Editor's Corner

Call them malapropisms, phonological word substitutions, or Dogberryisms, these amusing slips of the tongue seem like a good topic for a Friday afternoon. Here is a brief history of the malapropism from Literary Devices, followed by some examples from literature, television, and other sources.

Malapropism, from French mal a propos (inappropriate), is a use of an incorrect word in place of a similar sounding word that results in a nonsensical and humorous expression.

The word malapropism comes from “Mrs. Malaprop,” a character in Richard Sheridan’s comedy The Rivals, who has a habit of replacing words with incorrect and absurd utterances producing a humorous effect. A mis-speech is considered malapropism when it sounds similar to the word it replaces but has an entirely different meaning. For instance, replacing acute with obtuse is not a malapropism because both words have a contrasting meanings but do not sound similar. Using obtuse for abstruse, on the other hand, is a malapropism, as there is a difference in meaning and both words sound similar.

These characteristics make malapropism different from other errors in speech such as eggcorns and spoonerisms.

Note: “Dogberryism” is a synonym for malapropism. The name comes from Officer Dogberry in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, who often makes this type of error.

Examples:

· "He is the very pineapple of politeness."(pinnacle) – Mrs. Malaprop in Richard Sheridan’s The Rivals)

· Officer Dogberry said, "Our watch, sir, have indeed comprehended two auspicious persons" (apprehended two suspicious persons)

· "The police are not here to create disorder, they’re here to preserve disorder." – Richard Daley, former mayor of Chicago

· "Texas has a lot of electrical votes." (electoral votes) – Yogi Berra

· "Well, that was a cliff-dweller." (cliff-hanger) – Wes Westrum

· "Create a little dysentery among the ranks." (dissension) – Christopher Moltisanti from "The Sopranos"

· "Last will and tentacle…" (testament) – Archie Bunker from "All in the Family"

· "In closing, I’d like to say Molotov!" (Mazel Tov) – Archie Bunker from "All in the Family"

· "It will take time to restore chaos and order." – George W. Bush

Unattributed examples:

· Rainy weather can be hard on the sciences. (sinuses)

· Alice said she couldn’t eat crabs or any other crushed Asians. (crustaceans)

· You could have knocked me over with a fender. (feather)

· Unfortunately, my affluence over my niece is very small. (influence)

· A rolling stone gathers no moths. (moss)

· Good punctuation means not to be late. (punctuality)

· The flood damage was so bad they had to evaporate the city. (evacuate)

· Dad says the monster is just a pigment of my imagination. (figment)

· Everybody in the company has their own cuticle. (cubicle)

· I remember because I have photogenic memory. (photographic)

These examples and others can be found at About.com and Your Dictionary.

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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As I sit here with my nose pressed up against the window, eagerly awaiting the books I ordered about mondegreens (misheard song lyrics), something tells me it is time for another contest! No Mad Libs this time—just the promise of a hot new $25 Amazon gift card to the reader out there who can entice the most people to join the Editor’s Corner for the first time.

Here are the details, my language-loving associates:

Who: You and any of your JHA friends who don’t already subscribe to the Editor’s Corner.

What: Email kchurch and ask me to sign your friends up (with their permission) OR
have your friends email me directly and mention that you sent them. The person who brings me the most new subscribers will win the Amazon gift card!

When: Between now and Friday, January 31, 2014 at 12:00 noon (PT).

Where: In the magic land of email.

Why: Because it’s fun!

If your friends need a reason, tell them it’s educational, interesting, thought-provoking, helpful, and whatever else it might be to you. If your friends want to have a look before they leap, they can cruise around the website for a taste of daily grammar goodness. The formatting isn’t always great, but the information is there. https://episystechpubs.com/

Thank you and good luck!

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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Good morning!

I had so many of you Anglophiles writing to me yesterday about other words that are spelled differently between American and British English, I decided to send you the remainder of this article today rather than stringing you along for an extra day. I somehow misplaced the link for the list below, but for similar information on British and American spellings, click here and here.

