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.
I’ve been born in central Europe in the 80’s before digital clocks became the norm. 24h was normal even then when writing the precise time. For example in TV schedules. When talking we normally use 12h but without adding AM or PM as it most often is obvious from the context. When it’s not then we add “in the morning” “at night”. Actually speaking time in a 24h format is very rare. But since it’s always encountered in writing, every child learns very early how the 24h system works.
Fascinating. Here in the US it seems similar when talking, but I almost never see 24 hour time, even in writing, except in “military” or similar context. Plus I really haven’t noticed any changes in these habits during my adult lifetime.