The Scripps National Spelling Bee - 2009 Winning Word

For those who have not yet heard, the winning word of this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee was "Laodicean," which is defined by freedictionary.com as: "of or relating to Laodicea, or indifferent in matters of religion."
Congratulations to Kavya Shivashankar, the 13-year-old winner from Olathe, Kansas. Excellent job.

***

On a separate note, one of the earlier words in the finals was "brachyology," which sounds a lot like the word "bracketology" of which I have previously posted.

A brachyology is defined by reference.com as: a figure of speech that is an abbreviated expression. An example is the omission of "good" in "good morning."

Linguistics Cartoon Favorites - Language Development

The Curious Case of the Camel

The case of the camel is no mystery, it is actually just a writing style that uses a different variation of the standard upper and lower case orthographic mix.

CamelCase is the method of writing compound words or phrases by starting each individual word with an upper case letter and not using spacing between the individual words - which results in a word that looks like a camel with humps.

This style is popular in branding and can be recognized in many corporate names, including: MasterCard, BlackBerry, RadioShack, YouTube, and MySpace.

By the way, the CamelCase orthographic method has some other fun and descriptive names too - BumpyCaps, BumpyCase, CamelBack, CamelCaps, HumpBack, and NerdCaps to name a few (a double-few to be semantically accurate).

Thank you JD (Engine Room) for calling my attention to this fun word.

Adjective Noun Verbing Adverbially

I found this on StumbleUpon and I absolutely love it (but I would have used the word "adverbially").

A fun illustration and a great way to teach the parts of speech.

From ventrella.com

What is Polysemy and How Does it Differ From Homonymy?

There are numerous word types that by semantic definition are hard to define without context. Included in this category are polysemes and homonyms. Traditionally, polysemes and homonyms are similar in that they each have variations of meaning for phonologically identical words.

Homonyms can be further broken down into homophones; words that are pronounced identically though spelled differently, and homographs; words that are pronounced and spelled identically. In both instances of homonymy the requirement is for the common words to have unrelated meanings.

Homophones:

bare - to uncover

bear - the mammal

Homographs:

bank - the financial institute

bank - the side of a river

In the case of polysemy, the reference is to a single word with different senses of the same basic meaning. Polysemes are also distinguished from homonyms because they are etymologically related.

Polysemes:

crawl - to move slowly on hands and knees
crawl - to move slowly in traffic
crawl - to be covered with moving things
crawl - to swim the crawl

Mackinaw vs. Mackinac - Spelling and Pronunciation

A reader recently inquired about the two different versions of spelling Mackinac/Mackinaw in Michigan place names. The following excerpt from a Joe Grimm article that appeared in the Detroit Free Press is a wonderful explanation for the variation in spelling and the proper pronunciation.

How do you say it? It ends in "awe," never "ack". Never, ever. Make Mackinac rhyme with Saginaw. Doesn't that sound nicer? If you simply MUST say "ack", you can call the bridge "The Big Mac." That's the only time you can say "ack".

So, what's with the spelling? Well, it's confusing. So, while we're at it, let's get the spelling right, too.

Mackinac Island
Mackinac Bridge
Straits of Mackinac
Fort Michilimackinac
Mackinaw City

Why the confusion? Blame the French. And the British. You can even blame the area's Native Americans. When Europeans got here (the French first), they picked up on all these words spoken by the local people and tried to write them down in their own language.

Are there other Mackinaw things? You bet. A mackinaw can also be cloth or coat made from thick woolen material, pronounced with an "awe."

What does Mackinac - or Mackinaw - even mean? Mackinac - and Mackinaw - are abbreviations for Michinnimakinong. Michinnimakinong is four words mashed together; mish-inni-maki-nong. In English they mean great connecting sound fault land or place. That, of course, is a good way to describe the Mackinac area.

The Grocers' Apostrophe

The grocers' apostrophe, also known as the greengrocers' apostrophe, is defined by WordSpy as "An apostrophe erroneously inserted before the final 's' in the plural form of a word. Also: greengrocer's apostrophe."

