Why Californians Say "The" Before Their Freeway Numbers

[@chadblair5974]

The "the" is a sign of respect. It's an honorific. Respect the 5. Fear the 405. Honor the 101. You will spend more time on these freeways than you will with your children and loved ones.

[@themaskedhobo]

Curse the 91

[@MazChillz]

@@themaskedhobohaha lol 😂

[@lemmegitamuhfuccinuhhhh]

Fuck the 10 and 15

[@MuffinDaMoose]

Order 66

[@DonaldJTrump47]

@@lemmegitamuhfuccinuhhhhthe 10 Eastbound from Santa Monica is HELL

[@CAustin582]

As a southern Californian, I can confirm. There's a lot of shit that people make up about socal but this one is 100% true. Honestly it sounds weird to me to not say it that way.

[@pfifltrigg]

I only very recently learned that not everyone speaks this way. I feel like we're the normal ones to say it this way!

[@Zyrdalf]

I mean it sounds so weird to just say Im driving on 405

[@Libroer]

Makes much more sense to me as well

[@RocketRay]

Anecdote time: I was working in Irvine and it was about lunchtime so I was watching "The Californians" on YT. I larfed then went into the lunch room, where this guy was talking about how he needs to go all the way from South County to the LA Zoo and everyone was pitching him their routes and I realized, OMG it's absolutely true.

[@AlleyTrashBoards]

SoCal born and raised, 34 and just now finding out we are the only ones. It makes the Californians that much funnier.

[@HBStone]

SoCal native here, I always figured it was because we're talking about "the freeway." I wouldn't say just "take freeway to blah street" I would say "take THE freeway..." But in LA there are a million freeways, so you just specify which one. "Take the 101 (freeway implied) to..."

[@siegetank316]

I thought this was pretty obvious too. I don't see why it's so confusing.

[@myqueerplantfamily]

Where I live, we refer to them as "highways". We'd say, "I took the highway home last night", but we'd never say, "I took the 40 home last night". We'd say, "I took 40 home last night."

[@autumnpoobear]

@@myqueerplantfamily SoCal has soooo many freeways that just saying, “I got on the freeway”, is generally reserved for if you are just going a couple miles to get to a nearby destination. If it’s a little further, then you specify which freeway(s) you used.

[@myqueerplantfamily]

@@autumnpoobear it's the same here, you just don't always need to specify which highway you took. Sometimes you just want to specify you didn't take smaller/back roads. Still, no one is saying "the" before the number.

[@batcactus6046]

Best answer. Logic.

[@BogeyTheBear]

Simple. The highways are our temples. Our places of worship. It's where we spend most of our time wondering why we're here, after all.

[@awesomebeast7509]

The 605 is a nightmare

[@judipierry549]

@@awesomebeast7509they are all nightmares.

[@JediMasterBaiter]

I pray every time I head North on the I-5.

[@yoeyyoey8937]

Exactly we give them the respect they deserve.

[@yoeyyoey8937]

@@awesomebeast7509605 traffic party

[@sactomoto9108]

"First, say goodbye to the next 2 hours of your life" I felt that. True'er words were never spoken hahaha

[@tfinkens]

i have never felt more seen.

[@LazyCat010]

2 hrs if you're lucky

[@AroundTheWorldWithEase]

That's why you take the 101 from Burbank, drive right by the 405, and take Malibu Canyon to PCH.

[@NewEnglandAviaton987]

My dad is an accountant in Los Angeles and we are in New England and the high ways in SoCal are painful because of all the traffic

[@bruintoo]

Prior to the beforetimes (COVID), I've been commuting from Long Beach to DTLA for the last 30 years using THE 405 to THE 110. Each way is an hour and a half.

[@BashamVlogs]

The 405 isn’t considered the San Diego freeway any more we call it the parking lot

[@dricedlk]

It's called the San Diego freeway, but it ends in Irvine and merges with the 5.

[@electroscribe]

Same up here in [Seattle area] Eastside Lowlands from Tukwila to Lynwood. Always under construction somewhere. And with toll lanes to boot from Bellevue to Lynwood.

[@m0L3ify]

Yeah, I used to -commute- park on the 405 every day 💀

[@malusvir]

TBF, that much free parking is its own kind of impressive!

[@m0L3ify]

@@malusvir With the high cost of car registration and the gas road taxes, it's not exactly free.

[@Left4d3adfreak1]

Born and raised in LA (East Hollywood), I never knew saying "The" in front of highway numbers was unique to SoCal until I was an adult. Literally everyone said "the" before the number growing up that I just assumed it was normal and everyone did that. It wasn't till I joined the Marine Corps and everyone started asking why I was doing that made me realize how localized that was. I was so mind blown that it wasn't a thing everywhere. It just makes sense in my mind to say "the" before the freeway number.

[@georgemuniz3117]

Same, I could never imagine saying "I'm on 10 Freeway." To me it sounds like saying "I'm on freeway." instead of "I'm on the freeway."

[@GHOST_M3RK]

Damn Born in a shithole

[@vinstinct]

Same here. I never knew not saying "the" wasn't normal. It sounds so weird not saying it.

[@cjsm1006]

@@georgemuniz3117 People in the Midwest would never 'on 10 Freeway'. We would add a 'the' in such a construction. In St. Louis we say 'If you get on 70 it will take you straight West to Kansas City. If you get on 55 you go South. If you hop on 64 you go Southwest. Sticking a 'the' in there would sound weird to us hicks out here.

[@harlowhazardperry255]

I lived in Los Feliz for many years ❤

[@jbejaran]

If you're from SoCal, and you come up to NorCal and use the definite article in front of your freeway numbers, it's a full-on tell that you're from SoCal.

[@harpsgalore6584]

@jbejaran Yes, that's true. Send a SoCal person to Vacaville, California, where I-505 @ I-80 interchange is located. Yes, NorCal locals will name them I-505 or Highway 505, given that Solano County is a major commuter corridor for both Sacramento and Bay Area commuters. A Southern California person will say "The 505 Freeway" given that I-505 sounds like it would fit in their area. But I-505 is supposed to get Bay Area people access to head north to Oregon and Washington State without running into Downtown Sacramento Traffic.

[@arxligion]

Man I take the 505 every time I go to Redding no clue what you're on

[@C25A1guy]

I got teased for this after moving to Sac from LA. Haha. But it's part of my vernacular, so it stays unless there's multiple routes with the name number (I-80 vs Business 80)

[@Kampy_]

Yup. "The" is how NorCal spot SoCal people, and "Hella" is how SoCal people spot NorCal people.

[@Kamdrimar]

@@Kampy_ "Hella" has spread far and wide already. We were using it in Orange County back in the late '90s, and nowadays I even hear people from other countries in the Anglosphere using it. It probably does still see more use on average in NorCal than elsewhere, though.

[@beththomas6514]

Interesting explanation. Yeah, it's a Southern California thing. I grew up in Southern California and then moved to Northern California in my late teens. I never realized that I would switch to saying "the" before the freeway number whenever I was in Southern California, and then drop the "the" when I was back in Northern California, until someone pointed it out. I would unconsciously switch back and forth.

[@foxyladyoak]

California is not homogenous on a lot of things. SoCal, Central Cal and NorCal are very different on a lot of things… including adding “the” before freeway numbers.

[@Bmwguy2011]

Yupp and as the state gets gradually turned over to Mexico, it is becoming thoroughly mexicanized as well.

[@harrisonbrand8985]

in the bay we definitely say “the 5” and “the 1” but not “the 880, the 80, the 580” etc

[@mushroomanjcc1954]

No they aren't. I've been up north plenty of times, they still use the, especially if you're near the PCH

[@foxyladyoak]

It depends on if you are a native to NorCal or SoCal. If you’re native to NorCal, you do not use “the” before Bay Area freeways with numbers (it’s a different story with names of freeways which require the article). Saying “the” before a numbered freeway is definitely a thing for native Southern Californians.

[@ApartmentKing66]

@@foxyladyoak Agreed.

[@thevintageaudiolife]

Growing up in a Latino household, we use the word "EL" (Spanish for the) Infront of the freeways numbers also, example "El 118, or EL101 or El 5".

[@OrangeBulbs]

Yeah

[@jujubee2141]

That’s cute. A Latino growing up in LA? How odd 😂!

[@UTubeQu1che551]

I always thought that the Latino use of “el” before a highway number was the reason for SoCal using “the” before a highway number. In the mid-60s to mid-70s I never heard “the” before a highway number in English. I started hearing it in the late 70s. I hear people in the SF area using “the” all the time now. It has even reached the very northern part of the state.

[@ingridfong-daley5899]

@@jujubee2141 That's cute. A dooshbag commenting on YT? How predictable 😂!

[@gumerzambrano]

@@jujubee2141there are more Latinos in LA than white people lol

[@pawpatrolnews]

You also forgot that we measure distance in time. 'It's an hour away', never 'it's 15 miles away'.

