0
Geoyo Posted 13 years ago
Vocabulary

Public viewing

In Germany, business people invented a term called "public viewing" , it means the act of gathering in public to watch a live event on a large TV screen, such as a soccer match or a concert. I recently read a German newspaper article about so-called "false friends", it says that "public viewing" in that context would sound very odd to a native speaker of English, because it chiefly stands for the presentation of a dead body to the public. A discussion emerged, some commenters disagreed and said the term would be acceptable. Can a native speaker please give insight on this?
  

Top answer

"public viewing" is quite a general term that could apply in a variety of situations where members of the public are viewing something. The "presentation of a dead body" meaning is one specific possibility that wouldn't particularly come to my mind unless the surrounding context suggested it. "public viewing" can be both countable and uncountable, and there is a slight difference in usage between the two.

— GPY

  • "public viewing" is quite a general term that could apply in a variety of situations where members of the public are viewing something.
  • The "presentation of a dead body" meaning is one specific possibility that wouldn't particularly come to my mind unless the surrounding context suggested it.
  • "public viewing" can be both countable and uncountable, and there is a slight difference in usage between the two.
  • " a public viewing" (countable) is an event or occasion at which the public can view something.
  • g.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

11 Answers
0
"public viewing" is quite a general term that could apply in a variety of situations where members of the public are viewing something. The "presentation of a dead body" meaning is one specific possibility that wouldn't particularly come to my mind unless the surrounding context suggested it.

"public viewing" can be both countable and uncountable, and there is a slight difference in usage
0
0
Thanks for your elaborate reply, GPY. I'm not sure whether I understand the distinction of public viewing as countable and uncountable noun. Could you please give an example sentence with the uncountable noun?

So apparently "public viewing" is not necessarily a mistake in this context, but would a native speaker actually use it? Such as, "let's go watch tonight's soccer game, there is a p
0
0
geoyoCould you please give an example sentence with the uncountable noun?
Here is an example sentence randomly copied from Google search results, showing how uncountable "public viewing" can be used in your context:

"In other European countries, public viewing has meanwhile become widespread: the 2006 final against France was watched by 200,000 I
0
0
geoyoCould it be that "viewing" is more closely connected to viewing of a dead body in AmE? My dictionary lists this specific meaning as AmE. Maybe "public viewing" only sounds odd to a speaker of AmE?
I'm not sure; hopefully an AmE speaker here will comment. However, a quick Google search seems to show that the term "a public viewing" is used in the US
0
0
So could you omit the a and say "there is public viewing on central square"?
0
0
geoyoSo could you omit the a and say "there is public viewing on central square"?
Potentially yes. However, in reality this is not so very likely. Someone might just say "there's a big screen in central square" (I would say "in central square").
0
0
Thank you, that was helpful. It seems the term is rather used in analytical context, not in everyday conversation.
0
0
If you said only "I'm going to a viewing tonight" I would be certain you knew someone who had died.

If you said only "I am going to a public viewing" I would also think, though with less certainty, that someone had died. I might wonder why you said "public" but some funerals are private so it's not that strange.

If you gave any sort of context about a soccer game, house for s
0
0
Thank you Barbara, that was very helpful. When talking about a house sale, art exhibit, etc., would it be natural for you to speak of a public viewing?
0
0
GPYhopefully an AmE speaker here will comment.
When I saw the title of the post, the first thing I thought of was a funeral parlor, as they are sometimes called here.

I think that answers your question. At least it gives you one data point.
0

Related Questions