British and American Spelling

Words ending in -yse

Verbs in British English that end in -yse are always spelled -yze in American English:

Words ending in a vowel plus l

In British spelling, verbs ending in a vowel plus l double the l when adding endings that begin with a vowel. In American English, the l is not doubled:

Words spelled with double vowels

British English words that are spelled with the double vowels ae or oe are just spelled with an e in American English:

Note that in American English, certain terms, such as archaeology, keep the ae spelling as standard, although the spelling with just the e (i.e. archeology) is usually acceptable as well.

Nouns ending with –ence

Some nouns that end with -ence in British English are spelled -ense in American English:

Nouns ending with –ogue

Some nouns that end with -ogue in British English end with either -og or -ogue in American English:

The distinctions here are not hard and fast. The spelling analogue is acceptable but not very common in American English; catalog has become the US norm, but catalogue is not uncommon; dialogue is still preferred over dialog.

Miscellaneous

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

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www.symitar.com

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Here we are, two weeks into the latest season of Downton Abbey and the third season of Sherlock Holmes (with Benedict Cumberbatch), which seems like the perfect time to talk about some of the differences between British and American English spelling.

Years ago, I received an edited document and asked my mentor: “What is wrong with my spelling of catalogue?” And the answer he gave me was, “It is not wrong…if you live in England!” So I dropped the “ue” and tried to start spelling “gray” the American way. Then three days ago, I found another word that I’ve been spelling wrong for years: moustache. Yes! Apparently that is the British spelling and us ‘mericans are s’posed to spell it mustache!

Over the next couple of days, for all of our sakes, I’ll be sharing some information from Spellzone, a site that breaks down some of the primary differences between American spelling and British spelling.

Important: Though both spellings may be labeled “correct” in a dictionary, since we are in the U.S. we need to follow the accepted American spellings.

Words ending in –re

British English words that end in -re often end in -er in American English:

Words ending in -our

British English words ending in -our usually end in -or in American English:

Words ending in -ize or -ise

Verbs in British English that can be spelled with either -ize or -ise at the end are always spelled with -ize at the end in American English:

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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I guess you didn’t get enough Monday so I’m throwing some more spoonerisms your way.

As Donna mentioned at the beginning of the week, there was a man, Reverend William Archibald Spooner, who taught in Oxford during the turn of the 20th century. Rumor has it that Mr. Spooner had a problem mixing up his words in a special way, by flip flopping words, letters, and sounds as he spoke. For example, instead of saying “it is customary to kiss the bride,” dear Reverend Spooner supposedly said, “it is kisstomary to cuss the bride.”

Here is a bunch o’ spoonerisms from several collections on the Internet. Some are said to be from Spooner himself, others are from unknown contributors. I cannot vouch for the veracity of the sources, but I can tell you that they are spoonerisms.

Enjoy, and have a great three-day weekend!

Kara

· little fit bunny (little bit funny)

· goys and birls (boys and girls)

· keys and parrots (peas and carrots)

· better Nate than lever (better late than never)

· Hoobert Heever (Herbert Hoover)

· a well-boiled icicle (a well-oiled bicycle)

· Kinkering Kongs Their Titles Take (Conquering Kings Their Titles Take) –W.A. Spooner

· Don’t sweat the petty things and don’t pet the sweaty things. – George Carlin

· (Adlai Stevenson) The background: Norman Vincent Peale was a Protestant preacher who was quite vocal about his dislike for Stevenson. In response, Stevenson said, "Speaking as a Christian, I find the Apostle Paul appealing and the Apostle Peale appalling."

· This one is somewhat of an urban legend. True or not, the joke that someone once said live on the air that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation was "the Canadian Broadcorping Castration."

· The weight of rages will press hard upon the employer (instead of "rate of wages").

· The Lord is a shoving leopard. (a loving shepherd)

· A blushing crow. (crushing blow)

· You were fighting a liar in the quadrangle. (lighting a fire)

· Is the bean dizzy? (dean busy)

· Someone is occupewing my pie. Please sew me to another sheet. (Someone is occupying my pew. Please show me to another seat.)

