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Ask for help > ´Projector ´ or ´beamer ´?
´Projector ´ or ´beamer ´?
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almaz
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´Projector ´ or ´beamer ´?
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Does anyone here use the word �beamer � to refer to the projector used in interactive whiteboard displays?
I �ve just had a series of those awkward moments when a private student persists in using this odd word - because his (very competent, but non-native) regular English teacher uses it. I obviously don �t want to undermine her but I had never heard of it in this sense* and certainly couldn �t advise anyone to use it.
Apparently, the teacher learned her English in the US, so it may be common there. But I �d love to know how common this usage is - and where the hell it came from.
* ie apart from the colloquial references to a BMW or a Glaswegian �red face �. |
14 Mar 2011
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ldthemagicman
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Dear Almaz,
Apparently �BEAMER� is a patent name for a type of German projector. Perhaps that �s what make of projector the previous school used, and it became the �name � for a projector in that school. As you know, this is similar to �Hoover �; �Gestetner �; �Thermos �, etc. replacing �Vacuum Cleaner �; �Duplicator �; and �Vacuum Flask �.
Neither my English colleagues, nor I, use any other word but �Projector � for this device. My 2 English dictionaries, (Oxford and Chambers), don �t refer to the word.
I hope that this gets you somewhere near an answer.
Les |
14 Mar 2011
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manonski (f)
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I �m from the other side of the ocean and we also use the word projector. I hear, once in a while, "cannon" but it �s rare. |
14 Mar 2011
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almaz
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Thanks, Les.
This explains a lot. Mind you, I �d still like to know if anyone outside the EOI �s in Catalunya uses this term generically.
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14 Mar 2011
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almaz
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Manon,
Cannon? Because it shoots beams/images? I �ve also heard �barco � (boat) here in Spain. Is there another word in Qu�b�cois? |
14 Mar 2011
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manonski (f)
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Almaz, I assume by Quebecois you mean French, we call it "projecteur" or "canon" which probably why we loosely call it "cannon" in English. |
15 Mar 2011
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Pachy
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I �ve always used the word "projector" but could your student �s teacher refer to the device called "e-beam", you know, that device which works on normal whiteboards (or even blackboards) doing the same as an interactive whiteboard? We �ve got one in our school and that �s its official name "e-beam"... at least they have part of the name in common. |
15 Mar 2011
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Jayho
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I think it relates to the new whiz bang e-beam interactive whiteboard. I googled e-beam beamer and came across this (there are several references in this document). When I did e-beam training I did not hear them refer to it as a beamer though.
However, I much prefer the vehicular meaning of beamer.
EDIT: My post crossed with Pachy |
15 Mar 2011
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