Talk:High Street

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Why is this article at High street not High Street? Surely the latter is more common? -- Graham :) | Talk 14:13, 17 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Possibly because the two terms are not always synonymous. In my town, Bewdley, the main street is Load Street, while High Street is so called simply because it is high above the river. Loganberry (Talk) 22:49, 25 September 2005 (UTC)

In Dublin 'High Street' is so-called because there was an early medieval High Cross there in the historic heart of the city. The article doesn't mention any link to High Crosses in the British root of the name. Does anybody know if there is any connection?

Contents

[edit] Requested Move

{{ move|High Street }} Ian peters 03:48, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Discussion

I moved the page a little prematurely - created the High Street (disambiguation) page instead. Ian peters 03:48, 23 April 2006 (UTC)
  • So we really need to move High Street (disambiguation) to High Street. That seems to make the most sense. Vegaswikian 06:13, 24 April 2006 (UTC)
  • Support moving this page back to High Street. This meaning is by far the primary topic for the term. --Vclaw 15:07, 27 April 2006 (UTC)
Done. —Nightstallion (?) Seen this already? 07:40, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Merge

High Street is the same as Main Street. Different names for the same thing. SilkTork 17:56, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

No to Merger.

They are not the same in my view. As a Brit I would never think of looking up Main Street, it's very rare, relatively, in the UK. How would those on the other side of the pond feel about merging main street into High Street? After all high streets have been with us for hundreds of years. Leave well alone; separate entries reflect more accurately the cultural heritage of how different countries use language. Malcolm 21:05, 8 July 2006

yes don't merge.

Agreed, don't merge Jmptdc 23:21, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

No to merger. In the UK and Ireland, "High street" has a very distinct connotation, including as a matter of language. "Main street" is plainly an American term/concept. --86.135.184.101 15:29, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

  • Object. Very different issues of history and local culture between the two terms. DWaterson 20:54, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

I agree - don't merge. I would not have found the information I was seeking if it had been merged under the American title.

Merge. I live in Ireland and the main street is just that: main street or, in the Irish everywhere, An tSráid Mhór. 'High Street' is extremely rare as a common noun in Ireland, although unionists might use it as a way to assert their Britishness. I notice the British spokespersons for newly arrived British stores like Debenhams do refer to 'High Street' sales in Ireland though. They do stand out with that usage, however. 'Main Street' is by no means an Americanism, and the fact that the signs in some of my local towns are still 'An tSráid Mhór' (The big/great/main street) on the old Irish script street signs from the pre-1950s [pre 1948?] would confirm this. 213.202.184.252 (talk) 04:24, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Grande Rue

In French the literal translation, Grande Rue, is used.

So what is Grande Rue supposed to be a translation of? High Street? Main Street? Fore Street? Front Street? All doesn't fit a "literal translation". Or does anybody here speaking French feel grande can also mean high?

Apart from the "literal" issue, I don't think it's a translation at all. I mean, even if they said "Rue Haute" (literally analogous, afaik only exists in a spacial sense) to denominate the same concept as "High Street" does, that wouldn't mean it's a translation (from e.g. English). Else one could as well argue that street names meaning "Main Street" in various languages are translations from English ... and I guess that expression exists in a majority of languages, as you don't have to be very creative to combine the words for "main" and "street" for designating the principal street in where you live.

So for the first, I deleted that sentence. Cheers, Edwing 22:48, 1 April 2007 (UTC)