续
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But there's English and English, and you've just asserted "clearly" international "standards" that aren't standard in my part of the world. This isn't an opinion, but a matter of localization and cultural sensitivity. The fact that a term or convention is a "benchmark" in the London Underground doesn't mean an American will recognize it, especially in an emergency in an airport. Or necessarily a Canadian, since the original post was regarding an airport sign in BC. And vice versa.
I'm actually not sure what a "wayfinding" sign is aside from the context in which you just used the term, and I write that as an experienced traveler. Mentioning a "lift" will mostly produce blank stares in the US.
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I'm curious: has any American here who has visited Europe where they use "Way Out" had an issue? I, for one, do recall taking a split second to think about it, then realized, "How awesome is that label" and got it fairly easily.
I ask because: do both terms work well regardless? Not that I would suddenly try to implement Way Out in the U.S. as the new norm (knowing that we here are used to "Exit" and may overlook anything other than that); however, I think the previous poster had a great point: it's a cultural situation.
Label for your primary audience, yet use clear enough language that secondary audiences can with minimal effort deduce meaning from.
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There are a number of UK/European English vs. American English variations, and some of them are famous (like 'Lift' vs. 'Elevator' and 'Flat' vs. 'Apartment', 'Trunk' vs. 'Boot'). There are also a whole bunch of ones that are both less well known and sometimes will throw an American off, if you don't stop and think for a moment:
American: Take Out (food)
UK: Take Away (food)
American (at a supermarket or grocer): Do you have any apples? UK: Do you do any apples?
American: Shall I call you at work?
UK: Shall I ring you at work?
American: And that's all there is. Period.
UK: And that's all there is. Full stop.
Except for the third example, (which I could see if you are designing a computer-integrated telephony system) these probably won't show up in your work, but it could happen.
The lesson here is that famous George Bernard Shaw quote: "England and America are two countries separated by the same language."
[ 本帖最后由 行走的鱼 于 2010-1-29 17:19 编辑 ]
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