Save the Words - Adopt a Word - Ossifragant

I just adopted a word through a great new site from Oxford Dictionaries - http://savethewords.org/

Please join me in saving and promoting great words - http://savethewords.org/.

By the way, the definition of ossifragant is bone breaking.

(and beecher is one of my nicknames)

The Difference Between Lay and Lie - Past Tenses and Past Participles

Credit for the chart goes to Martha Brockenbrough. I could not have presented it more precisely myself.

Language Peeves - "Went Missing"

A reader recently commented that it really bothers him when news headlines report a missing person by using the phrase "went missing" instead of "is missing."

In regards to this language peeve, the difference between "went missing" and "is missing" is a bit more involved than one might initially think...not only are the verbs in the phrases different, the verb type and tense are different as well. These verbal differences result in semantic differences, and the choice of using one phrase rather than the other may or may not be intentional.

Went is the past tense form of the verb to go. To go is an action verb.

Is is a present tense form of the verb to be. To be is a verb of being that is considered a linking verb.

Semantically, action verbs imply that choice is involved because people choose their actions, whereas linking verbs simply form an association between a subject and its complement. So, saying that a person "went missing" implies that that person chose to go missing and saying a person "is missing" implies that there was not a choice and that whatever happened was against that person's will. Additionally, because went is past tense, "went missing" leaves open the possibility that the person is no longer missing.

The choice of using one phrase rather than the other may be intentional if the possibility exists that the missing person is on the lam or it could just be that a copywriter was lazy and didn't give much thought to the semantics of the chosen verb.

Language Peeves - Don't Feel Badly for Linking Verbs

A reader recently asked me to write about one of her language peeves. This reader can't stand it when a person says he or she is "feeling badly." This statement makes her think that the person has a problem with the sensitivity of his or her fingertips and therefore cannot feel things properly. Indeed, semantically, that is what "feeling badly" implies. The proper way for a person to express the feeling of being physically unwell is to use the statement "I 'feel bad'."

How can this be when feel is a verb and badly is an adverb and adverbs modify verbs?

The answer is that adverbs modify action verbs and feel is what is known as a linking verb. Semantically, linking verbs behave differently than action verbs. Here is a good example: another linking verb is am and that is why, when responding to the question "how are you," the response is "I am good" not "I am goodly."

Learn a New Language

Linguistics Cartoon Favorites - Laying versus Lying

The Difference Between Lay and Lie

Intransitive verbs do not take objects, transitive verbs do.

Semiotic Billboard Advertising is Eye Catching

There is a billboard on southbound I-75 near Saginaw that advertises advertising on billboards (A fun topic about which I have previously posted). This particular billboard relies upon semiotics to succinctly deliver its message. The billboard is simply an image of numerous eyeballs being scooped into a net. I was unable to snap a picture of the actual billboard so this is my, admittedly, lame attempt at reproducing it.

The symbolism of the eyeball/net combination can be interpreted as either "catching eyes" or "eye-catching." I believe that either interpretation successfully delivers the message that advertising on billboards works.

The Rabbit Rule

A week or so ago I posted some statistics about English spelling from an article in American Educator. This article also mentioned an English spelling rule that was new to me, the Rabbit Rule. Upon researching the Rabbit Rule, I realized that I remembered the rule from elementary school but I didn't know the rule by this name. I also discovered a few other English spelling rules that have acquired new names since I was in elementary school (ages upon ages ago). The rules are as follows:

The Rabbit Rule: Double the consonants b, d, g, m, n and p after a short vowel in a two syllable word.

The Banana Rule: Every unaccented open-a syllable will change to schwa. An a at the end of a word is never accented, so always changes to schwa (plasma). An a by itself at the beginning of a word usually changes to schwa (adopt). In three syllable words the last syllable is never accented. Only one syllable in a word is accented. So if a three syllable word has two open-a syllables that are not accented, both of them will change to schwa.

The Picnic Chicken Basket Rule: In the middle of multi-syllable words, spell the k-sound with a c when you can. If a c won't work, use ck if the k-sound is right after a short vowel. Otherwise, use k.

The Catch Lunch Rule: This rule applies to the ch-sound at the end of a word. Use tch when you have a short vowel coming right before the ch-sound, otherwise use ch. Exceptions: such, much rich, which.

The Milk Truck Rule: This rule applies to the k-sound at the end of a word. Never end a one syllable word using a c. If you have a short vowel sound coming right before the k-sound use a ck. Otherwise, use k.

