Pedro y La Torre
Senior Member
Île-de-France
English - Ireland
- Sep 2, 2009
- #1
Hello,
In Ireland we have signs saying "YIELD" if a driver is supposed to yield the right of way to others on a road or roundabout.
Having recently been in Northern Ireland (which, unlike us, is part of the UK) it struck me as rather curious that the signs there do not say "Yield" but instead, "Give Way".
Is there any reason for this difference, and which, if either, is used in your country?
Last edited:
sdgraham
Senior Member
Oregon, USA
USA English
- Sep 2, 2009
- #2
As is well-known, we are divided by a common language.
Here in the U.S., the signs say "yield."
(We don't expect to give way to BE usage)
Last edited:
X
xjm
Senior Member
WI, USA
English - USA
- Sep 2, 2009
- #3
To me, "give way" means more to for something to break or collapse, like, "The ceiling of the building gave way under the snow"--a negative thing! The closest expression we might use for traffic would be "make way"--like "Make way for emergency vehicles."
B
b1947420
Senior Member
Lincoln, England
British English
- Sep 2, 2009
- #4
xjm said:
To me, "give way" means more to for something to break or collapse, like, "The ceiling of the building gave way under the snow"--a negative thing! The closest expression we might use for traffic would be "make way"--like "Make way for emergency vehicles."
Yes it can mean what you say, but in the context of traffic in BE we say "give way" meaning "grant the right of way" or "yield the right of way" in this sense both "yield" and "give way" mean the same thing (in traffic terms).
Pedro y La Torre
Senior Member
Île-de-France
English - Ireland
- Sep 2, 2009
- #5
The meaning was immediately clear to me even if I was left wondering where all the Yield signs had gone I'm almost sure give way can mean yield in AE too, as in "give way to the oncoming vehicle" but I believe that yield, in both AE and Irish English, would be far and away the more widespread term in this instance.
ewie
Senior Member
Manchester 🏴🇬🇧
English English
- Sep 2, 2009
- #6
I was aware that Give way in some other languages D) was Yield, Pedro.
It always sounds as odd to me as Give way does to you ~ like a horde of Vikings are going to emerge from the undergrowth brandishing swords and yelling Yield, turnip-chewing scum! or words to that effect.
Pedro y La Torre
Senior Member
Île-de-France
English - Ireland
- Sep 2, 2009
- #7
Interesting Ewie. Give way doesn't sound odd to me per se, Yield just sounds more "natural". It seems that more often than not, Irish and American English will tend to agree where British English diverges.
G
Gwan
Senior Member
Indre et Loire, France
New Zealand, English
- Sep 2, 2009
- #8
We also have 'give way' signs. And of course to me they seem far more natural and sensible than 'yield' signs
If you want stupidity, when they're painted on the road (as with any signs painted on the road) they do it in reverse i.e. WAY GIVE, because you're meant to read them separately as you come to them, even though they're almost inevitably one right above the other. Sigh. I won't ask if this is generalised or localised idiocy, in order to avoid calling down the wrath of the moderators...
panjandrum
Senior Member
Belfast, Ireland
English-Ireland (top end)
- Sep 2, 2009
- #9
"Yield"
What is it asking me to do?
The road signs are familiar, of course. They are only a few miles away.
But "yield"?
For me, it conjures up images of an Arthurian knight in full armour standing with a foot, and a sword-point, on the throat of his fallen opponent.
natkretep
Moderato con anima (English Only)
Singapore
English (Singapore/UK), basic Chinese
- Sep 3, 2009
- #10
'Give way' is of course what you see in road signs many parts of the British Commonwealth - we see it here (Singapore), in Hong Kong, in Australia and New Zealand, so 'yield' looks strange in the same way that 'give way' looks strange to Pedro and Americans. It finds its way into ordinary language too, so a traffic police pamphlet says things like 'Please give way to buses exiting bus bays', 'Give way to oncoming traffic', and such like.
Gwan: if the triangles are painted onto roads, the words are omitted here (as they are in the UK and HK as I remember them) - why bother including them in the limited space?
Last edited:
I
Imber Ranae
Senior Member
English - USA
- Sep 3, 2009
- #11
The signs always read "yield" in the U.S., but "give way to oncoming traffic" sounds natural to me as well.
G
Gwan
Senior Member
Indre et Loire, France
New Zealand, English
- Sep 3, 2009
- #12
natkretep said:
Gwan: if the triangles are painted onto roads, the words are omitted here (as they are in the UK and HK as I remember them) - why bother including them in the limited space?
Definitely off-topic (!) but - they don't paint the triangles on, just the words
A
a little edgy
Senior Member
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
English
- Sep 3, 2009
- #13
The signs always read "yield" in the U.S., but "give way to oncoming traffic" sounds natural to me as well.
Sure, the signs say "yield," but we all know they really mean "accelerate rapidly to beat the other driver."
F
Forero
Senior Member
Maumelle, Arkansas, USA
USA English
- Sep 3, 2009
- #14
When I was young, all the equilateral triangular signs said "Yield Right of Way", and they were yellow. Now, where I live, they are white with a red triangle near the outside edge and only say "Yield", or nothing at all.
Yes, all our "Give Way" signs say "Yield", and our "Way Out" signs say "Exit", and instead of "Mind Your Step", our escalators and busses say "Watch Your Step".
What seems more natural is no doubt conditioned by what we see more often, and the alternative invariably takes on a different, usually odd nuance (Give Way = Collapse, Way Out = Far Out, Mind Your Step = Dance in Time to the Music).
C
Cagey
post mod (English Only / Latin)
California
English - US
- Sep 3, 2009
- #15
I like the way the Y in Yield looks like an diagram of two cars converging on one spot, where someone will have to Yield.
As a verb, it gives me the image of two very polite gentleman in evening clothes at a door, bowing to each other and saying:
I yield to you, sir.
No, sir, I yield to you.
and neither of them going through the door.
I guess the Arthurian knights didn't get this far.
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.