Re: sea vs ocean

Gilbert Evans writes:
As a speaker of British English my immediate response to your question
is that an ocean is a larger body of salt water than a sea. If we
compare lists of oceans and seas I think, off the top of my head, that
the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans are all bigger than the North,
Mediterranean and Caspian seas.

However, I think there is also a sense in which ocean and sea can be
used to describe the material of a large body of salt water. I met an
American in Bournemouth on the south coast of England, and, while
looking out to sea she said that she loved 'the Ocean'. I pointed out
to her that what she was looking at was the English Channel which
hardly qualified as a sea, let alone an ocean. ...

If you said that to me, I'd respond that "the English Channel" is the
name of one part of the ocean, just as "the North Sea" is the name of
another part and "the Pacific Ocean" is the name of a third part.
There is only one ocean in the world, and the fact that we happen to
find it useful to give names to different parts of it doesn't that
they aren't part of it; and when I say "the ocean" I mean the whole
thing. Seattle and Calais and Yalta and Aqaba are all on the ocean.

I understand that British people may use "the sea" in this manner.

(Furthermore, I would add, the parts of the ocean named as "oceans"
include all adjacent subsidiary parts. The way I think of it, the
English Channel and the Irish Sea and the North Sea and Chesapeake
Bay and the East River are all parts of the Atlantic Ocean. Some
other people consider this wrong. I don't understand that view.)
--
Mark Brader | "If you have to go in, you go in.
Toronto | The choice was made the day you took your oath."
msb@xxxxxxx | --Dan Duddy, New York Fire Department

My text in this article is in the public domain.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: sea vs ocean
    ... As a speaker of British English my immediate response to your question ... I think there is also a sense in which ocean and sea can be ... used to describe the material of a large body of salt water. ...
    (alt.usage.english)
  • Through a satellite darkly: night views of European seas improve ESA ocean heat map (Forwarded)
    ... Through a satellite darkly: night views of European seas improve ESA ocean ... change -- the concept behind Medspiration is to combine data from multiple ... satellite systems to produce a robust set of sea surface data for the ...
    (sci.space.news)
  • Re: The science of Noahs Ark: Creation society considers the
    ...  If they want to call floodology science, ... physical reason for that which has nothing to do with the water ... between a sea and an ocean ... 'sea' in Akkadian or ancient Hebrew? ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Scientists Use Satellites to Help Detect Deep-Ocean Whirlpools
    ... Newark; and Ocean ... "Since Meddies play a significant role in carrying salty water ... Atlantic water," said Professor Xiao-Hai Yan of the University ... flow out of the Mediterranean Sea. ...
    (sci.space.news)
  • Sea levels to take out Wall St.
    ... And you thought N.O. was below sea level? ... analysis on sea-rise bankrolled by the California Energy Commission, ... California Department of Transportation and the Ocean Protection Council. ... Pacific Institute Senior Research Associate and study co-author Heather ...
    (misc.news.internet.discuss)
Loading