> why the British and Canadians tend to use the term "art
> gallery" where we in the U.S. would use the term "museum"?

A Canadian comments from the South-West (of Canada not the USA):-)

Clarity? Spitting hairs? How about a traditional Canadian compromise: "Art
museum"  ? :-)

In Canada art galleries often belong to museum associations (safety in
numbers?), but also have their own associations (birds of a feather...).

The choice of words MAY also be a trick of Immigration Canada to detect
Americans who are trying to sneak into Canada, posing as Canadians, to stand
in line to wait for free medical care, to learn how to run a federal
election, or to take over our museums and art galleries (see, there we go
again splitting hairs!). Immigration officials are rumoured (note spelling)
to have other tests such as having suspected American illegal immigrants
read out passages which reveal their true national origin e.g.
roof (pronounced "roooof" not "rough")
route (pronounced "root", not "rout")
lever (pronounced "leeever" not "lehver")
Z (pronounced "zee" not "zed")

If the suspect cannot pass that test they then go on to the written spelling
test (a real tough one that, e.g. "How do you spell "grey"?)

Then there are the really tough historical questions such as "Who was the
first President of the United States?"
:-)

Colin Macgregor Stevens,
(paternal Great-Grandfather was a US citizen, and Grandfather was born in
Brooklyn, NY)

Curator,
Burnaby Village Museum,
Burnaby, British Columbia, CANADA

E-mail:  [log in to unmask]
Phone:   (604) 293-6504
FAX:     (604) 293-6525
Museum web site:
http://www.burnabyparksrec.org/villagemuseum/villagemuseum.html


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
> Behalf Of Ken Deroux
> Sent: December 14, 2000 12:27
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: definition of museum
>
>
> In light of the ongoing discussion on the definition of museum,
> does anyone
> care to comment on why the British and Canadians tend to use the term "art
> gallery" where we in the U.S. would use the term "museum"?
>
> Kenneth DeRoux
> Curator of Museum Services
> Alaska State Museum
> 395 Whittier Street
> Juneau, AK 99801
> (907) 465-2396
> [log in to unmask]
> www.museums.state.ak.us

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