pleonasms

[Laurence Horn]

At 9:29 PM -0500 2/13/02, Baker, John wrote:
>         You must not have the pin/pen merger.  I've used "ink pen" as a
>disambiguating phrase any number of times.  And "lead pencil" is not
>tautologous, because there are non-lead pencils too.
>
>John Baker

I would think "ink pen" isn't that common a disambiguator in just
those dialects that have the merger.  While there aren't too many
contexts in which you'd need to specify "ink pen" to distinguish it
from "pig pen", I could imagine walking into a general store that
sells both stationery supplies and notions (if that's what a straight
pen is) and having to specify which kind of "pVn" one needed.

larry

>
>
>>  -----Original Message-----
>>  From: Donald M Lance [SMTP:lancedm at MISSOURI.EDU]
>>  Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2002 9:11 PM
>>  To:   ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>>  Subject:      Re: pleonasms
>>
>>  I don't buy the notion that "ink pen" developed as a disambiguating ploy.
>>  What is the likelihood that "(straight) pin" or "(safety) pin" or
>>  "(sticking) pin" would come to mind in a context in which someone asks for
>>  a(n ink) pen?  I'd say it's way, way under 1%.  In my mind it's more
>>  likely
>>  that the tautologous "ink pen" developed as a way of referring to a
>>  (fountain) pen or (dipped) pen as opposed, tautologously, to a lead
>>  pencil,
>>  which also occurs in speech.
>>
>>  DMLance