At last. A home for drinkers!

Alice Faber faber at HASKINS.YALE.EDU
Thu Dec 13 18:49:18 UTC 2007


Arnold M. Zwicky wrote:
> On Dec 13, 2007, at 9:20 AM, Dennis Preston wrote:
>
>> arnold,
>>
>> Thanks; had no idea it was out there. My favorite more subtle example
>> was "Otto's Autos" a Calgary used-car lot, which I first thought
>> sounded a little funny and then realized the sign-maker thought they
>> were homophones (as did no doubt most of the sign readers). Someone
>> offered this list an example of "Hawk Shop" from central Indiana a
>> few years ago (and it was indeed a pawn shop, not a bird store), just
>> to how that their phonological disability can have spelling
>> repercussions in either direction.
>
> a number of rock-oriented radio stations have used the slogan "more
> rock, less talk", clearly designed by and for people with the cot/
> caught merger, but often produced by announcers without the merger, so
> that it doesn't rhyme.
>
> but my all-time favorite in this line is "George Bernard Shah":

And the converse. When I was in grad school in Austin in the late 70's,
one of the local TV stations overlaid some news footage with the caption
"The Shaw of Iran".

--
 =======================================================================
Alice Faber                                       faber at haskins.yale.edu
Haskins Laboratories                            tel: (203) 865-6163 x258
New Haven, CT 06511 USA                               fax (203) 865-8963

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