The Floss Rule: Double the consonants f, l and s at the end of a one syllable word following a short vowel. Common exceptions to this rule are gas, yes, and bus.


How did anyone ever learn to spell without these fancily named rules. I think I will now go eat a picnic lunch of rabbit, bananas and milk after which I will immediately floss.

NCIS - Ziva's Linguistic Error

Another observation from last week's NCIS - I am pretty sure that I heard the actress who plays Ziva make a phonological error that is common to native speakers of English but would not be common to an Israeli (like the character of Ziva) that struggles with the syntax of English.

Often times I will start to use the contraction don't but for some reason my brain switches mid- contraction to do not. The phonological result of this psycholinguistic phenomenon is that the normal /o/ or "o-sound" found in the contraction don't cancels the normal /u/ or "u-sound" found in the do of do not.

Do /du/ not you agree?

Here are some additional linguistic traits of Ziva's.

The Linguistic Aspects of NCIS - Part II

I just caught last week's episode of NCIS and I still can't stop laughing about Agent DiNozzo's comment to a witness that he was driving to the office. He was talking to the witness (who happened to be a call girl) about the new director of the NCIS and he was so distracted by her attractiveness and demeanor that he re-emphasized his wording by stating, "I said 'new director' not 'nude erector'."

DiNozzo then said something about the two phrases being homonyms...well, kind of...but to be more technical they are actually oronyms (a string of words that sounds the same as another string of words but they are spelled differently and composed of different words with different meanings). Either way, the writers of NCIS sure do know how to have fun with language.

*more on NCIS linguistics and oronyms.

Georgia's Pole Tax - What a Difference that "e" Makes

Apparently the state of Georgia is considering passing a tax that would charge gentlemen's club visitors an extra $5 fee at the door. The tax has been humorously dubbed the "pole tax" as a playful variation on the well-known "poll tax". Regarding the name of this new tax, in the March 16th issue of Newsweek a writer commented about "what a difference that 'e' makes."

Well, what difference does that "e" make? It is certainly not a phonetic difference because poll and pole are homophones. The "e" definitely makes a difference orthographically, however, because the difference is noticeable in print. Obviously, though, the most important difference the "e" makes, and the difference to which the writer was undoubtedly referring, is the semantic difference.

A poll tax is a fixed amount of money that a person must pay as a requirement for the right to vote.

And a pole tax is...well, you get the idea.

###

On a separate note, it is not just the "e" that makes the difference it is also the deletion of one of the "l's." If it were simply adding an "e" to poll then we would be talking about a chicken tax.

More Obama Logo Semiotics

Having previously posted about the semiotics of Obama's campaign logo, I found it interesting that the March 16th issue of Newsweek included a review of the logo that Obama had created for the projects that will be funded by his economic stimulus bill. Interestingly, the new logo was designed by the same firm that created his campaign logo. According to the Newsweek article, "graphic designers say, (this logo), missed the mark. The individual icons - the plant, the gears - are too generic to send a clear message, and they're crammed into too small a space."

Craigslist Conundrums - A Bracketing Paradox and a Semantically Unclear Preposition

Following is a screen shot from craigslist that has a couple of interesting conundrums.

1. If the travel website is disabled, why do they need bloggers? Or is it a website for disabled travelers? [[disabled][travel website]] or [[disabled travel][website]]

2. Is this an ad looking for someone to write on the subject of caffeine or is it an ad looking for a writer who is drinking caffeine and is therefor "on caffeine?"

Speech Rate by Language

A good friend and I have a mutual friend from France who speaks English very well; however, some of our other mutual friends think that our French friend talks at a faster rate in English than native English speakers do. This brought up the question of whether or not certain languages are spoken more quickly than other languages...there does not seem to be a simple "yes or no" answer to this question. Here are a some of the various themes I came across while looking into speech rates:

Speech rate should be measured by the number of syllables per second.

Languages with multi-syllabic words tend to be spoken at a faster rate.

Speech rate should not be measured by the number of syllables per second because open syllables are spoken more quickly than closed syllables.

Speech rate is influenced by extralinguistic variables (sex, age, profession, emotional state).

Speech rate should take into consideration variations in continuity of speech.

An article in Language and Speech titled "Speech Rate in a Pluricentric Language: A Comparison Between Dutch in Belgium and the Netherlands," presents the findings of a linguistic study that, "confirms the traditional view that speech rate is determined by extralinguistic variables, but also suggests there may be intrinsic tempo differences between language varieties."