[@kimsmoke17]

lol. Yes. I’m in Santa Monica adjacent at 4:30 pm on a Friday, and I’m heading to Burbank. That’s 1 hour and 15 minutes away. Actual mileage to this day I couldn’t tell you! Maybe 12 miles? But it’s 1 hour 15 minutes. I do know that.

[@LeeHawkinsPhoto]

We only measure in time here in Cleveland too. I’d say that is true in most US metros. It’s important in SoCal though because the traffic is sooooo bad that it takes an hour to go 10 miles…in Cleveland, we can get on the freeways and go 10 miles in 10 minutes EASY…even at rush hour. Why rapid transit isn’t more of a thing in LA is beyond me…you guys need so much more of it. It would really get used, even if you just had bus lanes!

[@AmberBocks3000]

That’s a city thing. I’ll ask my DIL in the city how far away is ___, and the (joke) answer is always 30 minutes.

[@robertobradford3968]

Distance is also measured in time in Mexico and in the Philippines.

[@kimsmoke17]

@@robertobradford3968 distance you travel in Mexico in a car. That depends how many US dollars you got.

[@danielkelly2210]

Many Hollywood screenwriters think this applies to the whole country, which can be amusing. I’ve seen TV shows where the characters (in a show set in DC or NYC) refer to “The 495” or “The 95”.

[@fourth_place]

Interesting!

[@Jabid21]

New Yorkers don’t actually use the route numbers, they call out their names, and usually shorten them BQE, LIE, Deegan, Bruckner, Cross Bronx, Van Wyck.

[@parallaxish3187]

it's funny because as someone from Las Vegas, we usually say "the 95" to refer to the us-95 that runs through the city, same with the 15 or the 215 or the 11 now

[@AlohaChips]

Oh no. This is like the time I heard some people from Texas discussing where their website servers were based and they said "Probably in North Virginia; it's a big location for server farms." (There are a lot of them in Vienna, VA.) It sounded so off. Because as someone actually from the area, we call it Northern Virginia. Perhaps "North Virginia" would be a theoretical but non-existent state broken off the top of regular Virginia (like West Virginia was) at best. But I don't doubt they said it that way because "North Texas" is the term for the northern area of Texas, so that would be the natural assumption. ...But if you're from here nope, sorry, it's Northern Virginia. If you want something shorter, we say NoVA (like in the word "supernova"). Or the DC Metro (area). Or even the DMV (area)--ie, the "DC-Maryland-Virginia" area. (We understand if you confuse this with the much worse hell that is also known as the DMV--the "Department of Motor Vehicles". But I think it's serendipitous anyway, given how often you end up marinating in your vehicle thanks to the traffic around here.) Also, it's funny to me every time I see people not from around here using just the word "Washington" to refer to the nation's capital and going: "Oh no! But does it mean the nation's capital or the state????" This internal crisis is so likely for those of us that live near it that the preference is just to call the place "DC". On rare occasions when trying to full name it, I always say "Washington DC" or "the District (of Columbia)". Never just Washington. Locals just don't tend to use sentences like: "I'm going into Washington to see the cherry blossoms this weekend" when it's all around shorter, sweeter, and clearer to say: "I'm going into DC to see the cherry blossoms this weekend." I think people pick up the habit fast if they live near enough to end up referencing the District as a place with a lot more going on than just whatever nonsense the Federal government is getting up to this week.

[@Jabid21]

@@AlohaChips haha I get the feeling. I grew up in NYC. There, if you’re from other parts of NY state, people have to tell it’s not the city but either “upstate” or Long Island. There is no consensus on where upstate begins but NYC people get smug about it and starts calling everything north of the city “upstate” even when the state has many distinct, beautiful regions. I live in Washington State now, Vancouver, Washington to be exact and that one is a double-whammy cause I have to tell them that I’m not in DC, and also not in BC (British Columbia, Canada).

[@briand5083]

My wife is from LA and explained this to me. It makes sense being they have like 28 freeways. In Salem OR, we only have one freeway going through town, so it sounds odd when she says, "The five." I give her a bad time as say, "as opposed to what other freeway?" I just say, "Take the freeway." being there is only one.

[@ccharles848]

I live in San Diego. Yes, we say, “the” before the freeway numbers.

[@yinyangphoenix]

Native San Franciscan here. That's a Southern California thing. My family and I never used "the" in front of a freeway number, nor did anyone else I knew growing up in the 1970s and 1980s.

[@lutomson3496]

I did also and we all used the...and I am older then you and lived in the bay area in the 1970s in the military

[@harpsgalore6584]

@@yinyangphoenix agreed it's "On Highway 280" or Highway 17.

[@arxligion]

I'm from East Bay and we say "the 24"" and "the 680" and whatnot so I got no clue what you're on

[@harpsgalore6584]

@@arxligion 🤣😂Did you confuse I-205 or I-505 with a SoCal Freeway when you were here in NorCal!

[@RaymondHng]

I-880 was known as "the Nimitz Freeway", but "the" did not carry over when referred to by its number. Some districts in San Francisco are preceded with the definite article while some are not. General rule of thumb is if it's one word, it's preceded with "the": the Richmond the Sunset the Excelsior the Mission the Castro the Fillmore If it's two words, there's no "the": Nob Hill Russian Hill West Portal Cow Hollow Dog Patch North Beach

[@stevengeorges9046]

I've lived in Southern California for 60 years and he is spot-on correct about everything. One fun fact . . . The 405, or the San Deigo Freway which he talks about in this viedo, does not go anywhere near the city of San Diego. It merges with the 5 Freeway before it even gets near San Diego County.

[@jayski9410]

What I always found interesting is that there is a piece of "the 405" in Portland, OR and another piece in Seattle, WA. It was fun to see the confused look on people's face up there when I'd refer to it as the San Diego Freeway. And another fun fact from the state of Washington, they intentionally had California road signs around the Hanford Nuclear site in order to confuse people about where they are or what that site was all about.

[@BobTheHatKing]

I’ve lived in Irvine where the 5 meets the 405 for 20 years and it still baffles me why they call it the San Diego freeway

[@leezurligen227]

@@jayski9410You’re misunderstanding the federal numbering system. The 3-digit numbers do not exist on their own. They identify spurs or belt routes off of one of the main interstate highways within a highly populated area. When I-5, I-10, I-15, etc., pass through a city, they have connecting highways that are considered branches of the main interstate, rather than separate routes. Designations like 205, 405, 110, etc., don’t pass from one metropolitan area to another and are not considered the same road when they appear in other cities.

[@byronrideaux]

Well I think I-5 south of Irvine takes the San Diego Freeway name

[@gioslost]

@@jayski9410THIS!!! I’ve driven on literally every single one lol.

[@daprovocateur]

We say “the” before every hwy EXCEPT before PCH. We never say “The PCH”

[@floycewhite6991]

Absolutely HATE the traffic circle at PCH and Ximeno in Long Beach. THE traffic circle.

[@daprovocateur]

@@floycewhite6991 no way! I learned how to drive on that thing and loved it!

[@narrator-timothymckean]

Because PCH is a name.

[@vinstinct]

I would say "Take PCH to Beach Blvd" but would also say "Take the Pacific Coast Highway to Beach Blvd" but never "the" PCH.

[@OleJoe]

@@floycewhite6991 I know. The traffic circle can be pretty harry.

[@adamantypants1]

Vegas here. Lived here my whole life, since the 80s. I always added "the". Presumably we adopted it from Socal transplants. I had a friend not from Socal or Vegas point out to me that I kept saying "the" and was baffled. Our news broadcasters and all local media use "the" for the freeways. It's standard speech here too.

[@aidanwelch4763]

My parents are from SoCal, but I grew up in Kentucky. I do this but had no clue it wasn't normal.

[@sevenbeverly2568]

What’s weird is NOT putting the “The” in front the freeway number. Like I wouldn’t say “I got here by taking 405” that just sounds grammatically incorrect

[@jessevarela]

I believe they get around that by saying "take i 405" or "take interstate 405". I don't believe that they only say the number.

[@mattbaker-sh9ql]

@@jessevarelabut because the 405 is only in Southern California and doesn’t cross state lines, it’s not an Interstate.

[@jessevarela]

@@mattbaker-sh9ql It actually is called I-405 but let's say that it wasn't, instead of saying interstate 405 you could say freeway 405.

[@nicholasschroeder3678]

But wait. You would say I took State (street) to Baltic (avenue), right? So I don't think saying take 405 to 110 would be any different. It's just our convention here. If I ever heard anyone say THE PCH I'd probably spontaneously laugh. Conventions😏🤷‍♂️

[@joemann7971]

​@@jessevarelaincluding the I in a highway is similar to including www for a website. It's unnecessary. It's not like you're going to get confused and accidentally take that non-interstate 405. Lol. There is only one. Hence, why us crazy californians say "the". Lol. It implies 1.

