Love the question! It's a "native thing" not just in CA but in other western states as well.
"The transpo-idiom can be heard on roads all over the West, from Utah to Nevada to Arizona. And it’s not an affectation; there’s a reason for it, according to Nathan Masters over at KCET, related to the region’s long-standing love affair with the private automobile."
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-12/why-west-coast-drivers-say-the-before-their-highway-and-road-numbers
Plus, we wouldn't have THE Californians on SNL to laugh at ourselves.
Out-of-staters get into it too. They often like to say they drove along the PCH, (the Pacific Coast Highway or highway 1), which runs north and south along the Pacific Coast. It's bragging rights, but it also may be incorrect.
"SR 1 has several portions designated as either Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), Cabrillo Highway, Shoreline Highway, or Coast Highway. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 5 (I-5) near Dana Point in Orange County and its northern terminus is at U.S. Route 101 (US 101) near Leggett in Mendocino County. SR 1 also at times runs concurrently with US 101, most notably through a 54-mile (87 km) stretch in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, and across the Golden Gate Bridge."
http://youtu.be/Mn6ZmIzXElM
Usually, fancy-pants inhabitants of the SF bay area will correct someone who calls the 101 the PCH in their area. The 101 there is known as Cabrillo Highway, Same in Santa Barbara. Whereas, in SoCal it is called the PCH or just the Coastal Highway.
Another 'slight' possible early influence is the Spanish word 'El', or 'the', as in El Camino Real (re-al'), meaning The Royal Road. It connected the 21 Spanish missions in California, along with a number of sub-missions, four presidios, and three pueblos. The literal translation of “El Camino Real” is “The Royal Road,” and it was designated as such because it was the route taken by Spanish royalty when they visited California. This historic route stretches over 600 miles.
Today, the El Camino Real forms parts of the 1, the 101, and the 82. In some areas of the state, it will just be a road running parallel to the main highway.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Camino_Real_(California)
We have a nearby Spanish Mission that actually has a few yards of the original El Camino real trail. Not much to see. Along the central coast parts of the El Camino Real are mixed with the 1 and the 101 and are lined with mission bells that often disappear.
Now, can someone please explain why the strange native Indian names of cities across the mid-west and east coast were adopted? I don't think it was to please the Indians or to teach school kids how to spell. |
