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."