Grammar (late hit; was West Penn Today - The back Line)

[Edward H. Lybarger]

Prevalent as it may be/have been, it is still presumptuous and obnoxious,
not to mention elitist.  Perhaps the most compelling example supporting my
complaint involved a multi-egoed real estate developer on the east coast
whose spinmeisters wanted people to refer to him as "The Donald."  I rest my
case.

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
[mailto:owner-pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org]On Behalf Of Donald Galt
Sent: Tuesday, July 11, 2000 10:51 PM
To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
Subject: Grammar (late hit; was West Penn Today - The back Line)


On 10 Jul 00, at 14:45, Edward H. Lybarger wrote:

>
> The point, of course, is that "System" or "Railways" is a grammatically
> correct noun, whereas "West Penn" is adjectival and as such cannot stand
> alone.  To correctly use "the" with West Penn Railways, one must add the
> word "Company."

I take second place to nobody in my admiration for Ed's command of the
language. However, dropping a noun, keeping an adjective and adding the
definite article is an accepted feature in colloquial English. Consider "The
Met" or "The Fourth." It's been going on since long before West Penn
Railways ever turned a wheel.

"The West Penn" may well grate on the ears of purists for all I know, but
that would be a peculiarity of local usage. Just as London's Metropolitan
Electric Tramways were never called "the Met" but always "the M-E-T." Or
as a New York City ticket agent's reference to Great Northern's Empire
Builder as "The Empire" instead of "The Builder" was a terrible faux pas in
my ears.

These West Penn travelogues are fascinating!

D2