[@pharmesq]

Most definately a SoCal thing only. In NorCal they look at you funny if you say "the 99" or "the 280." Also, importantly, California does not recycle route numbers between different systems (unless it is a continuation route). You will never see an intersection between I-5 and State Route 5. In fact, I-5 IS State Route 5. Just with an Interstate shield. Conversely, The 110 is made of two segments - south of Downtown LA it is Interstate 110, and north of downtown LA it is State Route 110. It is one contiguous route 110, just with different shields on it. Calling it The 110 clarifies you mean the entire route. (If you want to be specific, the names help - Interstate 110 is the Harbor Freeway, while State Route 110 is the Arroyo Seco Parkway, formerly the Pasadena Freeway. The point where it changes from one to another... is slightly vague.) The 210 also does this, with an Interstate and a State Route portion.

[@cabalenproductions6480]

True, especially in Northern California the Bay Area specific way to name freeways are with "Highway ###" like Highway 101 for US-101, Highway 580, Highway 87, Highway 237, Highway 238, Highway 680 and Highway 780. For Sacramento we really have to specify the designation given that Business 80 and I-80 are different routes in the area like I-5, CA-99, CA-113, US-50.

[@blogdesign7126]

@cabalenproductions6480 there is Solano County, which is halfway from Sacramento and Bay Area, where I-80 and Highway 80 gets used interchangeably to refer to the Same Freeway. Some of this is that Solano County has to house both Sacramento and San Francisco commuters at the same time. The way residents name I-80 and Highway 80 to refer to the same freeway is partially influenced by how Sacramento has a Business 80 and I-80 as different freeways in the area and how San Francisco refers to freeways as Highway ### partially as a carryover when US-40 went from San Francisco to Sacramento before that was renumbered as I-80.

[@kirknitz3794]

There is not a State 5, it was changed in 1964 to SR 35. Prior to I-5 designation, it was US 99, the Golden State Freeway and the Santa Ana Freeway. With the completion of I-5 into the San Joaquin Valley, US 99 ceased to exist in California. Where the 5 branches off to the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, the former US 99 that continues onto Bakersfield and points north is now SR 99.

[@qqqcalls]

I still call it the Pasadena Freeway.

[@JAYY_JAYY]

Are you serious . What age ? I have also said the 880 to the 101 .

[@tysonplett3328]

I live in Manitoba, Canada and we do the "the" thing too. I've never thought twice about it until now.

[@Dwonis]

Saskatchewan, too.

[@JRiddyCuz]

Ontario and Quebec do it too

[@HarZoiD]

It's a southwestern thing. SoCal, Las Vegas, and Phoenix areas do it. The 5 and the 101 change to I-5 and 101 somewhere around Fresno.

[@nunyabitnezz2802]

I’ve never heard The 15 or The 95 in 40 years in Las Vegas.

[@rangerCG]

@@nunyabitnezz2802So you just say "I'm taking 101"?

[@nunyabitnezz2802]

@@rangerCG I-15. Never The 15. ‘I’ll take I-15 to St. George.” “I’ll take 95 up to Summerlin”.

[@vagrantus]

Fresno California native here. I hear all versions and it mostly seems normal to me. Well, when people use the full name like Santa Monica Freeway, I have to think about it. It’s like they used a foreign word I need to translate. At that point the person is narrowing in on a particular area for directions.

[@floycewhite6991]

@@vagrantus Darned vagrants!

[@pckramer98]

I moved to CA and picked up on this almost instantly. The weird thing is when I go back home out East I stop saying it this way. It only makes sense in my head if I'm in CA.

[@Argonautica8]

Grew up in the bay area, moved to LA for college. That was a long time ago. Thoroughly used to "the" phenomenon. I can't believe I ever said "take 280 to 17 south" (told you it was a long time ago). Seems weird to say until I say "take the 280 to the 880 south". That seems weirder somehow. And now I feel like I need to see a therapist. Thanks.

[@DWNY358]

People in Ontario also do this - they say “the 401” and “the QEW”.

[@cwf1701]

and in some border towns near Ontario, but only for the Ontario highways. if i gave direction from 8 Mile and Gratiot to get to highway 401, i would say take Gratiot to 94, 94 to 96, 96 to 75, 75 to the Howe Bridge, the Howe Bridge to the 401.

[@machupikachu1085]

Great point! That's why I thought it was the default vernacular for everyone. As a kid, my only experiences with freeways was Toronto and SoCal.

[@SteveBrandon]

I also added "the" for Quebec autoroute numbers back when I still lived just outside of Montreal, obviously I was an Anglophone Quebecker but I've heard Francophones add "la" which is the same thing.

[@kimsmoke17]

Lived in Toronto myself. You take The QEW from St. Catherines to Toronto. Then you hit that launch ramp, and you’re on The Gardner Expressway, then you turn left onto The Don Valley Parkway. So hence The 401, The 427, The 404, etc.

[@otsoko66]

@@SteveBrandon definitely. As an anglo Montrealer, I say "the 20" (or "the 2 and 20", if I am talking to elders), "the 40" and so forth. We also say the 'the' in French ("l'autoroute 20" becomes simply "la 20".) Even "l'autre bout de la 20" (the other end of the 20) means Quebec City.

[@nlpnt]

Another reason is that the LA area has major routes numbered 1, 10, 101 and 110. Without the definite article giving verbal directions would sound like speaking binary.

[@1125bjfitz]

As a transplant from MA .. saying 495, 95, 53 or even 1A sounds normal. Saying THE still hits the ear wrong 😅

[@machupikachu1085]

@@1125bjfitz don't you mean 'hits ear wrong?" 🙃

[@vatvslpr]

In most other places, they'd use the highway designation- I-10, US-101, or CA-110- rather than "The". I wonder how much of Southern Californians doing it differently is because some of the freeways keep the same number even as they change designations. For example, the 110 is CA-110 north of downtown (the Pasadena Freeway) and I-110 south of downtown (the Harbor Freeway).

[@leafdaleaudiovideoengineer4763]

Well, if we were using binary, those freeways you mentioned would be called 1, 2, 5, and 6.

[@californiaporg]

Great explanation, as a native SoCal resident, this really shows the history and why people say “the” before freeways.

[@floycewhite6991]

THE Santa Monica Freeway, THE San Bernardino Freeway, THE...

[@sor3999]

Proper grammar? lol as evidenced by the comments, the specific history doesn't matter, other places use it that way too because it's just correct grammar.

[@KyleMcNamara-w9c]

@@sor3999 It does. The 405 refers to the 405 freeway or The San Diego freeway. I-90 in the Midwest is the entire name in and of itself, or at least that's what everyone knows, so 90 or I-90, which is what we call it, is grammatically correct because that is the entire name.

[@thomaslong8401]

I’m in Indiana and travel to LA often. Your video made me realize that when in LA I say “the” 405. But back home I revert back to “I”. I had no idea.

[@thadmatson4754]

It is due to the unusual number of freeways here. Here is an example. You have a basket of fruit and you have to specify one to some other person. You don’t just say apple or banana. You say The Apple or The Banana as a way to show you are talking about this specific freeway not the myriad other freeway possibilities. Pretty simple really.

[@shishka67]

Yeah I thought about that, but there's only one '405'... There aren't multiple 405's to choose from. It's redundant. Like saying, "I'm looking for the Jason," rather than, "I'm looking for Jason." After living here a couple years I realized there really isn't a good reason other than "that's the way we've always said it."

[@thadmatson4754]

@@shishka67 The rules of English are stickly. That would be like saying i walk on road. Not the road. I got in the car not I got in car.

[@shishka67]

@@thadmatson4754 Not exactly. You have to use "the" for both of those examples because they're improper and ambiguous nouns. Freeway names are proper nouns. Like MIT or Carnegie Hall or Hollywood Blvd. A definite article would be superfluous. The only time we see definite/indefinite articles applied to proper nouns is when we want to emphasize their notoriety. I.e., "You mean you met 'THE' Tom Cruise?" since there might ambiguity as to whether he was referring to the celebrity or someone with the same name. Or, for proper nouns that have ambiguous-sounding nouns in them, such as "the Great Lakes" or "the Rocky Mountains," since the first name is telling us which lake or which mountain. My guess is this practice in SoCal began similarly to the last example when they were colloquially referred to as "the 410 freeway" or "the 5 freeway." And then eventually they just dropped 'freeway' so it became "the 410." Probably.

[@thadmatson4754]

@@shishka67 these Proper nouns still enjoy improper use as they are common fixtures of the landscape. You dont say ‘they have a carousel at Santa Monica Pier’ you say ‘the Santa Monica Pier’ even tho it is a proper noun. At least thats how I always imagined this use was adopted. And looking up explanations peopel say there are no clear rules for some of these uses.

