Why must we spell things incorrectly? (1 Viewer)

[MarkHastings]

Ana Gasteyer: "...this is no Limp Bisquick concert."
Will Farell: "I know I'm no Fred Dilst..."

 

[Carlo_M]

Zen, how did you actually know to do a search for copmuter [and that you'd get results] unless...

 

[BrettB]

What is our culture's infatuation with incorrect spelling?

Go to Kwestionsanswered.com for a detailed explanation.

 

[BrettB]

A little OT but just received this via email;


---------------------------------------------
Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in

waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht

the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a

toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae

the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a

wlohe.


Amzanig huh?
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[Garrett Lundy]

taht is the csoloet fkcniug tnhig I hvee eevr seen

 

[Kevin P]

Azmanig. It's jsut as esay to raed as wehn it's selpeld ctocrelry.

Translated: Uhmasing. Its just as eezy too reed as wen its spellt korektlee.

 

[Steven K]

Reminds me of the SNL Nightline sketch with Steve Forbes (must have been what, 1995?) when Steve Forbes was accused of writing an inflammatory article in his magazine about his fellow candidates, referring to them using thinly-disguised pseudonyms such as "Teve Torbes," "Dob Bole," and "Lamar Alexander #2."

Damn! I didn't think anyone else on this planet had seen that skit! It's one of my all-time favorites on SNL, and everytime I bring it up, nobody remembers it. The bit about Ched Choppel (Ted Koppel) engaging in "auto-erotic exphyxiation" had me rolling on the floor!

 

[Tim Morton]

would you go see the band Limp Biscuit? Corn? How appealing would a crispy cream donut be? I think it has to do with marketing and trying to get your name out there." Name is a HUGE part of the marketing of anything.

 

[David Susilo]

I thought we're talking about people typing "definately" instead of "definitely", "sodder" instead of "solder".

 

[Tony-B]

Tonight: Limp Biscuit in concert! Free bisciuts for all who attend!

 

[Paul_Sjordal]

I always assumed it was more of a marketing thing than a legal trademark issue. The fact that your company and/or product name is grossly misspelled makes it annoying, and annoying things are remembered. Sort of like when businesses deliberately choose annoying jingles for their ads.

 

[Chris Lockwood]

> While we're on the topic, who or what is "uconn"?

It's part of Canada, right next to Alaska.

 

[Ralph Summa]

Supposibly, that's what we were talking about. And its spelled "sojer" not "sodder".

Come to think of it, what's up with the Beatles?

I quit. Dumb thread..

 

[Zen Butler]

Zen, how did you actually know to do a search for copmuter [and that you'd get results] unless...

I did a search "computer screens." I was looking for cleaning advice for my laptop and one of them (copmuter) came up. I then ran with it from there..

 

[MarkHastings]

everytime I bring it up, nobody remembers it.

I remember it.

 

[John Watson]

a copmuter, that would be like a fuzz buster, right?

btw, should have been : you kidz get off my lon

 

[Carlo_M]

I thought we're talking about people typing "definately" instead of "definitely", "sodder" instead of "solder".

Actually, the original post was about why our society is infatuated with spelling things incorrectly in certain brand names: Krispy Kreme, OutKast, Limp Bizkit and Korn. These are misspellings on purpose.

It is a totally different subject for someone to misspell something like copmuter, or teh, etc. which is the result of someone typing too quickly. I don't think anyone actually believes the word is copmuter.

Definately, sodder, "should of", their vs. there vs. they're, etc. is also another matter - these are examples of people not understanding the proper spelling or use of the word/phrase.

But in the rambling way that threads mutate in the HTF After Hours Lounge, we've covered all three instances.

 

[andrew markworthy]

If you want the psychobabble explanation, then here it is:

Pseudohomophones (letter sequences which have the 'wrong' spelling but when spoken out loud have the same sound as real words) in essence 'tickle' the brain's word recognition systems. Pseudohomophones make the right sounds but look wrong, and this is supposed to engender a mild intellectual excitement. I guess when they were first used, they did, but now a lot of the time it looks lame.

If you want a happy half hour, type in 'pseudohomophone' into Google and look at all the abstracts of psychology journal articles.

Incidentally, isn't 'Krispy Kreme' a phonetic corruption of the original French name for the recipe? [I remember reading this in The Times - okay, the London Times to most of you guys] a couple of days ago).

 

[MarkHastings]

Andrew, interesting stuff - I did some more research and found this:

"Certainly, in the case of regional re-spelling, it can be a matter of regional pride," Youmans said. "In the case of Krispy Kreme, you also avoid the phonetic ambiguity that comes with the letter 'C,' which can be either 'S' or 'K' in sound. The letter 'K' is not ambiguous."

 

[Malcolm R]

Oh yeah? How about knickers? Knees? Knight? Knack?