Merkins--(origin in metanalysis)

[Tom Zurinskas]

Using spellweb.com for word frequency (use google), I see counts for

american = 51,200,000
americans = 12,500,000
merkin = 79,100
merkins = 5,530
mercin - 551
mercins - 346
merican = 82,3000
mericans = 8,680

So some folks do spell the word "merkin(s)."  Basically, I've never heard an
American say nor spell "merkin(s)".  I have seen and Australian spelled
"merkin" once, and then here once.  Was the speller here an American?

Tom Z

Tom Zurinskas, USA - CT20, TN3, NJ33, FL4+
See truespel.com and the 4 truespel books at authorhouse.com.


>---------------------- Information from the mail header
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>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Poster:       "Cohen, Gerald Leonard" <gcohen at UMR.EDU>
>Subject:      Re: Merkins--(origin in metanalysis)
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>     Maybe this was already mentioned in the thread (if so, my =
>apologies), but the origin of "Merkins" would be a sort of metanalysis =
>of  the singular "American" (An example of metanalysis is "an =
>ekename"--literally "an also name" being incorrectly analyzed in popular =
>speech to "a nekename," which gives modern "nickname").
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>      So, someone would say "I'm American" (adjective), which would be =
>reanalyzed to "I'm a Merikan" (noun).  Then, once someone can be "a =
>Merikan," more than one would be "Merikans." Then by slurring (I'm sure =
>there's a more precise phonological description/rule for this): =
>"Merkins."
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>Gerald Cohen
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>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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