On 7/25/06, Ray Saintonge <saintonge(a)telus.net> wrote:
Richard Holton wrote:
I'd say that definition is unusual, even in the US. In common usage, a
limited-access highway is a divided highway, with no cross roads--instead
using on & off ramps.
Limited access highway would probably be understood generically in most
of the US, but the term would not normally be used in the context,
"Take the limited access highway to get there." Instead people would
say, "Take the freeway (or expressway, or Interstate, or turnpike
according to local custom)."
<chuckle> I talk that way all the time, don't you? You're correct, or
course, (virtually) no one talks that way, but as you say, most would
understand the term.
The USGS offers this common-sense definition:
Limited Access Highway: A route that is part of
the United States
Interstate
That definition would be US-centric
Guily as charged. I wasn't really trying to find a non-US-centric
definition, but rather attempting to demonstrate that the odd secondary
defintion given several e-mails ago isn't the common understanding in the
US.
In fact,
"expressway" seems like a good synonym (to my very US-centric
ears).
I don't think that its usage is uniform throughout the USA.
Given the other responses, you seem to be correct.
Perhaps we need to stay away from any of the regional/national/continental
terms for the category name. We don't need to create a neologism--we could
use a short descriptive phrase that gives a hint as to the meaning, and rely
on text on the category page to clarify.
Something like "Ramped roads", though I'm sure others will have better
ideas.
Rich Holton
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[[W:en:User:Rholton]]