"Training"

"busing", "biking" and skiing are common terms, but not "caring" or "footing". Curious

First time I have seen or heard training so I am not sure it is the word of choice, yet. Where are you seeing it?

It works perfectly well as a bit of shorthand for someone with a bigger question on their mind.

I do a bit of pining while on airplanes, but I hope I don't do any planing while on an airplane. Maybe a little planning...

Training to me means being taught how to do something.

I prefer....choo choo.

Ha Frank, and if you are traveling by choo choo are you 'choo chooing'?

It is sloppy English but not a lot of people mind using sloppy English. Unfortunately.

gerund or present participle: railroading

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/railroading
railroading
noun:
1. the constructionist or operation of railroads.
2. travel by railroad.

Having come from a background in education and corporate training, I assume you were asking how to get in shape to travel in Europe. We have enough works in the English language that have different meanings with the same spelling. Should not be adding more to confuse the non-native speakers. After I come home via the train I will train the dog to answer the door.

" Sloppy English " indeed . One of my favorites - any form of " The seller made money off of his sale " Whatever happened to " He made money FROM his sale " ? Absolutely makes my skin crawl . I only wonder what Professor Higgins would think . As a child , I remember my mother's frequent admonition - " In this house , we speak the King's English " . I am certain she is spinning in her grave these days !

Quick reply to Frank. I have been seeing the word "training," referring to travel by train only here on this Rick Steves forum in several posts.

Joan, I guess I missed it as I have not seen the same phrasing.

All the kids are saying it these days. It started as a rap thing and has now become a part of popular culture. Snoop Dog and Kanye used it in their latest song...look it up.

I haven't seen it, either, nor do I intend to use it.

Never heard it, don't recall seeing it here. "Railing" makes more sense to me, but I don't mind speaking or writing a couple of extra syllables ("via train", "by train').

This is how language evolves. There is nothing wrong with it. When I was tiny, people talked about children. Kid was slangy, almost derogatory. Gay - think about how that has changed from the Gay Nineties of a century ago. In the 60's impact was a noun, unless you had an impacted tooth. Now everything impacts everything else. Surveil (from surveillance) is another example of a verb derived from a noun. They say Shakespeare invented something like 20,000 new words. Most of them were like that - a common word used in one part of speech that he adapted to other parts of speech.

Planing is unnecessary because flying is a commonly used term. Trainers are shoes in the UK - maybe training there could mean running in trainers . . .

They even sell bras and underpants for train travel now marketed with the same term.

"This is how language evolves."

Agreed. If people didn't invent new words, we'd probably have only three in English - want, food, and sex.

I was about to jump on the evolving language train, when I saw the earlier post that there already exists an appropriate word for training...
Railroading, they should be railroading, not training!
Now, let's get back to foruming. I prefer that to criticizing other's Englishing.

It's either a typo or written by someone whose primary language isn't English. It's not a word used in describing train travel or likely to become one, but thanks for the laugh.

In France the Académie Française protects the French language as it is considered a national treasure. In Quebec, copying France, we have the Régie de la Langue Française. We anglos call it the Language Police, but it prevents the French language (which I was told in school is the most beautiful in the world) from being bastardized. English evolves, of course, but it needn't be ugly while doing so. "Training" is just plain ugly. Let's have some pride in our wonderful language.

There are many variants and dialects of english. What you call ugly, others may not find so disgusting. I'm all for training or railroading or traveling by/via train... or however one wants to verbalize their locomotion around the world... We are all on here to share our love of exploration. I'm not sure the RS travel forum is the place to publicly criticize other's use of english and show 'english pride'.

Yup. Time to get back to pickpockets and sink laundry.

What we need is less training and more braining.

The answer to another post here (Are N. Americans intimidated by European trains?) is:
We were intimidated, up until now, because we didn't don't know what to call it when we traveled on the choo-choo. Now we know, that we're training!

Thank you, Richard and Norma, for the laugh during a deadly boring afternoon.

The replies have been interesting and, in most cases, fun. It doesn't hurt (does it?) to have just a bit of a discussion .