[@shishka67]

@@thadmatson4754 Again, since 'pier' is the last noun in "Santa Monica Pier," and itself can be ambiguous, you might put a definite article in front of it. It's one of the exceptions I gave like the Great Lakes. However, it seems more efficient and sounds better not to use it. The rule, or exception, rather, seems to be that you use "the" to distinguish some proper nouns from other possible nouns and prevent confusion (in contrast to "a" Santa Monica pier or "a" great lake or "a" rocky mountain). You would not need to distinguish "the" 405 from "a" 405 (unless you put the ambiguous "freeway" after it).

[@glenmorrison8080]

Thank you for posting this. As a SoCal person, who loves history, transport, and language, I can't explain how annoyed I am about when people think we do this for no reason. Well explained here.

[@deezynar]

He didn't ever give a good reason for it. He gave lame reasons. Just say "I" before the interstate number. Or say "highway" before the highway number.

[@TheSlodfj5]

@@deezynar just because you didn't like the reasons doesn't mean it's wrong. It's just a difference of opinion. A cultural thing that's specific to one or multiple individual places.

[@deezynar]

@@TheSlodfj5 I gave the reason for my view in my previous comment, it is clarity. But grammar is another good reason.

[@kisstune]

@@deezynar Another good reason is the way traffic reports go when trying to find a "good"(read less parking lot route). "accident blocking the right two lanes at causing a back up on the *highway number/name* to the *highway number/name*.

[@trefontaine]

@@deezynar I didn’t catch a reason in his explanation. They were names, then they were numbers…so?

[@karlwithakcomedy]

That doesn’t happen in Northern California, I have never used “the” when referring to driving on 880

[@harpsgalore6584]

@karlwithakcomedy True it's Highway 880 in the Bay Area.

[@clivejules6175]

I am from Marin County and it has always been normal to refer to 'the 101' the same as saying 'the freeway'. But go ahead a make a big deal about it

[@blogdesign7126]

@clivejules6175 OK "The Eastshore Freeway" and "The Bayshore Freeway", "The James Lick Freeway" that's the examples I'm aware of when Bay Area Residents use "The" on Freeway or bridges.

[@OutsideLands77]

Agreed, I never use "the" for 280 and 101, but... I was thinking about it and realized I do say "The 5" (but not "the 101") when describing routes to LA.

[@JAYY_JAYY]

I have to ask how old are all you . It’s so strange I have always said the 880 to the 101 depending on how I’m saying it . Or it would just be I took 880 to the 101

[@SurfCityBill]

In the 80s, we usually referred to the freeways by name. The numbers became more mainstream in the 90s and beyond.

[@rachristensen]

Yes, and when the freeways had names, using “The” makes sense, it just continued when the numbers started rolling in. I still, proudly, use “the” in front of the numbered freeways.

[@zf4hp24]

Exactly. Just saying take "Santa Monica" or "*the* Santa Monica" means two different things to the locals. Also, saying you took "10" here in SoCal will get you a weird look. What *part* of the 10, the Santa Monica or the San Bernadino? Ditto with 110. Harbor or Pasadena.

[@Niteowlette]

@@zf4hp24 if someone told me to take 10, I'd think that person meant take a break! 😄

[@rapid13]

Disagree. In the 80s it was “the” number for every freeway and most state routes unless it was a local route to _you._ So for me in OC, Hwy 1 is PCH and Hwy 74 is Ortega Hwy, but everything in LA is “the” number. Hell, it was like that in the 70s. Definitely not a 90s thing.

[@SurfCityBill]

@rapid13 ok, so we ran in different circles because I'm from OC too. And I mostly recall directions being given and received like this. Jump on the San Diego Fwy, then head North on the San Gabriel, then head west on the Pomona Fwy, exit, etc, etc. Can't speak for the 60s and 70s as I was back east.

[@magicunicorn6535]

When I was a kid in the L.A. area in the 50s, the only freeways I remember were the Ventura Freeway and the Hollywood Freeway. Going to Disneyland from the Valley was quite a trek. We had to take Sepulveda over the Santa Monica Mountains, and then I believe Olympic Blvd., and a bunch of other streets I don't remember. When the San Diego Freeway (405) and the Golden State Freeway (I-5) were completed, it shaved about an hour off the time it took to get there. It was later that I remember I-5 through the Tejon Pass north of the valley was completed. Back in the day, you had to drive "The Old Road" - a winding highway through the mountains to reach Bakersfield. Going to Palmdale before Hwy 114 was a freeway used to be quite a ride. Driving through Sunland and Tujunga meant taking the surface streets, too. When we visited the beach, we either drove down Sunset Blvd. to Santa Monica pier, or took Topanga Canyon road to Malibu. I remember when the freeways all had actual names - The Simi Freeway, Ventura Freeway, Harbor Freeway, Hollywood Freeway, Golden State Fwy, San Diego Fwy, Garden Grove Fwy., etc. I recall the gradual change to numbers instead of names, but I still often refer to them by their names. I had grown up and moved away by the time they started using "The" in front of the freeway numbers.

[@sgd5k292]

Yea, when I was a kid in the 50's, I remember that going from Torrance to Bakersfield, just getting to hiway 99 seem to take all night long.. I think us kids then invented the term ARE WE THERE YET!

[@8yourpets]

You've made a fairly bland bit of information entertaining enough that I not only watched that whole video, but i enjoyed it as well. Keep it up, you are on track to blow up with the quality and content.

[@ashleyhamman]

A lot of NorCal people are saying they never use "the", but in my experience it's very much contextual. My dad lived in the bay area for over the first 2/3s of his life, and he'd say "Coming off 101.", but also "Take the 101.", a tendency I seem to have caught since he was the big driver in the family. However this seems to only apply to stuff in and around the bay area, and I've never heard central valley freeways referred to with "the", it's just "99", "50", "business 80", etc. We also outright don't say what type of road like "lane" "boulevard" "street" etc. Any local will know what road your talking about if you say "El Camino", "Folsom-Auburn", "Douglas" etc, even if it's something that's also a highway, such as how "Jackson" is also "16".

[@kareenm175]

Ha, I grew up off of Auburn Folsom, on Indian Hill (Rd). It was a few years ago that my brother told me that the closer you get to Folsom, the name changes to Folsom Auburn (or something to that effect) which sounds so weird to me

[@ashleyhamman]

@@kareenm175 Once it crosses the river it just become Folsom Boulevard all the way until the straightaway in front of the Capitol Building.

[@raeoverhere923]

I've lived in the Bay Area my entire life and I've always but "the" before a highway number, none of my family is from SoCal either, so everyone who says it's a SoCal only thing is, I think, confused lmao.

[@altair-channel]

1. Hwy 1 isn't just PCH; it's also part of Lincoln Blvd and Sepulveda Blvd. 2. Highway numbers (e.g., the 101) and highway names (e.g., the Hollywood Freeway) are not a one-to-one correspondence. One highway number can carry multiple highway names. Conversely, one highway name can carry multiple highway numbers: - Example 1: the "Hollywood Freeway" consists of two segments: (1) the 101 from the 110 to the 134/170 (Hollywood Split) interchange, and (2) the entirety of the 170. - Example 2: the 5 Freeway is the San Diego Freeway south of the 405 (El Toro Y) interchange, the Santa Ana Freeway from the 405 to the 101/10/60 (East L.A.) interchange, and the Golden State Freeway north of the 101/10/60.

[@ZackfromNoHo]

The 170 should be called the North Hollywood Freeway because it goes north from North Hollywood. It is entirely in the San Fernando Valley, not in Hollywood at all. U.S. 101 must have a dozen names between San Diego County and the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. The Hollywood Freeway is a small portion of the 101.

[@BobTheHatKing]

The San Diego Freeway also the 405 until it merges with the Santa Ana Freeway, where it continues to be called the San Diego Freeway despite the 5 designation used for the Santa Ana Freeway prevailing

[@LeeHawkinsPhoto]

THANK YOU! I was thinking that about the Hollywood Freeway…probably because I usually stay in Hollywood or K-Town when I visit LA, and only drive through the San Fernando Valley to get in and out of town, and thus didn’t realize the Hollywood continued beyond the Ventura Freeway. Also, he forgot one of my favorite names for Hwy 1…El Camino Real.

[@LtPowers]

This comports with my theory on why people in Buffalo do the same thing with their routes. Buffalo has the Kensington Expressway, the Scajaquada Expressway, and of course the New York State Thruway. So you get "take the Scajaquada to the 33 and pick up the 90 down to the 219." They do a similar thing with the names of retail stores, except it's not "the", but rather making everything possessive. So it's not just Macy's and Penney's (or even AM&A's for you old-timers) but Target's and Rite-Aid's.

[@zobar2]

NY-33 continues past the airport, down Genesee St to Batavia & Rochester. But "The 33" refers only to the expressway. After the expressway ends, what do we call it? "Route 33?" My personal favorite was a very confused out-of-towner who told me they took the wrong exit on the Sacajawea Expressway.

[@CubbyTech]

You got it mostly right. The reason for the 'the' is there are so many of them. The location/destination names aren't generally used anymore because it's confusing and situational. If there's signals, no one calls it by it's highway number, it's just the street name.

