Suffix-Based Advertising Campaign is an Exercise in Futility

I think I see what the advertising agency was aiming for by centering this advertising campaign around the "-ility" suffix, based on the positive aspects of the definitions for the suffix listed below.

-ility
(Latin: a suffix; meaning, ability, ability to) wordinfo.info

-ility 
a combination of -ile and -ity, used to form abstract nouns from adjectives with stems in -ile: agility; civility; ability. dictionary.com

However, what immediately popped into my mind were the following words:

debility

fragility

futility

hostility

senility

volatility

invisibility

irritability

inaccessibility

irresponsibility

susceptibility

Word Formation - An Ill-Formed Word in Newsweek

There is an article in the October 26th issue of Newsweek about a tablet computer that is supposedly in the works at Apple. The article titled "The Hype is Right" contains a hyphenated compound word that I have to believe was created by the article's writer, Daniel Lyons, because a google search returns no results. While I am all for using affixes and compounding to form new words, the newly formed word as it appears in the sentence below (excerpted from the article) makes little sense semantically.

"Just as with the company's iPhone a few years ago, blogs have been buzzing about the still-unveiled iTablet for months, featuring pictures of what the iTablet might look like, arguments over the features that the iTablet will have, leaks from partners that Apple has supposedly approached to develop content for the iTablet—you get the idea."

My guess is that the writer was attempting to put a new twist on the phrase "yet to be unveiled" based on the following adverbial definition of the word "yet" found on merriam-webster.com and the fact that "yet" and "still" are synonyms.

yet 2 a (1) : up to now : so far hasn't —often used to imply the negative of a following infinitive.

However, without the infinitive "to be", it is not semantically clear that the verb "unveiled" should be interpreted in the negative in the compound "still-unveiled".

Confusing if you ask me. What do you think?

Some Pre-Halloween, Costume-Related Word Play

Just received this cute palindromic, picture e-mail from my brother. Thanks for the laugh, Bro.

A palindrome is a word, phrase or sentence that can be read the same way forwards or backwards.

Conjunction Malfunction

"Burns up to 100 calories and more."

Am I the only one who thinks "or" would have been the better functioning conjunction in this sentence?

Semantically (and logically), the options of calorie burning should be the correlative "either...or", not the coordinating "and".

That is Phonetically (ab)Surd

Just recently I heard the word "surd" for the first time. My initial thought was that it was a slang-like shortening of the word "absurd". How wrong I was.

According to Answers.com, the word "surd" has the following two definitions:
1. Mathematics. An irrational number, such as √2.
2. Linguistics. A voiceless sound in speech.

I am amazed that in all of my linguistics studies and research I have never encountered the word. On the other hand, I guess I shouldn't be that amazed because a google search returns results that primarily pertain to mathematics.

Digging a bit deeper, the Online Etymology Dictionary includes this history:
1551, "irrational" (of numbers), from L. surdus "unheard, silent, dull," possibly related to susurrus "a muttering, whispering" (see susurration). The mathematical sense is from the use of L. surdus to translate Ar. (jadhr) asamm "deaf (root)," itself a loan-translation of Gk. alogos, lit. "speechless, without reason" (Euclid bk. x, Def.). In Fr., sourd remains the principal word for "deaf."

T'resting.

Put the Rhyme in the Syllable

If it wasn't for the internal structure of syllables, beautifully humorous poetry (the likes of below from Toothpaste for Dinner) would not be possible.

Onset...Nucleus...Coda_Onset...Nucleus...Coda_Onset...Nucleus...Coda

/p/....../o/..........Ø____Ø........./ə/.........Ø___/tr/........./i/........Ø

/n/....../o/..........Ø____Ø......../ə/..........Ø___/tr/......../i/.........Ø

Does McDonald's Need a Lesson in Semantics?

When passing this billboard on the expressway, the first thing that enters my mind is the term "trophy wife". I have to believe that a comparison of "trophy burger" to "trophy wife" is what the ad agency was aiming for when they created this ad for McDonald's. However, I am not so sure that the intended comparison is the best choice semantically for this advertising slogan.





While it is true that some people believe a trophy wife is a good thing, the term is also considered to be quite negative by others.


"To some, the term “trophy wife” connotes an enviable achievement, while to others it's an idiomatic synonym for 'idiot.'" - AskMen.com


"Trophy wife: Stupid bimbo, who sits at home all day giving out to the pool boy, while reading Hello! and OK magazine, because her own life is so pathetic." - Urban Dictionary


I don't think I would risk the chance of having people associate my burger with the negative aspects of a trophy wife.

Linguistics Quotation Favorites - Virginia Woolf

"Language is wine upon the lips."

-Virginia Woolf

The Journalist vs. the Linguist

This picture is from the menu of a regional chain restaurant. I chuckle every time I see it.


Who would order just three (3) cheese balls? That certainly doesn't seem like very many - unless they are unusually large cheese balls.

Or is it "three cheese" balls?

The journalist in me tells me that the menu writer was correct in following the AP rules that specify spelling out whole numbers below 10.

The linguist in me tells me that if the menu writer had used a hyphen between the words "three" and "cheese" he or she would have avoided the bracketing paradox that makes me chuckle.

[[three][cheese balls]] or [[three cheese][balls]]

THREE-CHEESE BALLS

Differentiating Between Phonemes - Theta and Eth

While teaching my class last week I was looking for a better way to illustrate the difference between the "theta" and "eth" phonemes because they are particularly hard for some people to differentiate.

I came across a wonderful post on Notes from a Linguistic Mystic that I have excerpted below:

A Tale of Two TH’s

Say “This thistle” a few times. Now, pay very close attention to the TH sounds at the beginning of each word. Put your hand on your Adam’s Apple (or equivalent area on your neck) while you say them. After a few tries, you’ll notice that, in the words of a friend of mine, the “TH” in “This” is “more buzzy”, or, put more scientifically, voiced. This sound, the TH in “This, That, The, There, Then, Those…”, is called an Eth (pronounced with a voiced, Eth sound). In the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), it has this symbol:

The TH in “thistle”, or “theater, theory, think, thought, throw, through…” is called a Theta, and is Eth’s voiceless counterpart (Theta is to Eth as T is to D). Theta’s IPA symbol is, shockingly, a theta, as shown here: Aside from voicing, there is no difference between them. The sounds are produced with the tongue in the same position, the tongue is doing the same thing for both, and all the other various phonetic phactors (I couldn’t resist) are the same. The only difference between the the Theta and the Eth is vocal fold vibration, but what a difference it makes.

-Thank you Linguistic Mystic, this is one of the pest (Oops, I meant to say 'best' but I temporarily lost my voice) examples I have seen.

Victor Borge's Inflationary Language

Mini Word Play

This is a picture of a car that we pass frequently and a few days ago my son asked me what type of car it is. When I responded that it is a Mini Cooper, he immediately stated, "nice mini skirt."

I love that my son likes to play with words as much as I do.