..general rules..

[Dennis R. Preston]

These and other messages are playing a pretty strict game with the
meaning of meaning. Must we have a "strict sense" (i.e., referential)
distinction to have a difference in "meaning"? How about the old
"America" versus "Amerika"? Still the same place (literally) but
surely different in "meaning" since the latter reveals something
about the attitude of the speaker/writer.

dInIs

>There is a possible equivalent to 'p0rn' etc, which I would place in a slang
>dictionary: the US Black/teen slang term  '$ell', written thus, pronounced
>'sell' and meaning an act of betrayal. The dollar-sign, of course, refers to
>the real/figurative payment involved. However given that the spelling of
>'p0rn' is merely a means of concealment and adds no other meaning, I can't
>see it is a qualifier.
>
>Jonathon Green

--
Dennis R. Preston
Department of Linguistics and Languages
Michigan State University
East Lansing MI 48824-1027 USA
preston at pilot.msu.edu
Office: (517)353-0740
Fax: (517)432-2736