eggcorn

[Laurence Horn]

At 7:28 PM -0400 5/11/05, Douglas G. Wilson wrote:
>>This merging of tense and lax (to lax) before L is common in Ohio
>>too.  Thus, i > I, e > E, and u/o > U/^ (wedge).  A common sign around here
>>in SE Ohio is "For Sell."  I haven't seen other words respelled to match
>>sound--yet.  (Only thus would it be an eggcorn, right?)
>
>Pittsburgh also has this feature. Also before /gl/ apparently. "Steelers"
>sounds like "Stillers". "Legal" sounds like "liggle". "Swissvale" sounds
>like "Swissvell". The video rental chain associated with the Giant Eagle
>(sounds like "Jye-Niggle" sometimes) supermarket chain is named "Iggle
>Video" and this is how it is spelled (on the storefront for example).
>
>-- Doug Wilson

And just as the Pittsburgh Steelers are widely known as the
"Stillers", so too the Eagles are known far and wide as the "Iggles".
(Both shibboleths are exploited, for example, on ESPN SportsCenter.)
I knew the laxing occurred before /l/ and /g/, but I didn't realize
it's only before /g/ followed by /l/.  That makes more sense.

Larry