"Target" as a French word?

[Baker, John]

        From the Star-Tribune, 4/7/1986:

        <<"Years ago the consumer would say, 'I shop at Tarzhay,"' quipped Ken Macke, Dayton Hudson Corp. chairman and chief executive. "Socially unacceptable. Now they almost brag about saving money." >>

John Baker


-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU]On Behalf
Of Miriam Meyers
Sent: Tuesday, January 18, 2005 1:37 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: "Target" as a French word?


On Jan 18, 2005, at 12:29 PM, Grant Barrett wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Grant Barrett <gbarrett at WORLDNEWYORK.ORG>
> Subject:      Re: "Target" as a French word?
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------
>
> On Jan 18, 2005, at 13:08, Miriam Meyers wrote:
>> This topic was discussed briefly on the list a few years ago.  Many
>> Minneapolitans I know use this pronunciation.  (Target is based here,
>> and many of us have shopped here for years.)  The French pronunciation
>> is referred to  regularly in the news.
>
> Do they use that pronunciation in the news without comment, or do the
> call it out as being unusual or jocular?
>
> Grant Barrett
>
If memory serves, it usually appears in quotation marks, with a
spelling like Targzhay.  The Star Tribune archives would no doubt yield
examples.  Target is in the news frequently.

Miriam Meyers