Subway's Poor Portmanteau Choice

Am I the only one who has a problem with the name of Subway's new menu item?

There are just too many options for the phonetic realization of the neologism.

To start with, where are the syllable breaks? Is it fla/ti/za or flat/iz/a? Which syllable should be stressed? Also, if it is made to rhyme with pizza, it sounds like either fla/teets/a or flat/eets/a, depending on the syllable break.

I get that it is a portmanteau of flatbread + pizza. But it sure is a phonetically problematic portmanteau.

Word Up Weekly - Noncondimental

I am amazed that one of my sons does not like condiments. To me, there are times when the condiment is the best part of the meal and the food is simply a condiment-delivery utensil.

At any rate, I woke up in the middle of the night recently and a word I had never heard formed in my head (I am weird like that). It seemed to be the perfect word to describe my son's affliction. The next day I googled the word to see if it had ever been used* and, if so, how it is officially defined...

There were plenty of results in the link headlines; however, when clicked upon none of them actually included definitions for the word with the prefix. Most returned a definition for the noun condiment and some added the adjective condimental, but alas, NO noncondimental. The word noncommital has its own dictionary entry, so why not noncondimental.

Add a prefix and create a word.

noncondimental
adj.
(of a person or a person's behavior) Refusing to use any items intended to enhance the flavor of food.

*Although I never found an official definition, it should be noted that I did find the word used in an online Catholic Encyclopedia.

Neologisms of Late - Sofalizing

A dear friend recently brought a new word to my attention, on Facebook of all places. Here it is with its MacMillan Dictionary Buzzword definition:

sofalizing also sofalising
noun [uncountable]
the activity of using the Internet or other electronic devices to socialize with people from home, rather than meeting them face to face

sofalize also sofalise
verb [intransitive]
sofalizer also sofaliser
noun [countable]

'Millions of us have given up socialising for "sofalising" – talking to pals via phones and the net instead of going out.'
THE SUN 11TH NOVEMBER 2010

'Researchers claim nearly a quarter of us sofalise every night – rather than go to a pub, club or village hall to meet people face to face, we plop down on the sofa … spending hours updating our profiles on social networking sites, chatting online or Tweeting …'
DAILY MAIL 15TH NOVEMBER 2010

'There is even an army of "extreme sofalisers" – the three per cent who spend a staggering 25 hours or more each week talking to friends via electronic devices.'
TELEGRAPH, UK 30TH NOVEMBER 2010

The word reminded me of this xkcd comic.


I especially love the mouseover on the xkcd site:

I'm waiting for the day when, if you tell someone "I'm from the internet", instead of laughing they just ask "Oh, what part?"

Speaking of xkcd, here are some excerpts from the About Page that I got a kick out of* (out of which I got a kick?)

What does XKCD stand for?

It's not actually an acronym. It's just a word with no phonetic pronunciation -- a treasured and carefully-guarded point in the space of four-character strings.

Is xkcd translated?

Translating humor is often difficult between groups that speak the same language, let alone totally different cultures. So it's inherently a hard problem. However, a reader does translate xkcd strips into Spanish, which can be found at es.xkcd.com.

How do I write "xkcd"? There's nothing in Strunk and White about this.

For those of us pedantic enough to want a rule, here it is: The preferred form is "xkcd", all lower-case. In formal contexts where a lowercase word shouldn't start a sentence, "XKCD" is an okay alternative. "Xkcd" is frowned upon.

Teabonics Schmebonics

This photo illustrates what has been dubbed in political circles (and written about on numerous language blogs including Language Log, Mighty Red Pen, Guardian and NYDailyNews.com to name a few) "Teabonics".

The photo is from a flickr post that includes a collection of similar photos as well as the following description:

"These are signs seen primarily at Tea Party Protests.

They all feature 'creative' spelling or grammar.

This new dialect of the English language shall be known as 'Teabonics.'"

It seems obvious from the description that the term "Teabonics" is a blend of "Tea Party" and "Ebonics".

Interestingly, "Ebonics" is itself a blended word according to the following entry found on merriam-webster.com:
Ebonics
Pronunciation: \ē-ˈbä-niks, i-, e-\
Function: noun plural but singular in construction
Etymology: blend of ebony and phonics
Date: 1973
: black english: a nonstandard variety of English spoken by some African-Americans

What bothers me most about the neologism "Teabonics" comes from the contradiction in its definition with that of the definition of "Ebonics", upon which is supposedly based.

The "phonics" portion of the Ebonics definition is defined by merriam-webster.com as: the science of sound : acoustics. And even the definition of Black English refers to the fact that Ebonics is a variety of spoken English.

So if Teabonics is based on the creative spelling or grammar found on written signs, why not name it something that has to do with writing and not sounds.

Teagraphy or Teapography, anyone?

Newsweek Magazine's Weird Word Choice

The September 21st issue of Newsweek magazine includes an article titled "Born to be Big". Following is the opening sentence of the article:

"It's easy enough to find culprits in the nation's epidemic of obesity, starting with tubs of buttered popcorn at the multiplex and McDonald's 1,220-calorie deluxe breakfasts, and moving on to the couch potato-fication of America."

I am wondering if any particular word in this sentence bothers readers as much as it bothers me.

Do you see which word I am referring to?

Not yet.

Well.....

The word that really gets to me is "couch potato-fication".

