around and round

[jiang]

Dear teachers,

I have two questions to ask:

No.1
Could you please explain in American English if I can replace 'around' with 'round' in the following sentence:

If you look around in any society, you cannot fail to see the effect of this need.

No.2
That the teachings have been largely accepted when what they advocate is so obviously self-serving is a tribute to how effective they have been in getting their message across.

I don't think 'when' modifies time. I think it means 'whereas'. Is that right?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you in advance.

Jiang

[curmudgeon]

No 1

In British english Both are OK.

Also you could omit 'in'

If you look round any society/ if you look around any society. You may get a different answer from AmE speakers.

No 2

'when' here means 'even though' 'despite the fact that'.

[MikeNewYork]

Dear teachers,

I have two questions to ask:

No.1
Could you please explain in American English if I can replace 'around' with 'round' in the following sentence:

If you look around in any society, you cannot fail to see the effect of this need.

No.2
That the teachings have been largely accepted when what they advocate is so obviously self-serving is a tribute to how effective they have been in getting their message across.

I don't think 'when' modifies time. I think it means 'whereas'. Is that right?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you in advance.

Jiang

The first is acceptable in AE, but would not be common.

I agree with curmudgeon on the second.

[jiang]

Dear curmudgeon,

Thank you very much for your explanation. Now I see.

Jiang

No 1

In British english Both are OK.

Also you could omit 'in'

If you look round any society/ if you look around any society. You may get a different answer from AmE speakers.

No 2

'when' here means 'even though' 'despite the fact that'.

[jiang]

Dear Mike,

Thank you very much for your reply.
I think you meant 'around' is acceptable but not common. So American English uses 'round' in this case. Is that right?

Jiang

The first is acceptable in AE, but would not be common.

I agree with curmudgeon on the second.

[MikeNewYork]

Dear Mike,

Thank you very much for your reply.
I think you meant 'around' is acceptable but not common. So American English uses 'round' in this case. Is that right?

Jiang

Sorry, no. "Around" is very common in AE; "round" is not.

[jiang]

Dear Mike,

Thank you very much for clarifying it. Now I see.

Jiang

Sorry, no. "Around" is very common in AE; "round" is not.

[BobK]

Sorry, no. "Around" is very common in AE; "round" is not.

Something to be aware of, jiang, is that 'look round' can have a different meaning. In this case (your example), they're interchangeable (though, like Mike, I think 'around' is more common). But in a context like 'Someone tapped him on the shoulder and he looked round' you couldn't use around' (in BE, at least).

b

[jiang]

But in a context like 'Someone tapped him on the shoulder and he looked round' you couldn't use around' (in BE, at least)'. Here 'looked round' means 'look backward'. Is that right?

(I think it was originally an abbreviation of 'turned round and looked')

And in this case we can't use around because 'around' always means 'in a circle'. Is that right?

I'd be careful about saying 'always'; sometimes it means something like 'everywhere, but superficially [that is, not very carefully].'

A police inspector might say to his team:

We don't have a warrant [official permission] to search their house, but try to get invited in and have a look around.

b

[MikeNewYork]

Dear Mike,

Thank you very much for clarifying it. Now I see.

Jiang

You're welcome.