CCTV
Why don't they just say "surveillance"?
sharePerhaps because CCTV (I'm thinking that's what you meant?) means a specific thing in London? It's colloquial.
shareYep that's what I meant. And thanks
that's what we usually call it over here.
shareIn London and in fact the UK generally I think, everyone calls it CCTV, not surveillance cameras.
It's just regional usage. In a similar vein, while many Americans shorten "air conditioning" to "AC," Brits call it "air con." A regional choice that differs from country to country.
The term "CCTV" is also frequently used in the US.
shareBecause Brits have '1984' and thus tend to avoid terms directly associated with 'Big Brother'.
shareI can't argue with that, unfortunately it is indeed all pretty Orwellian here at this point. It is said - and the technology is in place so I have no trouble believing this - that a person can be visually followed on a journey all the way across London, whether they are walking along streets, getting on a bus or tube train, etc etc. There are cameras everywhere. It's fucking creepy even if you're not guilty of doing something nefarious. Plus, it hasn't even deterred bold, brazen crime committed right in front of any given camera!
share