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HelpRe: American Names
in reply to a message by NobodyOfConsequence
Although most Americans use the word "fall" to denote the season, most Americans are also aware that another name for it is autumn. I'm just making the point that when Americans hear the name Autumn, they ARE aware that it's a season and that that is the meaning of the name. It's not a meaningless word to them. It's the same to us as naming a child Spring or Summer.
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Oh yeah I realize Americans know what it means. I just think it's prettier for them because it's more of a word-word than a season-word. It's a novelty word in a way, I think kids would think of it as a special word for Fall. It's just a little less used in America than it is here. I can't seem to put this whole "Autumn" line of thought into words very well but I hope you get what I mean. =)
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I can see what you're saying, but Summer is a fairly well-established name too. I don't think how common the word is has anything to do with the reason. Maybe the word does sound nicer to Americans in countrast with the infformal "Fall." When people are talking about the essense of the season itself, they're more apt to use Autumn, as in "Autumn is my favorite season," which could easily be followed by "I'm going back to school in the Fall." So you could be onto something in that Americans will have more nature-related connotations with Autumn rather than as a strictly practical word like Fall. It's still very much a word name though and is in our minds on the same level as Winter and Summer.
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Yes. Americans use both Fall and Autumn. They're just synonyms to us.
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