round or around

I believe there are some differences of usage in the US and the UK.

In the US, it would normally be "the other way around". (I think. It's 'round 4:30 am where I am).

It's not just differences in country but in region... but that is only if you are using dialogue.

I personally think both are acceptable and have heard them used interchangeably by the same person... Technically, I suspect the root here is that 'round' could be a contraction of 'around' and so the correct usage might once have been:

For me it was the other way 'round: I knew things would get better



In many grammar issues, the problem does not so much come in what usage you use but that you are consistant with it. There are many controversies in grammar (which is why it is such a confusing subject) as there are differences in usage in different regions, different styles, etc. It is therefore not a crime to use a perfectly acceptable usage consistantly throughout a piece. It is a crime to use first one usage and then another, even if both are valid.

Round would be acceptable in the UK. Probably not in the US. I know I've been asked to change it (from round to around) once or twice. Or was that a US beta...?

As long as you are consistent, it shouldn't be a problem.

Raphee said:

Thanks areteus and alleycat.
I'd like to point out that the use is not in dialog. This is a first person POV.

Bearing that in mind what would you say is the proper word: around or round. (No apostrophe used.)

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Well, you'll have to leave it up to the narrator.

If s/he is an average American, I'd probably go with 'around'. But if Brit, then I think they often use 'round.'

Interesting.

For me - UK/Commonwealth - it should be round.

You go round a corner.
You move around the group of people blocking your way.
You make a circle round the object.
You circle around the suspicious object.

Quite specific uses!

alleycat said:

I believe there are some differences of usage in the US and the UK.

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Yup. "Round" is the common usage in the UK, "around" in the US. I've lived in both places, and assure you this is true. Other than that, it isn't a matter of correct or incorrect.

caw

pdr said:

For me - UK/Commonwealth - it should be round.

You go round a corner.
You move around the group of people blocking your way.
You make a circle round the object.
You circle around the suspicious object.

Quite specific uses!

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As far as I know, every one of those instances in American would be "around."

You make a round circle around the object.

pegasus said:

Well, you'll have to leave it up to the narrator.

If s/he is an average American, I'd probably go with 'around'. But if Brit, then I think they often use 'round.'

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I think a lot of that is dialect and accent. Consider the following:

'Hello, what are you doing around here?'

'Hey, what ye doing 'round here?'

The second round is a contraction of around due to the person saying it with an accent.

As for first person... I've always considered that you write first person in whatever dialogue style your character uses. Third person needs to be in the 'correct grammatical narrative prose' whereas first person is an attempt to gain empathy with the characther and therefore uses their speech patterns. So the rules for dialogue apply just as much here as they do in speech.

Well, according to Tommy Dorsey and Edythe Wright, the music went 'round and around. If you want a musical interlude, hear for yourself!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj73yYe3AY8

Interestingly, the BBC has a radio programme calles 'The Music Goes Round' without the apostrophe. I probably prefer 'around', but I use both.

This is an interesting blog by a linguist.

http://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/2007/05/round-and-around.html

areteus said:

I think a lot of that is dialect and accent. Consider the following:

'Hello, what are you doing around here?'

'Hey, what ye doing 'round here?'

The second round is a contraction of around due to the person saying it with an accent.

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Thanks. I don't get to listen to Britspeak much, but I interact a lot with Brits online, so I didn't think of it as a contraction.

As for first person... I've always considered that you write first person in whatever dialogue style your character uses.

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Yes, that's why I suggested leaving the choice up to the narrator. But even in third-person limited, I tend to use language as my protagonist would use it and avoid stuff which is foreign to him.

Right: BubbaLee wanted to shoot the hell out of those deer.

Wrong: BubbaLee's desire was to eradicate the entire herd.

It's not a hard rule with me, but I tend to lean toward Bubba's thought and talk when writing 3rd-limited.

I, in the US, would probably say "around," but I wouldn't pause a nanosecond if I read "round," in a book. Perfectly clear.

bonitakale said:

I, in the US, would probably say "around," but I wouldn't pause a nanosecond if I read "round," in a book. Perfectly clear.

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I once stumbled for a couple of yoctoseconds over an unfortunately-placed comma, but it didn't hurt at all.

pegasus said:

I once stumbled for a couple of yoctoseconds over an unfortunately-placed comma, but it didn't hurt at all.

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Yeah, but those semicolons can slice your shins.

It should be "around". Using "round" in this manner is a colloquialism, and never correct.