 |
|
Talking
English
Your Passport to Better Language Communication |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Imperial System - Can You Fathom It Out?
The Imperial system (Imperial units) is a collection of English units first defined in the Weights and Measures Act of 1824. The units were introduced in the United Kingdom and its colonies, including Commonwealth countries. However, most Commonwealth countries are now fully metricated.
Distances
In all traditional measuring systems short distance units are based on the dimensions of the human body. The inch (2.54 cm) represents the width of a thumb; in fact, in many languages the word for "inch" is also the word for "thumb." The foot (12 inches/30.48 cm) was originally the length of a human foot, although it has evolved to be longer than most people's feet. The yard (3 feet/91.44 cm) was originally the name of a 3-foot measuring stick, but it is also understood to be the distance from the tip of the nose to the end of the middle finger of the outstretched hand. Finally, if you stretch your arms out to the sides as far as possible, your total "arm span" from one fingertip to the other is a fathom (6 feet/182.88 cm). The fathom remained in use for marine navigation (for depth) until 31st December 1999.
Historically there are many other "natural units" including the nail, the palm, and the hand which is still in use. A "Hand" is a unit of measurement equal to 4 inches (10.16 cm) used to measure the height of a horse at the highest point of the withers (the highest part of a horses back, lying at the base of the neck). Thus, a horse which measures 5 feet and two inches at the withers would be designated "15.2 hands". A furlong (220 yards) which was first introduced by the Tudors is still an official measurement in horse racing - the sport of Kings. Originally, the furlong is said to have been the distance an ox could pull a plough before having to rest.
Longer distances in England are traditionally measured in miles. The mile is a Roman unit, originally defined to be the length of 1,000 paces (one pace = 5 feet) of a Roman foot soldier (legionnaire) making the mile a unit of roughly 5,000 feet. This was later updated by Queen Elizabeth I to 5,280 feet, making the mile exactly 8 furlongs. More recently, the British government fleetingly considered changing miles into kilometres in readiness for the 2012 Olympics. However, when it was discovered that just to change all the road signs would cost in excess of £50 million (€75 m) the idea was shelved.
Weights
The basic traditional unit of weight, the pound (0.45 kg) often abbreviated to lb, is divided into 16 ounces and originated as a Roman unit and was used throughout the Empire.
The names of the traditional volume units are the names of standard containers. Until the eighteenth century it was very difficult to measure the capacity of a container accurately in cubic units, so the standard containers were defined by specifying the weight of a particular substance, such as wheat or beer, that they could carry. Thus the gallon, the basic English unit of volume, was originally the volume of eight pounds of wheat. This custom led to a multiplicity of units, as different commodities were carried in containers of slightly different sizes. For example, there were three different gallons; ale, wine and corn. In 1824, the British Parliament abolished all the traditional gallons and established a new system based on the "Imperial" gallon of 277.42 cubic inches.
In England, the International System of Units (SI) ("Système International d'Unités" in French, hence "SI") is mandated by law for the retail sale of food and other commodities, but most British people still use Imperial units in colloquial discussion. Milk is available in both litre and pint (0.57 l) containers. Most people still measure their weight in stones and pounds (one stone = 14 lb) and height in feet and inches - but these must be converted to metric for official purposes, e.g. on passports. Petrol is frequently quoted as being so much per gallon, despite having been sold exclusively in litres for two decades. Likewise, fuel consumption for cars is still usually in miles per gallon, though official figures always include litre per 100 km equivalents. Fahrenheit equivalents are sometimes given after Celsius in weather forecasts, especially for high temperatures (e.g. temperatures will reach as high as 90 degrees tomorrow).
Notable exceptions are: draught beer which must still be sold in pints, road sign distances must be in yards and miles, and speed limits are in miles per hour. Therefore car speedometers must be capable of displaying miles per hour. The railways are also a big user of Imperial units, with distances officially measured in miles and yards and speeds in miles per hour. London Undergound uses both metric (for distances) and Imperial (for speeds). Metric is also used for the Channel Tunnel, and also the Channel Tunnel Rail Link high speed line.
Finally, English Imperial units clearly are more cumbersome to use than metric units especially in trade and in science. As metrication proceeds, they are less and less in use. On the other hand, these traditional units are rich in cultural significance. We can trace their long histories in their names and relationships. We should not forget them, and it is unlikely that we will, even when Britain and America complete their slow conversion to the metric system. The American economy of the 22nd century may be completely metric, but probably Americans will still call 30 centimetres a "foot" and 1600 metres a "mile."
Mike Bangle is the owner of Talking English language consultancy and can be contacted at mike.bangle(at)phnet.fi
Word List
|
|
|
|