[@shaftmasterlathes]

Your right, most towns have one, maybe two running through them. Here we can be anywhere quick.... your results may vary.

[@bricology]

There are lots of freeways in Northern California too, you know -- 1, 4, 5, 12, 17, 24, 35, 80, 82, 92, 101, 205, 280, 580, 480, 580, 680, 880, etc.

[@dirremoire]

We've lots of freeways in the Bay Area and no one ever uses "the", so there must be another reason why all of SoCal add the "the" .

[@Rex_Banner124]

Great video! Actually moved down to So-Cal about 7 years ago and pretty much immediately adopted using “the” for highways naturally. Interesting to learn were it comes from

[@Matt50gt]

I'm a Central Californian that regularly travels over "the" Grapevine to Southern California. I use "the" when referring to freeways there but not at home or anywhere else for some reason. 🤷‍♂

[@garryrc]

"Grapevine" is the name of a town near that section of I-5.

[@rks5457]

​@@garryrcand it's what most folks call that stretch of Fwy.

[@Kampy_]

This video does a great job of explaining this phenomenon, though it's worth noting that it's much more common in the greater L.A. region than elsewhere in the state. I suspect this is because S.F. proper (and pretty much all other cities) only have a couple freeways cutting through it, whereas L.A. proper looks like a spider web of major freeways cutting through it. So there's just a lot more discussion / conversation about which freeways to take to get places, compared to all other cities where the choice of freeway is probably so obvious, it's not even worth talking about. Here in L.A., conversations about freeway choice are more common than conversations about weather (seriously)... hence the popularity of SNL's "The Californians" sketches... a more apt name for that fictional daytime drama might have been "The Angelenos" I will add that I think saying "The" before road names is probably something most people here don't even notice, think about, or care about... but for those that do (like myself), it's kind of become a point of pride to have something lingustic-related that is uniquely "ours." L.A. is such a melting pot of non-native residents and non-native cultures, we don't have a particular "accent" or many cultural quirks that are unique to L.A. only... but saying "The" is a rare anomaly.

[@LeeHawkinsPhoto]

I would say that given the opportunity, people in SF will also slap “the” in front of things other regions wouldn’t…just not highway numbers. For example, we have in Cleveland neighborhoods called Collinwood, West Park, Cudell, Hough, Fairfax…we never call it “the Fairfax” or “The Hough”. We will say “the Gateway District” or “the Warehouse District” Downtown, but that’s probably because they’re districts and not full-on neighborhoods. But in San Francisco you don’t just call it “Richmond” or “Haight” or “Sunset”, it’s “The Richmond”, “The Haight”, and “The Sunset”…which sounds so strange coming from out of town.

[@tyler.covington]

everyone in phoenix does this too. it must have spread from LA

[@garcjr]

I do know a lot of people still including the I or US part after saying "the". But it'll be soon before people start saying just the 51 or the 202. I've heard this in Texas too but only for their Farm to Market roads with four digits. Like the 1604.

[@harpsgalore6584]

@tyler.covington Ex LA residents moving to Arizona.

[@Meeowwzterz]

@@harpsgalore6584nah ngl as a native arizonan i do say the 10 and the 101 a lot lol

[@colormedubious4747]

You absolutely NEVER heard ANYONE call it "The 1604." It's "Loop 1604" and NOBODY ever says "Loop," either. We just call it "1604."

[@tomallen5837]

you mean the LA 😅

[@RobRoss]

The International Astronomical Union has standardized the use of articles for planetary bodies but the older generations are never going to adopt it. We normally say “THE” Earth , “THE” Sun, and “THE” Moon but not The Venus or The Mars. So the current official way of referring to these bodies is just Earth, Sun, Moon. As in “Moon looks lovely tonight.” And “Sun is high in the sky this afternoon.” It sounds odd only because we’re not used to these usages. But it’s such a simple thing to change. Still, it does sound odd to my ears.

[@tiyenin]

I like that the 2 stops. I go to the Lassens just off of the main drag, and it'd be harder to get to if there was a freeway there. So yeah.

[@BradHouser]

In the Bay Area, they have El Camino Real (The Royal Road) or just El Camino for short. Traffic reporters and others have been heard saying "The El Camino".

[@yj-yuanjun]

el camino real exists along in parts throughout most of the california coast but “the el camino” doesn’t really slide in socal lol

[@kilduffchris]

Or just called "The El"

[@BradHouser]

@@yj-yuanjun Maybe the reporters I heard were from LA.

[@gracieofgod8899]

😂😂😂

[@BigWhiteGuitar]

Alameda De Las Pulgas is definitely "The Alameda". I may slip once in a while and say "The El Camino", but I disapprove of my own behavior on that one. 😆

[@harpsgalore6584]

If you live in Northern California like myself, we tend to say "On Highway 880", "On Highway 80", On Highway 280 to mean freeways in the San Francisco Bay Area. However if you live in Sacramento you really have to specify designation like Business 80, US-50, CA-99, I-80 and I-5 to describe the areas freeways given how Business 80 and I-80 are different routes in the Sacramento area. Note if you live in Solano County, California which is the outer suburban areas of both Sacramento and San Francisco we use the mix of the two as in I-80 and Highway 80 used interchangeably to mean the same road.

[@JamesHorton-fo3yv]

If you say "The" infriont of the highway number in Northern California people look at you funny like you are not from here. In Northern California we just say highway number without "The."

[@harpsgalore6584]

@JamesHorton-fo3yv Yes, I had relatives from Southern California visit me here in Vacaville, and they call I-505 "The 505" freeway. Yes, this is given that I-505 comes off to them sounding like a freeway in their area. But Northern California people will say I-505 or Highway 505. It's one of three freeways that have an I-x05 in Northern California. The other one is I-205 in Tracy and I-305 in Sacramento, which in turn is mainly signed as US-50.

[@wowshiii4519]

dont forget that business loop 80 is often referred to as the capital city freeway

[@harpsgalore6584]

@@wowshiii4519 true

[@cabalenproductions6480]

​@wowshiii4519 True but the western end of US-50 in Sacramento is no longer co-signed with Business 80. I remember before Caltrans removed the Business 80 signs in Sacramento that cover the western part of Cap City freeway in 2016.

[@J_Lagg]

In Fresno county we use "The" for all highways locally or when visiting Bay area and LA area. There are exceptions, one is i5. I've heard ppl use it as "take i5..." and "far out there by i5."

[@LividImp]

I grew up in LA, and lived in both Fresno and SF. Fresno is definitely more southern Californian in culture than northern despite it having a lot of both LA and SF transplants.

[@leafdaleaudiovideoengineer4763]

Actually, I might have said, "Take the I-5" when giving directions in the past.

[@pedrohorace361]

Dude youtube has been recommending some really good low sub high quality videos. keep it up

[@melt357]

Born and raised here. Never even questioned it. Great story.

[@henryjtien]

SoCal for sure, but it's the right way. It just sounds weird if you don't say "the". Like, take 5 to 8...take 5 what? To 8 what? Doesn't make sense.

[@LeeHawkinsPhoto]

That is exactly how we say it here in Cleveland…we’ll take “four-eighty to seventy-one” to get Downtown…but we do sometimes say “eye-four-eighty to eye-seventy-one to eye-ninety to _route_ 2”…that’s mainly how we differentiate our numbers from our state and US highways…we slap “route” in front of them. So you take “Route 20 to Route 10 to get to I-480”…but it’s not weird to say “take 20 to 10 to 480” either. One thing that’s weird coming from Lorain County vs. Cuyahoga County (both Greater Cleveland, but Cleveland is actually in Cuyahoga County) is that most of Lorain County calls any state highway by its number…like “Route 254” or “Route 57” or “58” or whatever…but in Cuyahoga County everyone refers to roads (except _most_ Interstates) by name. So Route 17 is never called that, it’s just Brookpark Road…or Granger Road or Libby Road, which gets a little confusing in the East Suburbs. Even freeways that aren’t interstates are called by name, like Route 2 is “The Shoreway” (built before interstates existed), and Route 176 is “The Jennings Freeway” even though it was the last freeway opened in the metro…only in the late 90s. The only Interstate exception is the segment of I-90 between the junctions of I-71/490 and the Shoreway (at a sharp curve affectionately known by locals as “Dead Man’s Curve”) which we call “The Innerbelt”. I think we call it that because the signage and all make it hazy as to whether it’s just I-90 through there, or if it’s also I-71…so we call it the Innerbelt. But you can always spot someone who’s not from the county when they call things by numbers instead of names…because outside the county that’s what they do. And now you know I’m autistic 😁 😂🤣

[@povertyspec9651]

Is it too hard to say "take I-5"?

