Badminton shoes

[namsteven]

Dear Teachers,

A. "sneakers" are just used for playing tennis, right?
B. What do you call "shoes" are used for playing badminton?
C. And "running shoes" are just used for running, right?

Thanks a million

Namsteven

[Ouisch]

In North America, at least, all those names apply to the same type of shoe. Depending upon where you live, they might be called "gym shoes," "tennis shoes," "sneakers," "running shoes," "runners," etc. They all refer to a rubber-soled athletic shoe, no matter what sport or activity you wear them for.

[BobK]

Dear Teachers,
A. "sneakers" are just used for playing tennis, right?
B. What do you call "shoes" are used for playing badminton?
C. And "running shoes" are just used for running, right?
Thanks a million
Namsteven

A: There are differences between BE and AmE here. For us (BE) sneakers have flat soles and are usually made of cloth; so the AmE song that says 'Put on you high-heeled sneakers' is confusing. In BE, you could wear sneakers for tennis, although you'd be more likely to wear tennis shoes or just trainers; some people would wear plimpsolls or pumps (both words I associate with school PE lessons).

B: similarly - though while someone might say 'I'll wear my badminton shoes', that probably means 'I'll wear the shoes I normally wear for badminton' - which are probably squash shoes (similar to tennis shoes, but with a non-marking sole, also used - unsurprisingly - for squash)

C: (though people often run in trainers, except when they're running on a track, when they wear spikes).

But expect other, probably conflicting, answers. This is a minefield. In the Voices survey of English dialects (carried out by the BBC in 2003-4), one of the commonest areas of dialectal conflict was in the naming of sports footwear.

b