A morphological analysis of the formation of the word "couch potato-fication" suggests that the suffix "-ify" (in the form of "-fy") was added to the compound noun "couch potato" resulting in the verb "couch potato-fy" meaning, "to make or cause one to be a couch potato." Then the suffix "-ation" was added to the verb "couch potato-fy" resulting in the noun "couch potato-fication" meaning, "the state or quality of making or causing one to be a couch potato."

While "-fy" is an accepted variant of the suffix "-ify", according to encyclopedia.com the suffix normally takes the form "-ify". Additionally, the combination of the suffixes "-ify" and "-ation" form what is considered a separate suffix "-ification". The suffix "-ification" is highly productive as can be seen by the following unexhausted list of words.

amplification
beatification
certification
clarification
classification
codification
deification
demystification
disqualification
diversification
edification
falsification
fortification
glorification
gratification
identification
justification
mystification
notification
ossification
personification
purification
qualification
quantification
ramification
ratification
rectification
reunification
sanctification
simplification
solidification
specification
stratification
unification
verification

Had the Newsweek article used the suffix in its known form, I probably would not have even thought twice about the neologism. However, without the initial /I/ or short-i sound found in the suffix, Newsweek's use stuck out like a phonetically sore thumb.

Granted the "-ification" suffix usually follows a consonant, it doesn't always, as exhibited by the word "deification". So based upon the linguistic template of "deification" and the known phonological pattern of the suffix, I think that "couch potato-ification" would have been a better choice for this neologism.

By the way, another thought that entered my mind when first reading this word was, "did they mean to say "couch potato-fixation", as in our nation has a fixation on the ability to be couch potatoes? As a matter of fact, when googling the suffix "-fication" without its initial letter "i" as Newsweek used it, Google responded with, "Did you mean: -fixation".

###

The article is also available on the Newsweek website and, interestingly, does not include the hyphen between potato and fication. Whether the word is written as "couch potato-fication" or "couch potatofication" it still sounds odd to me.

Simpsons, Meet the Simpsons

I grew up watching The Flintstones; however, as I do not watch much TV these days I was surprised to find out that the expression "meh" came from The Simpsons. This discovery was made when I commented about my sons' frequent use of the word "meh" on an Engine Room post about neologisms. When I made the comment I had no idea where the word came from; I was simply stating my dislike for the expression. Thank you for filling me in J.D.

By the way, my teenage sons also tell me they are "hungy" all the time and it drives me crazy because I think they are speaking in baby talk. Little did I know, the word "hungy" is also a Simpson's coinage.

I now know that there are numerous Simpson's Dictionaries and word lists all over the Internet (too many to give credit to) and I certainly don't want to take away from any of them, but in honor of my sons' summer vacation I thought I would share some of my favorites.

Adultivity: The state or condition of being an adult.

Banjologist: An expert in banjo based musical styles.

Beginualize: A portmanteau of "actualize" and "begin."

Car Hole: A garage.

Craptacular: A portmanteau of "crappy" and "spectacular."

Deceleratrix: The service brakes on a car.

Embiggen: To make something better. The opposite of belittle.
Introubulate: The act of getting someone into trouble.

Jerkass: A portmanteau of "jerk" and "jackass."

Knowitallism: A word that describes Lisa Simpson’s personality.

Learning juice: Beer.

Malparkage: The state or condition of being illegally parked.

Poindextrose: The chemical which is emitted by geeks, dorks, and four-eyes.

Pointy kitty: A rat.
Telepanhandling: A portmanteau of "telemarketing" and "panhandling."

and last but not least, my personal favorite

Word hole: A mouth.

For the boys:
Meh: An expression of adolescent indifference.
Hungy: Homer’s pronunciation of the word “hungry,” shortened because of hunger strike fatigue (not baby talk, to my surprise).

Here is a link to one of the more thorough Simpson's word lists I came across at wikiSimpsons.

Food Language - Homemade vs Housemade

The June 1st issue of Newsweek magazine includes an article about the current trend that has restaurants labelling menu items with the neologism "housemade" instead of the well-known adjective "homemade."

In regards to the word homemade, Chef Brian Bistong from Braeburn is quoted as saying, "The word has lost its meaning, it sounds either amateurish (Aunt Edna's homemade pie) or hokey (Chevy's homemade ranch dressing). Housemade has more cache."

The article also states that many chefs "insist that the shift from homemade to housemade is a mere linguistic correction; one dines 'on the house' after all."

The Baltimore Sun restaurant critic, Elizabeth Large, posted the following comment from a friend on her blog -

"What's with restaurants calling things 'homemade' anyway? Does someone live at the restaurant? Did the chef make it at home before coming to work?"

Large responds that the reason restaurants do this is that "they want to convey that their food is just like the food that you could lovingly fix for yourself at home, only better."

In regards to the difference between "homemade" and "housemade," Large points out that

"'housemade' isn't any more or less accurate when you think about it; a restaurant isn't a house either."

In my opinion, the difference between the two words is a simple matter of subtle semantic innuendo and status. A Ritz Carlton restaurant is far more likely to have a "housemade" item on their menu than a Big Boy restaurant is, just as a Big Boy restaurant is far more likely to have a "homemade" item on their menu than a Ritz Carlton restaurant is.

By the way - I don't know about you, but I can't stop chuckling at the name of the restaurant critic from the Baltimore Sun.