Edgar, and other persons here, said travel by railroad train is railroading. Yes, I agree that the word "railroading" is better than the word "training". The phrase "I will railroad no more ..." is in an old folk song (American) sung by the Kingston Trio (Nick, Bob, and John), recorded in the year 1962 (for the Capitol Records company). But that was talking about jumping on a freight train, not being a paying passenger in a railroad train for passengers. That phrase was in a poem (set to music). Thus, the person who wrote it used poetic liberty to say a word that is not correct. But I do not like the word "training". Of course, people may say any word that they wish to say, here at travel forum, if the word is not profane or part of a hate message toward a nationalilty or ethnicity of people. And yes Zoe, I appreciate the laugh during a deadly boring (and cloudy and rainy) afternoon.

Okay, I give up. The language police have caught up with me, they slapped on the cuffs and are leading me to the nearest hoosegow (that is still a word, isn't it?). They forced me at gunpoint to delete my previous posts and have made me sign an affidavit that I will never again use such a disgusting word as 'training'. From now on I will only be traveling around Europe by train and when I return I will tell everyone that I traveled around Europe by train. No more shortcuts for me, from now on it's the King's English and nothing but. :-)

I will spring you from the hoosegow if you send me the address.

I will spring you from the hoosegow if you send me the address.

I have "trained it", but never been "training".
And in DC, one is "off-loaded" from an out-of-service Metro train like cargo.

Okay Norma, bring bail money and a bottle of wine.

I think Nancy's feeling railroaded here.

Or maybe I've just been 'trained'.

Hopefully , I haven't offended anyone by my reference to " The King's English " This phrase refers not to a criticism , but a book . For those with an interest - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_King%27s_English

Steven,
No problem. I think of the term "King's English" as a compliment to where the language got its start (although I guess for more than 60 years it's been the Queen's English).
When I'm in the UK, I always make sure to compliment the local residents on how well they speak English. But they still make fun of my "accent". What accent? they're the ones with the accent, right?

I'm probably dating myself but when I was in grade school my grammar teacher would sometimes refer to it as the King's English. My mother was a stickler for speaking and writing correct English so I guess I was 'trained' in the King's English.

King's or Queen's "English" - irrelevant! Why do we even call it English? There are less than 64 million of them and almost 320 million of us. The language should be called "American". English is just a minor dialect of American. Sorry 'enry 'iggins.

Appreciate your humor, Lee.
Our very helpful UK contributors are presumably asleep right now, but tomorrow when they see what has been said...oh, oh.
:-)

Bring it on.

But the scary thing is that English (American) is the first language in history that has been spoken by more people as a second language than as a native one. Are we in danger of losing control of our own language?

You mean we have control of our language?! (Nobody ever tells me this stuff.)
I believe the French have an official committee in charge of admitting French words into the language, although I suspect this committee was more important in the French culture some decades ago than it is now, given the ethnic changes in France.

My dear colonial friend Lee.

You forget, there might be only 64 million of us, but India uses British English as an official language/basis of their form of English! As does South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the European Union among others!

So, about 1.6 billion offical users of British English to your mere 330 million.

Ok, not all can speak it. There is an interesting export drive between American and British English going on and from experience the successful export does seem to be an interesting melange of British and American English.

Which probably translates that Canada will rule the world.

I confess, I've used training rather than railroading - because I've trained around Europe, but don't feel I was railroaded - or rode out of town on a rail. Railroad seems to be such an antiquated term, nearly as bad as Iron Horse. Apparently we need a word that works well in present, future and past tense. ;-)

I confess, I've used training rather than railroading - because I've trained around Europe, but don't feel I was railroaded - or rode out of town on a rail. Railroad seems to be such an antiquated term, nearly as bad as Iron Horse. Apparently we need a word that works well in present, future and past tense. ;-)

Leafing through my 40 year old dictionary it claims that 'rail' as a verb means to travel by train. Certainly 'interrailing' has been around as a word (if not a lifestyle choice) for decades.