Suburbs/Outskirts/Suburbia

English translation: Please see explanation below

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:Suburbs/Outskirts/Suburbia
Selected answer:Please see explanation below
Entered by: Maverick82 (X)

13:44 Apr 7, 2009
English language (monolingual) [Non-PRO]
Social Sciences - Geography
English term or phrase: Suburbs/Outskirts/Suburbia
Hello! I've racked my brains trying to figure out the difference between these three words, but the more I look up in the dictionaries and I browse in the web, the more I get confused. I'd really appreciate it if mother-tongue speakers explained how they use them, maybe making some examples. As I sense their meaning changes according to the variety of English we consider, may I ask you to declare where you are from?
I thank you in advance
Luca

P.S. Here is a suggestion . If we take London, which are its suburbs? Which are its outskirts? Which is its suburbia? Is it true that suburbia has a negative connotation? I have been watching Desperate Housewives for a longtime and the word suburbia comes up very frequently. I had never realised it was a disapproving term. Perhaps Americans use "suburbia" with a slightly different meaning?
Ciao :-)
Maverick82 (X)
Local time: 12:46
Please see explanation below
Explanation:
The suburbs are the part of the town or city lying outside the main central section (where most shops, public buildings, etc. are likely to be concentrated). It is a neutral term, and does not really have any qualitative or judgemental connotation. Willesden or Balham are suburbs of London.

Outskirts generally means the outer fringes of a town or city — i.e. only the outermost part of the suburbs, possibly the last straggling parts of the urban area before it becomes the country. London is a poor example to choose, inasmuch as it more or less melds imperceptibly into surrounding towns, but one might say that Richmond for example (a town in its own right) lies on the outskirts of London (note also the different construction)

Suburbia, on the other hand, has a quite different cultural connotation, and may indeed be used in some contexts with a negative or pejorative connotation.

It does not really refer to a particular geographical area, but rather, to the whole cultural phenomenon, which may or may not be associated with a specific area. It is about the (stereo)type of people who live in the suburbs, the type of lifestyle they may have — semi-detached hosues or neat bungalows with small gardens, washing the car on Sundays — a whole cultural phenomenon that is quintessentially English.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2009-04-07 14:50:37 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

'suburbia' is uncountable, and you certainly couldn't say "which are the suburbia of London" — though you could say that "London offers us many very typical examples of what 'suburbia' is all about"

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2009-04-07 14:51:04 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

One might say that 'suburbia' is a state of mind!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2009-04-07 14:56:51 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Here's the rather more succinct definition from NS OED:

"The suburbs (orig. esp. of London); the residents or their way of life in the suburbs of a city."

Note that by 'the suburbs', it means 'the suburbs taken conceptually as a whole'

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2009-04-07 14:57:59 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I don't think the usage is particualrly different in the US, though perhaps there is a touch less irony in it there?

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2009-04-07 15:09:41 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The use of 'outskirts' emphasizes the fact that they are more or less on the fringes (note that it is rarely if ever used in the singular), whereas the use of 'suburbs' (often used in the singular, of course) merely stresses the fact that it is 'not the town centre'. One often hears 'inner and outer suburbs', for example — but I don't think one would ever talk about the 'inner outskirts' of a town (except in a literary style, for effect).

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2009-04-07 15:26:37 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Armorel has made an excellent point there — I live on the outskirts of a small village, but an urban entity has to be big enough to be an 'urb' into order to have 'sub-urbs'
Selected response from:

Tony M
France
Local time: 12:46
Grading comment
Hi Tony! Many thanks for your help! I'd like also to thank the other colleagues who contributed to the discussion. :-)
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
5 +6Please see explanation below
Tony M


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +6
suburbs/outskirts/suburbia
Please see explanation below


Explanation:
The suburbs are the part of the town or city lying outside the main central section (where most shops, public buildings, etc. are likely to be concentrated). It is a neutral term, and does not really have any qualitative or judgemental connotation. Willesden or Balham are suburbs of London.

Outskirts generally means the outer fringes of a town or city — i.e. only the outermost part of the suburbs, possibly the last straggling parts of the urban area before it becomes the country. London is a poor example to choose, inasmuch as it more or less melds imperceptibly into surrounding towns, but one might say that Richmond for example (a town in its own right) lies on the outskirts of London (note also the different construction)

Suburbia, on the other hand, has a quite different cultural connotation, and may indeed be used in some contexts with a negative or pejorative connotation.

It does not really refer to a particular geographical area, but rather, to the whole cultural phenomenon, which may or may not be associated with a specific area. It is about the (stereo)type of people who live in the suburbs, the type of lifestyle they may have — semi-detached hosues or neat bungalows with small gardens, washing the car on Sundays — a whole cultural phenomenon that is quintessentially English.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2009-04-07 14:50:37 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

'suburbia' is uncountable, and you certainly couldn't say "which are the suburbia of London" — though you could say that "London offers us many very typical examples of what 'suburbia' is all about"

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2009-04-07 14:51:04 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

One might say that 'suburbia' is a state of mind!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2009-04-07 14:56:51 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Here's the rather more succinct definition from NS OED:

"The suburbs (orig. esp. of London); the residents or their way of life in the suburbs of a city."

Note that by 'the suburbs', it means 'the suburbs taken conceptually as a whole'

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2009-04-07 14:57:59 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I don't think the usage is particualrly different in the US, though perhaps there is a touch less irony in it there?

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2009-04-07 15:09:41 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The use of 'outskirts' emphasizes the fact that they are more or less on the fringes (note that it is rarely if ever used in the singular), whereas the use of 'suburbs' (often used in the singular, of course) merely stresses the fact that it is 'not the town centre'. One often hears 'inner and outer suburbs', for example — but I don't think one would ever talk about the 'inner outskirts' of a town (except in a literary style, for effect).

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2009-04-07 15:26:37 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Armorel has made an excellent point there — I live on the outskirts of a small village, but an urban entity has to be big enough to be an 'urb' into order to have 'sub-urbs'

Tony M
France
Local time: 12:46
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Hi Tony! Many thanks for your help! I'd like also to thank the other colleagues who contributed to the discussion. :-)

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  jccantrell: Pretty good explanation. Agree completely.
4 mins
  -> Thanks a lot, JCC! Could write a book on it really, couldn't one?

agree  Mina Yekta (X): wow, great explanation
9 mins
  -> Thanks a lot, Mina!

agree  Lingua.Franca: Bravo :-) I started writing an explanation myself, but did not persevere, gave up halfway through :-)
1 hr
  -> Thanks, Tamas! Perhaps you could have contributed something extra to the discusssion... all input is valued!

agree  Rachel Fell: great answer - also e.g. Merton, Wimbledon, Croydon, Redhill, Ealing + I'd say that Wisteria Lane is quite a lot different in appearance from what is gen. considered suburbia in the UK, tho' haven't noticed the term in the prog.
9 hrs
  -> Thanks a lot, Rachel! The list goes on and on... Why not add a discussion entry?

agree  Lalit Sati
12 hrs
  -> Thanks, Lalit!

agree  Phong Le
15 hrs
  -> Thanks, Phong Le!
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.


See also:
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search