Difference?

[coccinelle]

Hi everybody!
I need some more help with my ESL lessons. Would any of you say there is a difference between saying 'a world map' rather than a map of the world or as another example; a world champion and a champion of the world?
I tend to use 'world map/champion' but wanted to know if there was a difference before explaining to my pupils and have your (always good) opinions.

[jake-the-peg]

The only difference I can think of is that world champion being a slightly smaller neater phrase tends to get used when another term such as the sport or a sponsor is added to make the whole phrase neater and roll off ofthe tongue better.

So we're probably more likely to say someone is the 100m world champion rather than the 100m champion of the world.

However the of gives a little more dramatic impact - can't you just hear Murray walker say " and here he is now the 2007 champion of the world...."?

[heathfield]

'A World Map' could apply to almost anything - climate, agricultural production, number of TVs per household, etc., so the phrase really requires added qualification. But 'A Map of the World' I would consider to mean either the Earth's geography, or its political divisions, (i.e. countries). Just my interpretation.
'Champion' I'll leave to Zacs and Jake to thrash out!!

[jake-the-peg]

Yes Zacs - Your answer wasn't there when I started typing

[coccinelle]

Thank so much everybody for your thoughts on this.

[chakka35]

In English it is perfectly acceptable to use nouns as adjectives, as in bus-stop, hair-dryer, door-knob, body lotion and so on.
This is not allowed in French, for example, as a glance at the wording on the jars in your bathroom will show. They have to say 'The lotion of the body' , 'the cream for the hands' and so on, which is one of the reasons why French is a clumsier language than English.
To my ear 'world map' is the same as 'map of the world' but (as Jake says) neater.

[coccinelle]

I teach french students so they do have a tendancy to use the long form and I wanted to check there wasn't a difference between the two forms. However, a coffee cup isn't the same as a cup of coffee but that's where contents come into it.

[fredpuli47]

Yes coccinelle, a cup of coffee/coffee cup, a glass of wine/a wine glass etc are different and are differently expressed in both French (by word order) and English. French can be like English, as is seen if you look up 'key ring' or 'French windows' (or 'French doors') On the other hand ,French does have gift for using a lot of words where we use one, the classic example being their standard way of saying 'anti-clockwise' , translating literally as 'in the inverse direction to the hands of a watch' And in signing a letter formally, our 'yours faithfully' always translates into quite a number of words in which they hope that their sentiments are well received, or the like.

Champion of the World is, of course, used by the ring announcer at the fight, because it sounds so much more important than 'world champion' but otherwise 'world champion' is used in boxing.