'word' words

[Matthew Gordon]

The inclusion of 'dog' in 'German Shepherd Dog' also serves to distinguish
the animal from the the person, i.e. the shepherd native to Germany. This
ambiguity was played up in a recent American Express commercial featuring
Tina Fey.


On 4/28/08 10:50 AM, "Doug Harris" <cats22 at FRONTIERNET.NET> wrote:

> Actually, _Collie dog_ is heard far less often than is
> _German Shepherd Dog_, but the latter, actually the breed's
> proper name, is used, I imagine, to distinguish it from, say,
> an _English_ or Australian shepherd dog. But that distinction
> seem unnecessary, given that one of those is more commonly
> referred to as an _English Sheep Dog_ and the latter is best
> known as the _Australian Shepherd_ (without the dog).
> A website called getpetsonline.com notes that the latter's
> name is misspelled a whole _bunch_ of ways. If you care enough
> to see how, refer to
> http://www.gotpetsonline.com/pictures/gallery/dogs/herding-dogs/australian-s
> hepherds/
> dh
>
>
>
> Or "collie dog", which probably annoys canines for the same reasons.
>
> LH
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org