"Target" as a French word?

[Dennis Baron]

Our family always called Taget "tarzhay" in the 1980s and into the
early 90s -- with a tinge of irony in the voice (never did see it in
print) -- because it was the elite of discount stores both in terms of
the brands it offered and the clientele who shopped there, compared to
the other options (at the time, by us, K-Mart and Venture). Venture has
long-since gone under, and with the closing of our two local K-Marts,
and with Target in a head-to-head with a WalMart that now carries some
organic foods and has a more generous return policy, that distinction
no longer applies, despite the fact that Target still has some designer
brands the other stores don't. In any case, tarzhay has gotten old.

Dennis


On Jan 18, 2005, at 12:56 PM, Baker, John wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Baker, John" <JMB at STRADLEY.COM>
> Subject:      Re: "Target" as a French word?
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------
>
>         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
>> -----------------------
>> 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
>