Journey

[Rachel Adams]

Hello.

I have again a few questions about the text in the movie The Lady in Black. Daniel Radcliffe's character travels to a remote village from London. The word ''journey'' is mentioned several times but why was it used to describe a short trip?

 

[emsr2d2]

The word doesn't need a particular distance to be covered. My bus journey to work is just 2 miles. I imagine any remote village would certainly be further from London than that.

 

[Rachel Adams]

How far does he travel?

In London, solicitor Arthur Kipps still grieves over the death of his beloved wife Stella on the delivery of their son Joseph four years before. His employer gives him a last chance to keep his job, and he is assigned to travel to the remote village of Crythin Gifford to examine the documentation of the Eel Marsh House that belonged to the recently deceased Mrs. Drablow.

 

[Rachel Adams]

The word doesn't need a particular distance to be covered. My bus journey to work is just 2 miles. I imagine any remote village would certainly be further from London than that.

So what we have been taught at school and what most sites suggest using is not correct? Travel going to another place in general. Trip the act of going to another place (often for a short period of time) and returning. Journey going from one place to another usually a long distance. It is a trip that takes a long time, especially if there are either difficulties or discoveries in transit. For instance:I hope to take a journey across America by car one day.
https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/travel-trip-or-journey-/4785776.html

 

[Rover_KE]

Rachel, there was no need to enlarge the default size of that post, in which the writer says that 'journey' usually involves a long distance. That's only one teacher's personal opinion, and in no way invalidates ems's statement, which five native speakers here on the forum Liked.

I don't know what you mean by 'most sites', but I can tell you that most dictionaries in OneLook.com do not specify the distance involved in a journey, and that Fraze.It quotes 197 examples of 'short journeys'.

Bookmark both of those sites — they're recommended for reliability.

 

[Rachel Adams]

Rachel, there was no need to enlarge the default size of that post, in which the writer says that 'journey' usually involves a long distance. That's only one teacher's personal opinion, and in no way invalidates ems's statement, which five native speakers here on the forum Liked.

I don't know what you mean by 'most sites', but I can tell you that most dictionaries in OneLook.com do not specify the distance involved in a journey, and that Fraze.It quotes 197 examples of 'short journeys'.

Bookmark both of those sites — they're recommended for reliability.

Then the sites I used are not to be trusted. I will save the ones you have mentioned. Thank you. It seems some online websites suggest that the main difference between journey and other words is that it is a difficult one.
I didn't enlarge it. I copied and pasted. When I tried to change its size it was still big.

 

[Rachel Adams]

That is clearly a long journey, not a short trip.

But is there any difference between them at all?

 

[emsr2d2]

I didn't enlarge it. I copied and pasted. When I tried to change its size it was still big.

Once you have copied and pasted anything, highlight the entire text and click the second button from the left in the toolbar. It's the "Remove Format" button and it looks like two capital As with a red cross in the bottom left corner. That will put the whole post in the default font and font size.

 

[emsr2d2]

But is there any difference between them at all?

There might be differences in use but it's not as black and white as the distance involved.

I might go on a round-the-world trip or a quick trip to the shops. I might make a 300-mile journey to visit my parents or a 2-mile journey to work.

 

[Rachel Adams]

There might be differences in use but it's not as black and white as the distance involved.

Or difficulties. Right?

 

[emsr2d2]

For me, it has absolutely nothing to do with difficulty.

 

[jutfrank]

In its basic sense, a journey is a transition from point A to point B. It has nothing to do with distance or with difficulty.

 

[GoesStation]

I think Americans are unlikely to use journey for a short trip. The word is more appropriate for a trip that takes a reasonably long time.

A woman at my office undergoing cancer treatment referred to the experience of having the disease and being treated for it as "my cancer journey". She was using language that's apparently common in support groups. She was not thinking of it as a quick outing.