Date:  Mon, 15 Jan 1996 21:11:40 -0700

From:  William King <WFKING[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]CCIT.ARIZONA.EDU>

Subject: Re: Denny's, etc restaurants



Ca. 1986 we were asked what we called ATMs in the US. At the time we

just called them "bank machines," not having anything better. ATM

was not current usage in NYC, where we lived, at that time. The person

asking us, who was working on a national textbook for English, was

quite stressed.

So, when did "automatic teller" come into use? This certainly sounds like

a contrivance on the part of the bank coined in an effort to personalize

something that many customers were unsure of. Apparently they still are.

A current poll shows that 55% (? -- but it was very high) of the banking

public has not used an ATM.

Bill King  Univ. of Arizona