While I agree that extralinguistic variables affect speech rates across all languages, I think it would be fascinating to learn more about the tempo differences between languages, which obviously exist as well.

Unusual Word of the Day - Ergasiophobia

As yesterday was St. Patrick's Day, many people may be suffering from ergasiophobia today. And no, this phobia has nothing to do with the build up of gas in the body due to excessive consumption of green beer...Dictionary.com defines ergasiophobia as, "a fear of work of any kind."

Sports Word of the Day - Bracketology

I have been hearing the word bracketology in the news almost nonstop of late and my linguistic mind immediately thinks about bracketing paradoxes when I hear the word. I have posted about bracketing paradoxes a couple of times in the past but I have never posted about bracketology. For those who don't know, bracketology is defined by Reference.com as, "the process of predicting the field of the NCAA Basketball Tournament, named as such because it is commonly used to fill in tournament brackets for the postseason." A bracketologist, "places teams in the tournament in the various regions (East, West, Midwest, and South)."

Perhaps a person who notices bracketing paradoxes all the time should be called linguistic bracketologist.

Additionally, another newer sports word is NIT-ology which is defined as a process similar to that of bracketology that is used for the National Invitation Tournament.

Clear Blue Easy Advertising - Poor Word Choice

This is from a current print ad campaign for Clear Blue Easy Pregnancy Tests:

1 in 4 women can misread

a traditional pregnancy test.

Read this one.

Oh semantics...semantics, semantics, semantics.

Sure 1 in 4 women can misread a traditional pregnancy test but will 1 in 4 women misread a traditional pregnancy ? Give us women a little more credit.

The word can semantically implies that it is possible but not necessarily so.

A better word choice would have been:

1 in 4 women will misread
a traditional pregnancy test.

or, more simply put:

1 in 4 women misreads
a traditional pregnancy test.

By the way, if Clear Blue Easy's research does not support phrasing the statement in a more definitive way, perhaps they should consider a different approach entirely.

Park it...and Learn to Spell

My father sent me this picture that that was snapped by a friend of his. It is from the parking lot of Arizona State University Polytechnic Campus at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. According to my father's friend, this misspelling has been there for about seven months.

One would think that someone (student or staff) from the academic institution would have noticed the spelling error immediately and had it corrected as soon as the paint could be painted over.

Learn to spell...or at least park it and be more attentive.

Phonetic Similarities in Advertising Campaigns - Band of Brothers/Baserunners

The similarities between this new Dick's Sporting Goods print ad for Nike baseball shoes and the print ad for the television miniseries Band of Brothers are striking (pun intended).

The first thing I noticed was the phonetic similarity between the title of the ad and the title of the show. I almost read "Band of Brothers" in my head as I was looking at the Dick's/Nike ad.



The design elements in the ads are similar as well. The text runs right to the edge of the page in both ads and both ads feature a lineup (pun intended again) of something. The Dick's ad has a lineup of Nike shoes and the miniseries ad has a lineup of soldiers.

Trying to sell an unrelated product based on the popularity of a miniseries is a new one on me.

Phonetics, Phonological Processes and the Negative Prefixes in-, im-, ir-, il-

Returning to the subject of words and negative prefixes from yesterday - why is it that some words use the negative in- and others use im-? And what about the negative il- and ir-?

When it comes to choosing between the negative prefixes in-, im-, ir-, and il- phonetics and a phonological process are what dictate how the negative prefix is chosen. The phonological process involved is called assimilation. Assimilation is when a particular sound changes to blend with a sound that occurs either before or after the sound. With prefixes, assimilation occurs when the final sound of the prefix matches or comes close to matching the initial sound of the root word in place of articulation.

The "n - sound" from the in- prefix is produced by pushing the tongue against the alveolar ridge, thus it is called an alveolar consonant. This place of articulation is centrally located and can easily adapt to many other sounds and that is why it is the most common of these four negative prefixes (it is also the reason yesterday's list of words contained primarily in- words).

The im- prefix is used with words that start with a "p - sound" or a "b - sound" because the place of articulation of these sounds, the lips, is the same as that of the "m- sound."

The "l - sound" and "r - sound" have variable places of articulation but both are considered liquids. As such, words that start with the "l - sound" will use the il- negative prefix and words that start with an "r - sound" will use the ir- negative prefix.


In sum, while the choice of negative prefix may seem illogical, irregular, inexact and impractical it can all be explained with phonetics and phonology.

