"mnemonic possession" (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Charles C Doyle]

Yes indeed!  I have very seldom misspelled "Mississippi" since learning the mnemonic chant at age 7 (or so).

--Charlie
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From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] on behalf of Mullins, Bill CIV (US) [william.d.mullins18.civ at MAIL.MIL]
Sent: Friday, October 25, 2013 2:55 PM
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> At 10/25/2013 01:32 PM, Mullins, Bill CIV (US) wrote:
> >M-I-crooked letter-crooked letter-I-crooked letter-crooked
> >letter-I-humpback-humpback-I
>
> Is this really more mnemonicable than "Mis-sis-sippi"?!  And one has
to
> visualize the dromedary; otherwise, it would spell "Mississibbi".
>
>

Maybe not, yet it is the one that I remember, having been taught it when
I was 7 or 8 or so.  (and you don't have to visualize a dromedary; from
pronunciation, you know there is a "p" and the only question is "how
many?" -- the mnemonic answers it.)

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