[@91CBR86VFR]

@@povertyspec9651Do they say “the Ventura Boulevard”, “the Oak Street”, “the 8th Avenue”? No, that would sound silly, they say…with no awareness of the irony. The name is “US Interstate 405”. Shorten it to “I-405” if you want. The name is “California Route 2”. Shorten it to “Route 2”. …or be consistent: “Hi, the Joe! How are you? Have you heard from the Bob lately? I heard he went up to the Sacramento last the Tuesday.” Yes. That’s how you sound, Californians.

[@frankmacleod2565]

Nor Cal too

[@hey_you_SHUT_UP]

@@91CBR86VFR Wrong

[@randytaylor6931]

We refer to them as freeways rather than the Interstate.

[@frankmacleod2565]

Not all freeways are interstate, and not all interstate highways are freeways

[@awesomebeast7509]

I was wondering what we refer to as freeways that other states call something else.

[@steveshay5364]

Yup. When I'm in the East it's a Highway, in CA it's a Freeway.

[@frankmacleod2565]

@@steveshay5364 we have highways in California too, and all over out west. they're generally smaller than the 10-lane behemoths you see in the cities. Lots of small state highways. None of them in my county are more than 2 lanes in each direction.

[@garryrc]

In CA if it's considered a 'freeway', then there is generally no pedestrians, bicycles or uncontrolled on ramps. Those would be 'highways'.

[@OleJoe]

What is also confusing for visitors is that you may get on the "San Diego Fwy" even if you're not going to San Diego.

[@nicholasschroeder3678]

Additionally, it doesn't go to San Diego. It's just a loop off THE 5.

[@josephhouk6703]

I wonder if this is the reason why I hear people refer to Phoenix freeways as "The 60" or "The 10" or "The 101/202/303".

[@passatboi]

It's not strange at all. In Toronto, it's The 401 (four-oh-one). In Montreal it's La 40 (the 40) in France it's L'A-75 (the A-75), in Germany it's die A1 (the A1), in London it's The M1....

[@machupikachu1085]

So, basically, all the cool places us it😊

[@bgebbq314]

It's basic grammar after all. Please use the proper Article to complete your sentences.

[@BradHouser]

​@@bgebbq314 French, German, and many other languages often require their forms of the word "the" in front of every noun. It is not always required in English. I can see how it can be a holdover from earlier times when freeways had names.

[@327efrain]

@@bgebbq314my first thought as someone from socal

[@Bruvva_Wu]

Same in The Yukon. We call it the Alaska Highway, the north or south Klondike Highway, the Robert Campbell or the Dempster. The highway number is seldom mentioned.

[@ericmagnusson4165]

I’m originally from South Dakota, (no, I never owned a dog,) but was transferred to the land of Carmageddon in 1989. As I recall, it was REALLY difficult to learn the roads, because depending on which direction you were driving, the SAME freeway had a different name. Now that people use the freeway number, it’s much easier. And, before your video,I didn’t even hear saying the word “the.”

[@Kampy_]

Just curious... what part of SD you from? My parents grew up in Dell Rapids (just north of Sioux Falls) and moved to CA in the late 1960s. Pretty much all my extended family is originally from eastern SD and a lot of them are still there

[@Niteowlette]

Exactly!

[@Hubgrass]

But in New York City they stick to names, so no one really knows the numbers even though they exist, and therefore New Yorkers tend to use articles as well i.e.: The BQE, The Cross Bronx, The Bruckner, The MLK, etc.

[@glenmorrison8080]

Interesting. It comes down to what the full name would be. Here, "the 5" is short for "the 5 freeway", which seems to demand the definite article. But say in OR they are saying "5" as short for "interstate 5", which would sound strange with a "the". I'm guessing something like "The BQF" has a longer name that takes the form of the-adjective-noun? It's similar the way people refer to the trains there too - where you wouldn't say "take C train", but rather "take the C train".

[@Birdsandphotos]

And the LIE

[@GaryKetchum808]

I had no clue that there was such thing as a “transportation nerd” but ig I found my kind. lol I’m glad I found your channel and I’m excited for future content.

[@InferKnow]

I genuinely feel like this is just the grammatically correct way to say it to reference the 105, but i’d say i’d get on PCH not the PCH.

[@thedrunkweddingphotographer]

4:45 Repeat after me.... Echo Park, Silver Lake, Glendale IS NOT, I repeat, is NOT the 'eastside' and it sure as hell is not East L.A. either. This has been settled years ago but transplants still can't seem to get it right.

[@Niteowlette]

Correct. Glendale, Pasadena and Burbank are foothill cities, and not even part of L.A. City.

[@thedrunkweddingphotographer]

@@Niteowlette 💯

[@DemoR]

This is also a thing in western New York for some reason. I grew up in upstate New York, and people referred to interstates as "highways" and called them "90" or i-90". When I moved to Western New York for college they still called them "highways" but added "the" ("the 90"). Now I live in socal and people say "the 405", but call them freeways

[@MrNaTs24]

Same (as Western NY) here across the border in Southern Ontario. We always put "the" before the number and never use the term "freeway", only "highway".

[@lumberjackdreamer6267]

Bay Area. We say “I’m driving on 101”, or “I take 236”, or “get off and merge on 17”

[@ilovemybrudder]

San Diego. Yall sound like cavemen

[@yasssqueen3063]

Wow! I never noticed that! Yes! I say I’m on THE 5 freeway.

[@matthewprier4340]

Incorrect. We say "I'm still stuck on 101" or "Damn traffic on 205 is hell still". I'm further in so I say "Which is slower, 99 or 5 today?" ;P

[@Trancefreak12]

Bay Area resident here. No "the" unless I'm referring to SoCal freeways. "680", "880", "the 405", "the 210", "5", "the 5" (Bakersfield-ish and south), "101", "the 101" (Santa Barbara and south). It only sounds right if I say it in a way that the locals in both the Bay Area and LA say it because I've gotten used to hearing it.

[@beardoodle9835]

I only use "the" in front of the 101 😂, I don't know why, though. I don't do that with any other highway or freeway here in NorCal, just that one. 🤷‍♀️

[@jujubee2141]

I grew up in SoCal and my friend who lives in THE San Francisco area told me about this. I never knew. When I was growing up my Mom used to call the freeways according to where they were going: The San Diego Fwy, The Golden State Fwy, The Ventura Fwy, The Santa Monica Fwy, etc. Whereas my Dad would just say, “Take that one over there. Near the Hospital or near USC”, etc cuz he didn’t know the numbers. Very interesting.

[@petehealy9819]

Growing up in Santa Barbara in the 1960s, my friends and I - especially after we got our drivers licenses in the late 60s - knew somebody was from LA if they said, for example, "*the* 101." We thought it was dumb. Almost 60yrs later, and even though I myself no longer live in Santa Barbara, I know that the LA use of "the" has become part of the SB vernacular, too. Tbh, I think that's a shame, since it still sounds dopey to me, but I appreciate the historical context your video provides. Nicely done!

[@rick_thunder]

I’m a native Californian, now living in Tennessee. As a kid I remember the traffic reports on TV would saying something like, “There’s an accident on the Garden Grove Freeway Westbound…” and I would say, “What’s the Garden Grove Freeway? Oh, you mean The 22? Well, why don’t they just say ‘The 22 West?’ That’s what everybody else calls it.” Now, I change how I describe highways depending on where I am. When I’m in Florida, it’s I-4. In Tennessee, it’s just 65. In California I say The 405. This is how I recognize California transplants in Nashville, when they say “The 65.”

[@oldsagejoe]

Proper grammar requires the use of “the” preceding freeway numbers for the same reason you might say “I’m stuck in THE parking lot at Dodger Stadium.” The 405 is longer and narrower but pretty much the same.😊

[@shaunoneil4705]

It’s just a street basically do you put “the” in front of any other street name?

[@oldsagejoe]

@@shaunoneil4705 The Coast Highway, the El Camino, the Oregon Trail…..

[@mckernan603]

Not really: to get to Boston, take 495 to 93-South

[@oldsagejoe]

@@mckernan603 To get to Boston from the 405 you might as well get off at Century Blvd and go to LAX.

[@glenmorrison8080]

This still sorta leaves out the grammatical basis for it. Something like "the 10" is short for "the 10 freeway". New Yorkers do the same thing before their trains. You would say "take A train", but rather "take the A train".

[@guyfaux3978]

Actually, you can say to take the A/B/C/D etc without even saying "train"-- "Change from the A to the D at West 4th Street..."

[@LeeHawkinsPhoto]

I didn’t realize this (I’m from Cleveland) until Jennifer Lopez explained the reason she called her album “On The 6” back 25 years ago. So many things I heard New Yorkers say made so much more sense after this 😂 I just never realized that was the vernacular.

[@glenmorrison8080]

@@guyfaux3978 Oh interesting. That supports the grammatical hypothesis even more then. Doing the same thing we do here in SoCal with the freeways. Thanks for sharing.

