| Theater vs. Theatre: A Lesson in Grammar |
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| Written by Laura Salvaggio | ||||
| Saturday, 13 January 2007 | ||||
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I may be fighting a losing battle here, as even dictionary.com seems to miss the point. This could mean the death of theatre!
I am known among my friends as a bit of a grammar nazi. I don't care much about syntax, but I do care about using the right word for the job. For example, "Less fat, fewer calories." If it is countable in a number unit, use the word fewer. If it isn't countable, use the word less. There are some points of grammar that are becoming obsolete over time. Technically, the word nauseated should be used to describe when you feel sick. The word nauseous means that you are disgusting and will cause those around you to become nauseated. This is a rule of grammar that will probably not exist on the books in a few years as most people don't know it exists now. The word "gentleman" once referred only to a male landowner, but has evolved to mean a well-mannered male. I see the scary evolution trend happening with the beloved word theatre, but in the meantime, here are the technical rules. The word theater can refer to a theater building, the art of theater, or even a home theater system. The word theatre should always refer to the art form and only the art form. (I had wanted the domain for this site to be theatrehelper, but it was already owned, so I took the next best option.) A "home theatre system" is a travesty to the art of theatre. Unfortunately, evolution caused largely by capitalism is slowly causing the word theatre to be drained of all its meaning. Once completely drained of its meaning, why have the word theatre at all? This evolution could cause the death of the word theatre altogether.  Add as favorites (150) |  Quote this article on your site | Views: 45138
1. 3. Mar, 2010 Definition Revisited: Theater vs Theatre Oh dear, oh dear, the English language is being has been hijacked again. I am a Brit living in Canada so I thought I would add my 'two penny worth'. The Oxford English dictionary states: theatre (US theater) • noun 1 a building in which plays and other dramatic performances are given. 2 the writing and production of plays. 3 a play or other activity considered in terms of its dramatic quality. 4 (also lecture theatre) a room for lectures with seats in tiers. 5 Brit. an operating theatre. 6 the area in which something happens: a theatre of war. 7 before another noun (of weapons) intermediate between tactical and strategic. — ORIGIN Greek theatron, from theasthai ‘behold’. So in British English it's 'theatre' always. I'm not saying one is right and one is wrong....just different as are a lot of words these days. Interesting topic though as I didn't know the US used 'theatre' at all. Love the site by the way. We do a lot of community drama and with the limited budgets we have, I'm impressed at how many money saving tips I find. 2. 7. Sep, 2008 Definition Revisited: Theater vs Theatre The use of the word “theatre” goes back to the turn of the 20th Century. Most of American society, particularly those who owned live theater venues, looked upon the new cinema art form as nothing more than a bawdy fad that would soon collapse under its own low-class offerings. To make a distinction between the “legitimate stage” and the cheap mass produced moving picture productions that had everyone seemingly getting their own piece of this new-fangled pie a line was drawn. This line divided those venues that offered specific types of entertainment. Live shows that performed on stages without screens remained “theaters” while the new form of entertainment, moving pictures, were shown on screens without a stage for live productions and were, therefore, called “theatres”. Having this unique spelling informed the public what type of entertainment they were going to see. Of course, the two-name distinction lost its relevance quickly once the general public began to embrace movies not as the bawdy display of yore but a medium that was growing in sophistication and class. Soon, both forms of entertainment were in the same venue. Comedy, dancing and singing acts would perform prior to the “shorts” which were followed by the “feature attraction” trailed (remember this word) by what was coming next week using snippets from that feature film that, in industry slang, became known as “trailers”. Today, the line has faded away with history. The only people who are conscious of the distinction are motion picture exhibitors, who name their companies, and companies that own venues strictly for live performances. Take a look at the entertainment section of your newspaper and you’ll probably see the two words used loosely all over the page. So, no actual claim can be made by anyone, purist or not, that by using one word or the other has its proper usage. Rather, the distinction is one of tradition only. Only registered users can write comments. |
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