Words With/Without Negative Prefixes

I was just thinking about the fact that certain words seem to be used so much more frequently with their negative prefixes than without their negative prefixes (to the point that these words sound funny without their negative prefixes. Consider the following words:

(in)controvertible
(ir)refutable
(in)consequential
(in)effectual
(in)numerable
(in)sipid
(in)dolent
(in)advertent
(in)or(un)conscionable

These are just the first words like this that came to my mind and the majority have the negative "in" prefix. Please add to the list by clicking the comment button below. Also, can anyone think of a name to give this phenomenon?

The Evolution of Language - A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

According to an article in the March 9th Newsweek, the phrase "terrible, horrible, no good very bad day" has made appearances in 50 news stories about certain politicians since the spring of 2007. The article also mentions that references to the phrase, "all but disappear," a few years prior to that.



The phrase "terrible, horrible, no good very bad day" originated in 1972 as part of the title of a book by Judith Viorst, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.


The author's theory about why the phrase is being used on a recurring basis now, according to the Newsweek article, is that the children who were raised on the book are now the adults who are, "running the world."

Amazing how certain words and phrases come and go and come again. The evolution of language sure is fascinating.

Grammar Humor - Don't end a sentence with a preposition.

From an email I received (an oldie but a goodie) -

Two ladies are sitting next to each other on a plane. One is a Yankee and the other, a Southern Belle. The Southern Belle turns to the Yankee and asks,

"So where y'all from?"

The Yankee turned her steely gaze to the Southern Belle and replied,

"I am from a place where we do not end our sentences with a preposition."

Silence ensues and the flight continues until a few minutes later when the Southern Belle again
turns to the Yankee and asks,

"So, where y'all from, bitch?"

Muzak Falls to Recession after Undergoing Genericide

The March issue of Fortune magazine pointed out that another victim of the current recession is Muzak, which filed for Chapter 11 in February. I always thought that Muzak was simply a made-up synonym for the term elevator music, I did not know that it is actually the name of a company. At least I was half right. The word Muzak was created by Major General George O. Squier, the inventor of the technology used to deliver music to restaurants, stores and offices(and the elevators in those buildings). Apparently, Squier so enjoyed the made-up, trademarked word Kodak, that he created the word Muzak, based on the "mus" sound from music and the "ak" sound from Kodak, for his technology and company.

Now that I know Muzak is actually a company, I think it should definitely be added to the list of brands that have gone through genericide. The word Muzak is so commonly used as a generic term for the type of music heard in waiting rooms and elevators that I am sure I am not the only person who thinks of elevator music and Muzak as synonymous.

Dictionary of Antiquated words

The Virtual Linguist, recently posted about a new dictionary of slang for young people. This dictionary is unusual in that the "slang" is the language of senior citizens. The "Gran Slang" dictionary contains words that are commonly used by older people but unknown to the younger generation. Some of the included words are: higgledy-piggledy, poppycock, scallywag, tomfoolery and whippersnapper. The dictionary also includes a "Youth Slang" section for older readers.

Home and Capital, a British equity release company, claims they produced the dictionary, "to help younger people understand and communicate with their grandparents." I, however, am prone to believe that the dictionary was produced primarily as a marketing tool because as Home and Capital states, "good communication between generations is important...particularly when it comes to financial matters."


At any rate, I initially thought the idea of a "Gran Slang" dictionary was a good one until I thought about the fact that all of the "gran slang" word definitions can be found in any decent dictionary. Now I am left weighing the amount communications between generations would actually benefit from such a dictionary against the amount of laziness such a dictionary would promote in youth by discouraging them from picking up a regular dictionary to look up a word.

Cursive Writing (Penmanship) and Grammatology

The February 23rd issue of Newsweek magazine contained an article by Jessica Bennett titled, "The Curse of Cursive." The article gives a brief history of penmanship and points out that, because of technology, the use of penmanship has been steadily decreasing over the years. While Bennett covers the pros and cons of the loss of penmanship, she makes it clear that she is all for "eras(ing) it for good."

Cursive writing is a system of writing and therefore falls under the science of grammatology which, as discussed yesterday, is the scientific study of writing systems.

I find cursive to be both beautiful and elegant and I think it would be a shame to lose this writing system. What do you grammatologists out there think? Please submit your comments.

Grammatology and Nietzsche's Mustache

My word-loving aunt sent this fun e-mail that I thought I would share. Thank you Aunt Julie.


The Collins English Dictionary defines grammatology as, "the scientific study of writing systems."