· "You have hissed all my mystery lectures. You have tasted a whole worm. Please leave Oxford on the next town drain." (You have missed all my history lectures. You have wasted a whole term. Please leave Oxford on the next down train.)

· A nosey little cook. (cozy little nook).

· Go in with buns glazing. (guns blazing)

· candle with hair (handle with care)

· you have mad banners (bad manners)

· chipping the flannel (flipping the channel)

· roaring pain (pouring rain)

· sues and shocks (shoes and socks)

The following resources were used for this article:

· http://mentalfloss.com/article/24330/quick-10-10-spoonerisms-and-other-twists-tongue

· http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoonerism

· http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/spoonerisms-mondegreens-eggcorns-and-malapropisms?page=all

· http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_good_list_of_spoonerisms

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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We’re almost at the end of Merriam-Webster’s 2014 list of Top 10 Commonly Confused Words. Neither of today’s words is very pleasant: persecute and prosecute. Oh, and by the way, I did not write the example!

Question:

Does the manager persecute or prosecute the employees?

Answer:

persecute

How to remember it:

To prosecute someone you need a legal process, something most managers don’t have.

To persecute is to harass people or treat them unfairly or cruelly. [KC – I guess we should be thankful we don’t work at Merriam-Webster!]

Not surprisingly, given these words’ similar meanings and spellings, persecute and prosecute share an ancestor: they both come from a Latin word meaning "to pursue."

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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Let’s take another look at Merriam-Webster’s Top 10 Commonly Confused Words today. Coming in at number seven, we have imminent vs. eminent.

Question:

Is danger imminent or eminent?

Answer:

imminent

How to remember it:

Think of the first syllables of immediately and imminent to remember that imminent means "about to occur" – often in a threatening sense.

Eminent means "prominent" or "famous." [KC – As in “His Eminence, Cardinal Canestri, is here to deliver last rites to the Pope.]

As it happens, these words have a shared root: -minent comes from a Latin word meaning "to project" or "to stand out." In imminent, this root originally suggested something like a threatening overhang above your head; in eminent it suggested something conspicuous.

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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There’s a phrase out there that drives many of you batty because it is so often misused. The correct phrase “I couldn’t care less” means that you are indifferent to something. It means that you do not care. It is often misspoken as “I could care less.” According to Grammar Girl, this phrase crossed over to the United States from Britain in the 1950s and got turned upside in less than 10 years.

I don’t use the phrase myself—I tend toward several more “colorful” options that aren’t to be uttered in polite company. They may or may not involve animal parts and flying, but I can’t say I’ve ever been misunderstood when I’ve used them. If you must express your lack (or someone else’s lack) of caring with this phrase, just make sure you say “I couldn’t care less” and keep the “not” in there.

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We made it! It’s Friday! What a rude awakening to those of you who got used to being at home snuggled up by the fire, roasting chestnuts and drinking hot cocoa over the holidays. Well, the weekend is coming and I thought I’d choose this couplet from the Merriam-Webster’s 10 Commonly Confused Words: discrete vs. discreet.

Question:

Does the process involve a number of discrete or discreet steps?

Answer:

Discrete

How to remember it:

Try this one: "discrete" means "separate" – so picture the letter "e," divided from its twin in both discrete and separate.

Discreet has an entirely different meaning: it’s often used to describe something not likely to be seen or noticed (e.g., "He made discreet inquiries about the job").

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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I wish a happy, happy Thursday to you, my dear co-workers and friends. Today I have another brief tidbit from Merriam-Webster’s Top 10 Commonly Confused Words. We’re skipping to the tenth pair in this list, because this is another one of those errors that makes your Jack Henry co-workers peevish.

Lose vs. Loose

Question:

Did the speaker loose or lose his train of thought?

Answer:

Lose

How to remember it:

Think of the related words lost, loser, and loss: they all have just one "o."

Loose and lose cause confusion partly because the spelling of lose is odd: it looks like it should rhyme with nose, but instead it rhymes with shoes. Loose, on the other hand, rhymes with words you’d expect it to rhyme with: goose, caboose, moose, noose (but not, of course, choose.)

Kara Church

Senior Technical Editor

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

www.symitar.com

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