[@f430ferrari5]

In Southern Cal, people used to say the name of the freeway not the number. I believe the Long Beach Fwy was once the 7 then changed to 710. Who remembers Pete Ellis Dodge …Long Beach Freeway Firestone Exit South Gate. 10 = Santa Monica or San Bernardino Fwy. 101 - Hollywood Fwy 110 - Harbor Fwy

[@jujubee2141]

We went to buy my first car at a dealership in Long Beach. My Dad took The 5 to every other freeway on the freeway system and it took about almost 2 hours. There is a Long Beach Freeway! The 710. God knows where he thought he was going. He grew up in LA before it was common to use the numbers, I guess.

[@JeffreyChadwell]

I don't know about Northern Nevada, but here in Las Vegas, I-15 is referred to as "The 15." I think it must be because a lot of Southern Californians moved here over the years, because it wasn't like this when I was a kid back in the '60s and '70s.

[@vistalite-ph4zw]

I'm from southern California and I'm a "the" guy all the way. We always referred Pacific Coast Highway as PCH. I watched livestreams of truckers driving cross country and chatters will use the "I" before the number. I don't, if they are driving on I-95,25, 40, 80, etc. I will still say the 80, 95, 25, and so on, it's part of my DNA...

[@seanrodgers1839]

You mean Americans generally don't use "the" to refer to highways? I'm in Canada and we say "the" to refer to highways, like the 401. So seems normal to me. Interestingly, driving into and across the US, to California, you run through a bunch of different accents, until you get to California, where people speak normal again.

[@mal2ksc]

That's because of Hollywood. Everyone has heard the way we talk, whether they wanted to or not.

[@TeddyRumble]

Canucks are dumb tho.

[@themotownboy1]

What is the big deal either way? Why does it matter? In the scheme of things, this is a speck of dust.

[@eagletsnupper7876]

In Washington State, interstates and state routes are called "the freeway", and in place of "the" we just say ”I-5” or "I-90"

[@jasonneemund7214]

I guess it depends on where in WA you're living. Interstate 5 is the only freeway in Washington that I always hear as "I-5", never just "5" or "the 5". When talking about I-90 I usually hear a 50/50 mix of people referring to it as "I-90" or just "90". I almost never hear anyone refer to I-405 as "I-405", it's almost always just "4O5". The freeway section of SR167 between Renton and Puyallup is the only section of freeway off the top of my head that has a common name, often referred to as "The Valley Freeway" in traffic reports, otherwise I usually hear people just call it "167". I don't recall the last time I heard anyone refer to SR 520 as anything other than "520".

[@michlo3393]

@@jasonneemund7214 Why do you guys drive so slow? I mean, no offense or anything but I never realized how bad the driving is, especially around Seattle, and it's not just the whole 15 under the speed limit BS, there is a basic skill issue there. I never expected that.

[@brdlysct]

We (So Cals) say "the" in regards to a freeway name because there is only one of each of them. It's the grammatically correct way to identify a freeway.

[@firestick4991]

I grew up in South California. I thought everyone did that. Now that I don’t live there anymore, it’s hard NOT to say THE highway or freeway.

[@dirremoire]

Yeah, but "the" would be correct if you were using the actual freeway name,. but you don't. Putting "the" in front of a number is the issue. As an example, no one ever says "the 101 Dalmatians""

[@fomfom9779]

I moved to NW OR, from S CA, over 20 years ago. The 5 is up here, as well as our own I-405. I have a heck of a time not referring to I-5 as 'the 5', to this day. I lived in KCMO, before moving to CA. They referred to federal highways in an unusual way. They said '50 Highway' and '40 Highway', for example. I didn't continue with that, after leaving MO. It always sounded odd.

[@LeeHawkinsPhoto]

Missouri always weirds me out with their lettered roads too…like taking AA to K to X. It’s so super strange. (BTW…I’m in NE Ohio.)

[@inyobill]

"California stereotypes"? Ahem. Just for a start, a Texan, who would be deeply offended if you say anything remotely derogatory about his dear home state, will insult your home with out a thought. We put "The" before freeway name because it makes sense. Exactly why you say "I'm going to use the hammer."

[@floycewhite6991]

THE North Central Expressway.

[@sarcasticnews1195]

Ok. If you're another local yokel who wants to insult our home, our state, "without a thought" ... I guess you're asking for it. So I'll use the hammer too. Here goes. Our state is about a million times more beautiful than your state. We have absolutely everything that you lack. We have gorgeous amazing mountains -- including volcanoes! -- and amazing forests -- including stunning redwoods -- and amazing beaches and coastlines that transform as you go north -- and we also have surfable surf -- and the Pacific Ocean kicks the Gulf of Mexico's ass everyday and twice on Sunday -- and we have a stunning deserts, and we have incredible Yosemite and iconic Half Dome, and and we have great cities -- we've made the greatest movies in the world and we make the tech that you use everyday (including this website you're on right now) -- and great small towns, and we have gorgeous neighborhoods with incredible architecture and charm, and we have really nice people -- especially the people who are native Californians -- and we have amazing cuisine from all over the world because people from all over the world live here, and we have fantastic weather all year round. Within a couple of hours, you can travel from skiing in the mountains to camping in the desert dunes to the sunbathing on the beach. Or racing on the Salt Flats at world record speeds. Traveling up the west coast is one of the greatest road trips that anyone can do anywhere. Traveling across Texas is ... not. I guess you guys have 2 giant boots in front of a shopping mall in San Antone that you can visit. And bats under a bridge. Enjoy your mosquitoes. (Your bats sure do.) Enjoy your fire ants getting everywhere and floating down the streets in giant floating nests every time it rains, setting up shop in all your yards. Enjoy your next hurricane. Enjoy your next power outage. Enjoy freezing in the winter and frying in the summer. Enjoy the never-ending stench of cow shit everywhere you drive as you breath lovely "fecal dust" -- ie cow shit dust -- drifting all over the place. Enjoy your ridiculous goofy oversized hats and your equally ridiculous boots -- both of which you wear in the same manner in which you drive your pickup trucks: not for functionality, but for "fashion" masquerading with the pretense of functionality. Enjoy your high school football games, because there's so little going on in your state that high school football actually seems interesting. Enjoy your ranking of "least livable state!" Enjoy West Texas! LOL😁😁Our state is taller and thinner and much more beautiful than your state -- just like our people -- while your state is shorter and fatter -- just like YOUR people LOL😁😁 And unlike Texas, which is just a giant blob of never-ending nothingness, in California, everywhere you go, there's a wonderful destination ahead of you, places people actually want to go. Millions of people from all over the world come to visit our state every day of the year, and they don't give a flip about your state for good and obvious reason. They fly over your state to get to our state. All of your tourists are from equally stupid podunk states like Arkansas. I dated a girl originally from Texas, and she was so happy to leave Texas. She absolutely loves living in California, and she can't stand it when she has to go back to Texas even just to visit. She literally hates Texas. And she's born and raised in Texas. I will say this on your behalf: I think that Southern Charm and the southern accent are beautiful qualities and very attractive in women. Other than that, y'all can suck it. LOL. 😉Anyway, seriously, all of this is meant in good fun. I'm not really one to draw comparisons. I believe people should live wherever they want to live and be happy. And I believe there are good, beautiful people to be found everywhere, and beautiful places to be found everywhere too. It's just that we have way, WAY more of them than you do.😉jk😁✌☮🕊🕊🌞🌊🏄‍♂🌊🏖🌴🌺🙂🙂

[@myitbos1335]

@@floycewhite6991 That falls into what we do down in Houston as well. If the colloquial name is used, the "the" preceeds the name. ex: The Gulf Freeway, The Katy Freeway. But if the route is only referred to by number then no "the" is inserted. It's I-45 and I-10 or simply 45 and 10.

[@syndicate_555]

I live in Silverlake, and was always really confused when I looked into the history of The 2, which I take daily. Thanks for explaining!

[@ColdWindPhoenix84]

As a SF Bay Area to Central Coast transplant who married a former Los Angelian I have found this differentiation very fascinating. Even in my own speech. If I am talking about the highways I take to drive back to the Central Coast from the Bay Area, would say I take 680 south to 101 and then 101 all the way home. However, if I am giving directions from, say for instance LAX to the Central Coast I would say The 405 north to The 101... same highway, different reference based on where it is being utilized. I find the same thing with (The) Highway 5. Great video I look forward to that (The) Route 2 video.

[@TheCrazierz]

Honestly I learned that the rest of the country doesn't use "the" just a few years ago. Personally, I think we are in the right.

[@bryantdarris]

For reals! Native San Diegan that learned to drive in 1980 and only lived here. My out of state people would bring this up. Our response "Your not a Native learn how to take directions." Same thang to the Nor Cal...."ya'll have 2 choices , Take THE 5 and go home or get back on THE Five South for 20minutes, Cross over (TJ, Mexico) and keep going with The Attitude." Fun times topic. @FourthPlace great teaching. Now i can come correct instead of giving people a hard time. Reading the other comments fun times.

[@michaelcap9550]

Should have been copyrighted by THE Ohio State University.

