifies.
 
Problems v issues? Dunno. Both used afaik. Maybe issue is a more common term in the workplace.

I wouldn't say they are quite the same thing. People often make a simple problem in to a major issue by escalating it.

I always like that play on the phrase/motto "a problem shared is a problem halved", changing it to "a problem shared is a problem two people have".:rolleyes:
 
Definition of a City is a large town, usually with a cathedral although City status is now being given to former towns.

St Pauls is a cathedral and London is pretty large so I would say it qualifies.
Although St Paul's is in the City of London itself (the "Square mile"). Westminster has a cathedral of course but I'm not sure if that automatically gives City status to the whole of London.
The fact that London is known as the capital city would suggest it is.
 
Definition of a City is a large town, usually with a cathedral although City status is now being given to former towns.

St Pauls is a cathedral and London is pretty large so I would say it qualifies.

I used to think that the qualifying thing for a City was having a Cathedral.

But apparently not if the good folk at QI are to be believed. I remember Stephen Fry telling us that there are multiple Towns with Cathedrals, and multiple Cities without one. So there you go. Although most Cities do indeed have a Cathedral.

I wouldn't say they are quite the same thing. People often make a simple problem in to a major issue by escalating it.

But you could also turn a simple issue into a major problem. Same difference to me.
 
Definition of a City is a large town, usually with a cathedral although City status is now being given to former towns.

St Pauls is a cathedral and London is pretty large so I would say it qualifies.

There are cities without cathedrals and places with cathedrals that arent cities.

You become a city when the monarch grants city status.
 
In total there are 14 English and Welsh cities that have never had Anglican cathedrals within their borders – Brighton and Hove, Cambridge, Hull, Lancaster, Leeds, Nottingham, Plymouth, Preston, Salford, Southampton, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland, Swansea, and Wolverhampton.

There are a number of places with cathedrals that arent cities including Guildford, Blackburn and Rochester.
 
London started as a series of small towns Barnes, Southwark etc each of which grew bigger and merged into each other so as to become indistinguishable from each other. The old parts were City of London and Westminster.

The population of london in shakespeare's time was around 350-400k. It reached a million in the early 1800s and exploded to around 4.5m by 1900.
 
Have they changed?
Pupil v Student. Both still used aren’t they? Or is it different in UK now? Pupil is younger and assisted learning, student is older and studying.

Maybe there are a lot more people in higher education now than 50 years ago, so more “students” maybe?

Student becoming the catch all term for someone in education is probably more of American culture bleeding over to the UK than anything else. As far as I know the US will call someone a College Student, or High School Student etc in order to establish age and if the person is in compulsory or further education. Pupil to mean someone in compulsory education is not a common term if at all in the US education system.

I believe the younger British youths are more likely to call themselves students while being referred to as pupils from the older generations although I'm sure Gills58 can offer more insight.

Problems v issues? Dunno. Both used afaik. Maybe issue is a more common term in the workplace.

By definition an issue is "an important topic or problem for debate or discussion"
By definition a problem is "a matter or situation regarded as unwelcome or harmful and needing to be dealt with and overcome."

The difference is a problem is a more serious form of issue that needs a solution.

The problem (or is it an issue?) is that problems in society that need to be looked into and solved are sometimes downplayed and ignored by being narratively framed as "a controversial issue". This is particularly noticeable in the current culture war. It is noticeable with the more left leaning on here that Labour has an issue of anti-Semitism in parts of the party but the Tories have a problem with Islamophobia.

And I thought London was always called a City? London Town in songs and literature maybe. But I’ve always called it a City. That despite Greater London actually being a town but containing 2 cities (City of London and City of Westminster. Or is that wrong an urban myth?).

It was a bit of a myth after King Henry the something granted a number of large towns which all happened to have cathedrals City status and it the association stuck. Of course, the association stuck down the years as there was strong correlation that a lot of cities who got given city status tended to be large towns that happened to have cathedrals.

Nowadays to be classified officially as a city then you need to apply for the status. And sometimes people forget to fill in paperwork:
https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/rochester-was-kents-second-city-546170

As far as I know the City of Rochester is no longer recognised as being a city despite having a cathedral.
 
Have they changed?

Pupil v Student. Both still used aren’t they? Or is it different in UK now? Pupil is younger and assisted learning, student is older and studying.

Maybe there are a lot more people in higher education now than 50 years ago, so more “students” maybe?

Problems v issues? Dunno. Both used afaik. Maybe issue is a more common term in the workplace.

And I thought London was always called a City? London Town in songs and literature maybe. But I’ve always called it a City. That despite Greater London actually being a town but containing 2 cities (City of London and City of Westminster. Or is that wrong an urban myth?).
"London" is problematic. Too often it is used imprecisely - leading to misunderstanding.

Until 1965, "London" meant the inner London Boroughs - with London postcodes

"London" seems most often used to describe Zone 1 - but if (say) Crystal Palace is mentioned then "London" can stretch to Zone 3/4 (roughly pre-1965 London).

Ask people in outer parts of "Greater London" where they go home to, and I suspect most will say "Ruislip", "Barnet", "Romford", "Bexley" - but not "London".