From: Marion Gunn (mgunn@egt.ie)
Date: Wed Mar 30 2005 - 06:43:08 CST
Writing from Ireland to echo what Martin Green says below.
The expression 'pound sign' has only one current use in my country,
viz., with ref. to UK currency, expressed in notation as '£'.
Formerly (until a brief few yrs ago), the only sign we call the 'pound
sign' ('£') was also the symbol for the native Irish currency ('punt'),
which was replaced by the euro. A dual-currency situation currently
operates in Ireland (the pound sign for currency valid north of the
border, and the euro sign for currency valid south of the border).
We only ever call the hash sign 'hash' or 'numeric', as in 'item/part #
1', never associate the sign '#' with any measure of weight.
Hope this helps,
mg
Scríobh Martin Green:
>
> As a regular listener but not contributor to this list it always amuses
> me when items talk of "English-speaking". The names I have heard used
> for the symbol (#) are: hash and chicken-scratch (think about it) but
> only heard of "pound" when I finally went over to the States. Talking to
> other IT users in the UK "pound" is always the symbol (£) and this
> applies to most of our telephone systems. Very occasionally I do run
> into a telephone system which uses the term "pound key" but almost
> always these are systems calling (very) large American companies.
>
> Martin Green
>
> fantasai wrote:
>
> > Doug Ewell wrote:
> >
> >> I would add that in English... OK, in Southern California... "pound
> >> sign" seems to be the most common name of the character even among
> >> people who have never used it to mean "pounds," and might be totally
> >> confused if they ever saw a package with "30#" written on it...
-- Marion Gunn * EGTeo (Estab.1991) 27 Páirc an Fhéithlinn, Baile an Bhóthair, Co. Átha Cliath, Éire. * mgunn@egt.ie * eamonn@egt.ie *
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