[@berthaduniverse]

3rd generation Californian, and I have to ask, why we say "the" hospital, "the" university, "the" almost anything. Many English speaking countries don't use "the" anywhere near the way we do.

[@floycewhite6991]

On the other hand, languages such as Russian don't have any articles. "You go store now!"

[@jessevarela]

"Going to hospital " 😂😂😂

[@georgem3673]

But nobody refers to street names with "the", so freeways don't really need it, either. You don't say "the Santa Clara Ave." so why say "the 405 freeway"? They are both roads.

[@hey_you_SHUT_UP]

​@@georgem3673 It's just one of those linguistic things. You hear a thing being referred to in a certain way from when you are young, so it sounds wrong any other way. I keep trying to write out an explanation of the distinction between Santa Clara Ave. and the 405 freeway, but I can't seem to put in a way that would make sense to another person. They are just different, thus they are referred to in different ways.

[@berthaduniverse]

@@jessevarela they say that way. Weird to me...

[@bigjarthur5551]

Southern California freeway names are not obsolete, it’s still the San Diego Freeway; Hollywood Fwy; Harbor Fwy; Santa Monica Fwy; Ventura Fwy etc. Cal-trans has just replaced signage to not include the names for simplicity of reading while driving (in theory) at high speeds. Up until the late 90s So Californians always referred to freeways by their names, and rarely by the numbers. One reason is that the freeways’ numbers often were changed from time to time (ie 11 became 110; 15 (Long Beach Frey) became 7 and then it became 710; south of Downtown LA - 101 became 5 etc).

[@bluemo7253]

Some caltrans signage still say freeway names

[@bluemo7253]

Some new caltrans signs still say the names it was to comply with the federal MUTCD which did not allow for freeway names

[@malcorub]

Also, my GPS refers to the Coronado Bay Bridge as State Highway 75... no one here calls it by the number.

[@bluemo7253]

@@malcorub That’s a bridge not a freeway

[@Yet-Another-Joe]

After relocating to LA from North Carolina four decades ago, I quickly adopted the local custom of using "the" before freeway numbers. It's second nature to me now. I also quickly picked up on other LA idiosyncrasies, like how "the valley" invariably refers to the San Fernando Valley, despite there being multiple valleys in the region. Over time, I've observed that people specify "the San Gabriel Valley" when talking about that area, for example, “We live in the San Gabriel Valley.” Conversely, you seldom hear “the Simi Valley”; it's simply “Simi Valley,” as in “We live in Simi Valley.” Further from LA, the Antelope Valley is often called "The AV" by locals.

[@randyk1919]

Great video! I've lived here 58 (out of my 60) years and concur with everything you've said here, with a few minor exceptions. Interstate 5 is one of the few outliers, along with Route 66 (when historically referenced, typically). While we do say "The Five" when referring to Interstate 5, it's perhaps equally referred to as "Eye-5". Oddly, this doesn't apply to most other interstates, perhaps since it rolls off the tongue so easily. Also, once we're outside the greater metropolitan area and heading out to the desert, I'll more often hear/say "Eye-15" and "Eye-40" instead of using "The".

[@nspro931]

I have lived in Northern California all my life and never heard anyone use "the" in front of a highway number until dope growers started moving in in a big way and they were from LA and such. I used to think it was strange, now it is a Shibboleth

[@thomasboardman7482]

Thanks, I learned a new work today! "Shibboleth"

[@floycewhite6991]

@@thomasboardman7482 Read some Trotsky. He's big on Jewish culture.

[@passatboi]

No one ever calls Route 66 "The 66" tho.

[@fourth_place]

That's because in its current form, route 66 - at least through los angleles - is no longer one contiguous road. It's dozens off different ones in the present day, i.e. colorado blvd, sunset blvd, I-40, CA-110 are all "route 66". Clearly the road landscape of the 1920s is vastly different a century later. Many things have changed :)

[@BobTheHatKing]

Route 66 has been around for a long time, I guess that’s what they called it back in the day across the nation and that’s what stands today

[@glenmorrison8080]

That's a great exception that proves the rule actually. Love this. That would be because something like "the 10" is short for "the 10 freeway" in our minds, which goes adjective-noun, and seems to demand a the, but Route 66 is noun-adjective, and that kind of construction sounds sorta weird with a the attached. Love this comment.

[@floycewhite6991]

@@fourth_place I lived near the terminus of Colorado Blvd. at San Fernando Road in Glendale as a kid. Absolutely nobody called it Route 66.

[@SoloPilot6]

No. You're guessing. 66 has always had local names through the LA Basin, because they were existing streets before being adopted as US Route 66.

[@jamesrea329]

I live one block from PCH, I’ve never heard anyone refer to it as “the 1”. It’s either PCH or Coast Highway. Loved the video though.

[@J3scribe]

I picked up on "the" when I moved to SoCal from Illinois, but it took some getting used to. After leaving the state for some years, I returned to the central valley and started using "the" again, only to find myself at odds with local nomenclature. Folks in the San Juaquin Valley are more likely to say I 5, or I 80, or just 99 when referencing a highway or route. As in, "Take 99 north to... etc, etc."

[@donovanwisdom310]

Thank you for this! My wife is from Southern California and I am from Northern California. She teases me all the time for calling PCH “THE Pacific Coast Highway”.

[@fredgarvin716]

I'm 55 and grew up in northern California and never heard "the" until going to L.A.

[@DigitalShark99]

@ 00:14 -- There is not much surfing taking place @ Venice Beach. Just sayin.

[@dalepfleuger3633]

In Western New York we put “The” in front of the number as well. Sounds weird when I dont use “The”.

[@thatjpwing]

I was going to say the same thing, it’s definitely a practice to say it in Buffalo.

[@fosterfuchs]

Thank you for explaining this. I live on the East Coast, and I noticed the usage of the "The" simply by traveling to Southern California. That was before the SNL The Californians skits. I assumed it was part of the local vernacular, without a specific reason. I never knew there is indeed a particular reason for it.

[@HolySoliDeoGloria]

I'm a native and lifelong Southern Californian, but I lived in other parts of the U.S. for about a decade and a half. I use "the" sometimes but not all the time. I often say, "take 15 south" or "I was on 10 west" instead of using "the." I say "the 52 is backed up" or "52 is backed up." They all sound normal to me, and I hear other people using all variations, also.

[@steveurbach3093]

I learned to drive in the LA area. I would get off work (in Silver Lake), The the Hollywood Fwy to the Ventura Fwy. Here is a odd fact. I would take Winnetka to the 101, where the signs said 101 East and 101 West 😲

[@fourth_place]

I KNOW THAT EXACT SIGN LOL

[@APS_Inc]

Now that is wild.

[@cnc-maker]

The 101 is a North/South freeway, but back in the late 80s, early 90s, the CHP and CalTrans changed it to East/West for the stretch of freeway that is going East/West. This wasn’t for native Californians, it was for the transplants. For years after the change it was a nightmare, as 911 and the freeway phone system were always confused. There was also a problem with the 2 going North from the 134, which they also changed.

[@sst5688]

We do this in Vegas too

[@donaldfoley7581]

I'm not satisfied the history given explains "why." There's been renaming and number changes for roads and highways everywhere.

[@evanstauffer4470]

In Pennsylvania and neighboring states, we use the "I" prefix for interstate routes, e.g. I-95, I-76, I-476, etc. For numbered state routes, we say "PA-xy", e.g. "PA-420", regardless of whether it is a limited access highway or a local arterial. For U.S. Routes we use "U.S.- xy" as in "U.S. 1", "U.S. 322", etc; When locals are speaking to locals, we often simplify that to "Route" as "Route 1", "Route 322," etc. We use the term "Route" only for U.S. routes, never state or local highways. We have many state-maintained secondary roads which have an inventory number which nobody but the DOT knows; Drivers refer to them by name, e.g. "Smithbridge Rd." Other secondary roads are maintained by townships and are also referred to by name only. City streets, drives, etc are referred to by their name. Some thoroughfares are referred to by their common name, for example the Pennsylvania Turnpike, I-76, is typically called "the turnpike". I guess whatever system works locally, works. However, referring to a 2-lane state road by the designation "highway" doesn't make sense to me. It's a road, not a highway.

[@Californology]

Great now I have a “the” complex. Cool video!

[@BellaMirelli]

Im from northern VA and we dont even say "The" we just say the number and we know.

[@frogmantoad8110]

Same here. Agreed 100%

[@frankmacleod2565]

Grammatically incorrect

[@frankmacleod2565]

When you drive on the freeway, you drive on THE freeway. One would not say "I'm driving on freeway" so I don't see why you'd say "I'm driving on 5" but to each their own

[@BellaMirelli]

@frankmacleod2565 It's like saying "Were getting on main street." We use the numbers as just the name for the road, like any other.

[@IdkuGd]

​@frankmacleod2565 you say THE when you say I'm going to THE store, but if you use the actual name of the store for example walmart. You say I'm going to walmart. not going to THE walmart.