Where Have "U" Gone?

A friend recently spotted this odd-looking sign and snapped a picture for me.

If you are wondering why it is odd-looking, let me tell "U".

The correct spelling of the street name is "Beaubien", as shown on this sign at a local imbibing establishment.

By the way, the street is named for Antoine Beaubien, one of Detroit's original ribbon farm owners who was also a Colonel in the Detroit Militia.

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?

Mmm Mmm Ambiguous Advertising (includes vagueness and a spelling error )

This is a screen shot from the website of one of my family's favorite pizza places.

Is the advertised special a [[large family] [deal]] ?

Or a [[large][family deal]] ?
If the advertised special is for a [[large family] [deal]] as the ad layout suggests, is it for a family that is large in number or a family whose members are large in size?

I'm pretty sure the advertisers meant the advertised special to be interpreted as a [[large][family deal]] because the special includes a large pizza and a large salad, but the word choice and the way the words are arranged on the two different lines make the deal both ambiguous and vague at the same time.

Also, no matter how "mmm, mmm good" their pizza is, I still don't like the extra "m" in the box about on-line ordering.

Make No Exception for Incorrect Spelling

I could comment about the odd mixture of upper and lower case letters on this sign, or about the overuse of exclamation points, but what really jumps out at me is the incorrect spelling of the word "exception".

PLeAse WAit here for Snow Bus Shuttle

thanks!!

NO DOGS!!

No EcepTions!!

(except for my dog, of course)

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."

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.