USA doesn't use 24 hour clock ?

[Seat0B]

Oh this reminds me of another classic:

If today is Tuesday (which it is at the time of this post - Tuesday 15 Nov, 2022 to be specific) and we are going to meet *next Thursday* at half two, on what date, and at what time, are we meeting?

Oh yes the old “this Thursday” v “next Thursday”. Personally I would say “this Thursday” as I think it’s clearer. If someone ever says “next Thursday” I ask them if they mean “this coming Thursday or Thursday next week”. But it really is confusing.

 

[Franky]

Oh this reminds me of another classic:

If today is Tuesday (which it is at the time of this post - Tuesday 15 Nov, 2022 to be specific) and we are going to meet *next Thursday* at half two, on what date, and at what time, are we meeting?

To me ‘next Thursday’ would be 1430 on the 24th. Thursday at 1430 is the 17th...

 

[Forg]

Oh this reminds me of another classic:

If today is Tuesday (which it is at the time of this post - Tuesday 15 Nov, 2022 to be specific) and we are going to meet *next Thursday* at half two, on what date, and at what time, are we meeting?

That definitely requires clarification, because you can recall too many times when someone accidentally said “next Thursday” when they meant “this Thursday”!

 

[ZigZagWanderer]

But, you would probably say half past one! And even that may momentarily confuse an American.

I was on a bus tour in Ireland a few years back, and when we stopped for our lunch destination, the tour guide announced that "everyone needs to be back on the bus by half past two". Much mutter between the US folk onboard ensured, until several loudly proclaimed, "she means two thirty"!

What does "half past one" mean to an American?

 

[Forg]

What does "half past one" mean to an American?

Judging by the need to translate “half past two” to “two thirty”, my guess is they don’t use “half past” to mean half an hour past the hour, I suspect “half past one“ would mean they’d think “half a what past one?” and maybe they’ve heard it in the past so eventually it comes to them, or maybe they make a guess at what’s meant …

… but then the US has a lot of differences in idiom across the country, so you might be talking to a bunch of people who do use “half past”.

 

[dk4]

… but then the US has a lot of differences in idiom across the country, so you might be talking to a bunch of people who do use “half past”.

I think this is key, US English developed in an environment with much more influence from migrants speaking other European languages, compared to the formation of Australian English. One widely spoken language was German, and for example, in German (translated literally to English) you would say "half before" NOT "half past"... So 1:30 would be "half before two"! (So to stop confusion, it's likely people in some locations just stopped using the terms. )

 

[tdimdad]

In France, the 24h clock is used normally for times.

Italy gets more confusing. For normal speech, 12h clock is used. For any kind of appointment or meeting, or scheduled time, 24h clock is used.

Yes, same also in the Nordic countries. The colloquial talk usually uses the 12-hour time but when you want to be exact in one go, you tell the time in 24 hours. E.g. booking a dentist appointment would happen for 13:30 or you tell someone that "my train leaves quarter past four" or "...leaves 16:15". And if a night bus leaves at 0:00 it leaves in the first minute of the new day (not the last minute of the old day).

 

[Hvr]

Here's a very interesting article about time that does affect the world.

Every second counts: Australia will vote to ditch the ‘leap second’ from world’s clocks

Scientists are meeting in Versailles this week to make a decision that could change the very nature of time. And Australia’s vote counts.

www.smh.com.au

 

[Franky]

Yes, same also in the Nordic countries. The colloquial talk usually uses the 12-hour time but when you want to be exact in one go, you tell the time in 24 hours. E.g. booking a dentist appointment would happen for 13:30 or you tell someone that "my train leaves quarter past four" or "...leaves 16:15". And if a night bus leaves at 0:00 it leaves in the first minute of the new day (not the last minute of the old day).

Slightly off topic - my wife needs to travel to Jakarta next week, and though it is directly North of Perth, and well East of Singapore, both of which are in the same time zone, Jakarta has a difference of an hour for their local time, and causes a bit of confusion on first look at the flight schedules on EF which shows the flight as an hour longer than it actually is..

 

[kangarooflyer88]

As a Canadian (who travelled regularly within and through the US) that outside military bases, the US uses 12 hour (also called normal) time. Indeed us Canadians would also always use 12 hour time to and I used it exclusively until 2016 when I got slapped in the face by the Canadian Transportation Rules (flights, trains, anything under the control of Transport Canada requires the use of 24 hour time) when I missed a train to Montreal incorrectly thinking that 14:15 was 4:15 PM. Since then I've stuck to 24 hour time to the confusion of my parents and everyone else I know!

-RooFlyer88

 

[get me outta here]

Years ago when I rang up in America to confirm a flight and I said 1430, she curtly told me to “speak English”.