Why is it that Americans refer to 24 hour time as military time? I understand that the military uses the 24hr format but I don’t understand why the general public would refer to it like that?

It makes it seem like it’s a foreign concept where as in a lot of countries it’s the norm.

  • MudMan@kbin.social
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    1 年前

    Wait, how would you know whether migrants use the 24 hour clock?

    You’re not supposed to say “we meet at fifteen thirty”, you just say half past three or, in non-English languages sometimes “three in the afternoon”.

    You only write it as 24 hours because it saves you having to add extra letters to solve the ambiguity. When I interact with Americans I also write “three PM”, it’s just being polite.

    • 📛Maven@lemmy.sdf.org
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      1 年前

      You’re not supposed to say “we meet at fifteen thirty”, you just say half past three or, in non-English languages sometimes “three in the afternoon”.

      Uh, why not? Absolutely you can say “half past 15 hours”, and plenty of places do.

      • MudMan@kbin.social
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        1 年前

        I have all my clocks and watches set to 24h like a normal person and I’ve never heard a human being say that out loud or said it myself.

        Outside of American movies featuring the military, I suppose, which answers the OP’s question.