Of course it is not just grocers that have a habit of putting apostrophes where they shouldn't be, examples of this erroneous behavior can also be found at restaurants, hardware stores, gas stations and pretty much anywhere there is a sign.

What I find humorous is that no one seems to agree on where the apostrophe should go in the word "grocer(')s(') apostrophe."

Silly Snowclone Spotted

On a recent drive home from northern Michigan, I spotted this great example of a snowclone (Don't worry, I didn't take the picture while driving - my son gets photographic credit for this one).

Silly Boys Trucks Are For Girls

A snowclone is a phrase that is produced by using a clichéd phrase as a linguistic template. The template for the above snowclone is: Silly X, Y are for Z. And in case the original clichéd phrase is escaping you, here it is:

The word snowclone was coined by a Language Log reader as a label for these phrases based on the mistaken belief that Eskimos have an unusually large number of words for snow.

“If Eskimos have N words for snow, X surely have Y words for Z.”

Asperger Syndrome Apostrophe Clarification

The Spring/Summer edition of Oakland University's Alumni Magazine has an interesting sidebar to an article about Asperger Syndrome. The sidebar is titled "Asperger not Asperger's" and it reviews the use of the possessive form in the name of medical conditions that are eponyms.

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) along with the American Medical Association style manual prefer the non-possessive form since the person it was named after never 'owned' the disease."

While the sidebar does note Legionnaires' Disease as an exception, it includes Down Syndrome, Alzheimer Disease, and Crohn Disease as conditions that should appear without the possessive apostrophe.

Linguistics Cartoon Favorites - Hanging English Teachers

Abbreviated Word = Semantic Disaster

This is a sign for a car wash in northern Michigan. Every time I see it I cringe.


Some words should just not be abbreviated in certain contexts.

I'm sure the owners of this car wash used wiz as an abbreviation for wizard but when I see the sign I automatically think of the slang definition of wiz...and I certainly would not want to get my car washed in urine.

Crimanetly...It's an Idiolect

A common expression of irritation heard in my family has always been the word crimanetly. It is a word that I can remember my grandfather using way back when and a word that I continue to use on a regular basis today. I like it because it does not sound a crass as some of the more commonly used expressions of irritation. I also like it because it is not a widely known word...I have always considered it to be part of my family's idiolect.

According to worldwidewords.org, crimanetly is an elaborated version of criminy (both of which are mild exclamations or cries of astonishment or annoyance) that The Dictionary of American Regional English lists as being found in regional dialects in the northern states of the central and western US, together with California.

Dictionary.com lists the etymology of the word criminy as, "Italian crimine 'crime'; euphemism for 'Christ.'"

What is a Word Nanny?

The Supreme Court's decision to uphold the Federal Communications Commission's right to fine television networks for, "the unplanned, fleeting use of a curse word on live television," has been a hot topic in the news this past week. Many news outlets have pointed out the fact that the real issue here is whether or not the FCC policy violates the 1st Amendment. What I want to point out is the compound word used by the Chicago Tribune to describe the FCC's behavior - word nanny.

Following is an excerpt from an article titled "Word Nannies" that appeared on May 2nd's chicagotribune.com:

"A change at the five-member FCC is a more likely resolution. The agency is set for a major overhaul with three new commissioners coming on board. We urge them to avoid being word nannies."

What a great word; and from what I can tell it has not been used prior to this article. A Google search for "word nanny" returns numerous hits about the word "nanny;" a Google search for "word nannies" returns the original Chicago Tribune article, references to the article from other news outlets, and forum discussions about The Supreme Court's decision.

So...what is a word nanny?

If a nanny is a woman whose job is looking after young children, then by extension a word nanny is a woman whose job is looking after the words that young children hear.

When it comes to word forms, we all know that "nanny" is the feminine and "manny" is the masculine, but because FCC commissioners can be male or female, the Chicago Tribune's use of the term "word nanny" is neuter.

Semantics Humor

Just received this hilarious email -

It was once said that a black man would be president "when pigs fly."

Indeed, 100 days into Obama's presidency. . . Swine flu!

Phrase Etymology - A Pair of Pants

The other day my son asked me why we say "a pair of pants" when pants are only one thing. Of course I immediately said it is because a pair of pants has two legs...just like a pair of glasses has two lenses and a pair of scissors has two blades. "Why not a pair of t-shirts then...t-shirts have two sleeves," he questioned.

According to Michael Quinoin at World Wide Words, pants are a pair because, "before the days of modern tailoring, such garments, whether underwear or outerwear, were indeed made in two parts, one for each leg. The pieces were put on each leg separately and then wrapped and tied or belted at the waist (just like cowboys’ chaps). The plural usage persisted out of habit even after the garments had become physically one piece. However, a shirt was a single piece of cloth, so it was always singular."

New Portmanteau Word Spotted - Greenternship

This is a screen print from craigslist with an ad for a new type of internship (third ad from the top on Wednesday April 22nd).

Recycling for Charities Summer Greenternship

The opened ad specifies that this charity is seeking qualified interns and that "candidates should have an interest/knowledge of green issues and initiatives."

So this is an internship with a charity that is concerned with green initiatives...which gives us a new portmanteau word: green + internship = greenternship.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee - Fun Facts

With the Scripps National Spelling Bee fast approaching, I decided to go to the official site to check the television schedule for this year's competition. In addition to listing the schedule and other important information for parents, students, and teachers; the site includes the following fun facts:

This year there will be 293 spellers— the greatest number in the history of the event.


Bee Week 2009 marks the first visit to the nation’s capital for 118 spellers.


The spellers range in age from 9 to 15 years old, but two-thirds are either 13 or 14 years old.


The pronouncer, Dr. Jacques A. Bailly, is fluent in French and German, and he teaches ancient Greek and Latin.


English is not the first language of 33 spellers, and 117 spellers speak languages other than English.

All I can say is - WOW.

Linguistics Cartoon Favorites - Passing Lane Ahead

How to Understand the Difference Between Accents and Dialects

Most people are familiar with the New York accent, the Boston accent and the Southern accent. However, the term "accent" really refers only to pronunciation. There are different pronunciations, vocabularies, phrases and grammatical rules that have been documented all over the United States. These are what are known as "dialects." Here's how to distinguish between the two terms.



A dialect is generally considered a mutually intelligible variety of a language. What this means is a dialect is different from a language in that different dialects of the same language can be understood by anyone who speaks the language, while different languages can not be understood by people who don't share a language. Just as most everyone speaks a language, everyone also speaks one dialect or another of that language.

The formation of a dialect begins when people from different language backgrounds come together and learn to speak a common language. The influence of the language backgrounds is what creates a variation on the language that is being learned.

Dialects take time to develop and also require that the group of people live close together while at the same time having some form of isolation from other populations. This isolation can be geographical, political, or religious amongst other forms.

Standard American English can be thought of as the median dialect or what the majority of people in the United States perceive to be the dialect from which all other dialects diverge. The reason people develop the idea that there is a standard dialect is that education and mass media propagate it. That is to say, this is the English we are taught is proper in our high school English classes, it is the way we hear newscasters speak on television and it is usually what we read in the newspaper.

When a person speaks differently, this does not mean that that person has poor grammar, is using sloppy, lazy speech or is any less intelligent than those who speak what is considered Standard American English. That person may sound different because he or she is following the rules of the dialect which do not always coincide with the rules of the language.

How to Pronounce Brett Favre's Last Name

Sportscasters and fans alike, when talking about Brett Favre, pronounce his last name as "Far -Ve." But if you pause for a moment to look at the spelling, you will notice it does not seem to match up with the pronunciation. So how should his name be pronounced and is there a correct way?



Understand that when people pronounce Favre as "Far -Ve," it is a linguistic phenomenon called "metathesis." Metathesis occurs when two neighboring sounds in a word switch places.

Other examples of metathesis in English include "comfortable" pronounced as "comfterble," "spaghetti" pronounced as "pasghetti," and "asterisk" pronounced as "asteriks."

Metathesis is a controversial linguistic phenomenon. Some linguists believe metathesis is primarily the result of speech errors and childrens' talk, and is not a regular process. Other linguists believe metathesis can be a regularly occurring process of phonology that affects only a small number of words or forms in a particular language.

If the phenomenon of metathesis is removed from the phonological equation, the name Favre should be pronounced "Fav-Re."

Image credits.

Another Driving Lesson - Sign Semantics - DO NOT PASS WHEN OPPOSING TRAFFIC PRESENT

In Michigan two lane roads often have alternating passing lanes as shown in this illustration.

The side of the road with the single lane is always marked with this road sign.

I have been in a car many a times with different people and upon seeing this sign have heard the comment, "Well, duh, isn't that obvious." And I always find myself explaining the following:

The sign means that if you are in the single lane and the opposing lane has the extra passing lane, you may only pass if there are no cars in either of the opposing lanes. In other words, if there is a car in the far left opposing lane but the opposing lane closest to you is open, you may not use the open lane to pass because there is still opposing traffic present.

In sum, the context of where the sign appears is what makes the message on the sign not quite as obvious as one would think.

Verizon Ad - Poor Word Choice and Semantically Conflicting Verb Tenses

From a Verizon magazine ad:

If your small business doesn't have tech people, it does now.

Sounds like a magic trick (a variation of "now you see it, now you don't") except in this case the trick is not having AND having tech people, both at the same exact time according to the wording.

The problem with the wording in this ad is that both occurrences of the verb "to do" are simple present tense versions and without the use of the deictic adverb now in both clauses, it appears that these contradictory notions occur together in time.

Suggestions for improved word choice:

Now your small business doesn't have tech people, now it does. (Deictic adverb directing temporal interpretation for both clauses)

If your small business doesn't have tech people, it will now. (Present tense followed by future tense)

If your small business didn't have tech people, it does now. (Past tense followed by present tense)

Viagra Advertising - Engrish Humor

If the light stays on for more than 4 hours, call your erectrician.

Language Peeves - "I've got to" vs "I have to"

From a reader -

I would like to hear your take on people saying, "I've got to..." rather than "I have to..."

The comparison here is between two phrases with the modal verb "have" that are almost identical semantically.

Both "I have got to" and "I have to" are used to indicate an obligation that has been imposed upon the speaker by another person (if the speaker was talking about a self-imposed obligation, the modal "must" would be used).

Both phrases are grammatically correct and the only real difference is the formality. "I have got to" is generally considered less formal than "I have to."

More Fun with Idioms

Television writers sure have been getting creative with idioms lately and I love writing about idioms, so here we go:

I wasn't born yesterday became I remember yesterday and I wasn't born during it on an episode of Desperate Housewives.

I could give a rat's ass became where did I put that rat's ass I could give on an episode of Pushing Daisies.

You can't beat a dead horse became he must be from the dead horse beating department (don't remember where I heard this one).

Playing with Idioms - Silence is Golden

Linguistics Cartoon Favorites - 50%Off Printers

Language Peeves - Loose vs Lose

A language peeve from a new friend and fellow blogger Only Half Nuts -

I think my biggest peeve is people interchanging loose and lose. (As in, I want to loose weight instead of lose weight...or loosing your mind instead of losing it...which is what happens to me when I read this mistake:)

This is purely a spelling error and it is an annoying one indeed.

Here is one way to help people remember the proper spelling of each word:

In order to lose weight, you need to lose an "o" from the word "loose." And if your clothing is too loose it is probably because the additional "o" in the word "loose" adds more space between the "l" and the "s" in the word "lose."