[Ads-l] "fracking"

Sat Aug 15 16:38:39 UTC 2020

But it's still pronounced with a diphthong, /maɪk/, same as the older
<mike>, pron- instead of spelling-based. Any evidence of ?<miced> or
?<micing> with or without an apostrophe or hyphen after the <c>? If none, I
propose that the pronunciation blocks the addition of <k> or a second <c>.

Mark (not Mike) A. Mandel

On Sun, Aug 9, 2020, 7:54 PM Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at gmail.com> wrote:

> And yet, "mike" for microphone has become "mic".
>
> On Sun, Aug 9, 2020, 5:23 PM Mark Mandel <markamandel at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > The word didn't originate with activists but within the industry, which
> the
> > discussion doesn't mention until the 20th paragraph:
> > >>>>>
> > The drilling industry has generally spelled the word without a "K," using
> > terms like "frac job" or "frac fluid."
> > <<<<<
> >
> > But the spelling "frack" is not novel. Again from the article:
> > >>>>>
> > The spelling of "fracking" began appearing in the media and in oil and
> > gas company
> > materials long before the process became controversial. It first was used
> > in an Associated Press story in 1981. That same year, an oil and gas
> > company called Velvet Exploration, based in British Columbia, issued a
> > press
> > release that detailed its plans to complete "fracking" a well.
> >
> > The word was used in trade journals throughout the 1980s. In 1990,
> Commerce
> > Secretary Robert Mosbacher announced U.S. oil engineers would travel to
> the
> > Soviet Union to share drilling technology, including fracking.
> > <<<<<
> >
> > The addition of "k" was probably prompted by the rarity of non-Latinate
> > English monosyllables ending in vowel+"c" – as opposed to " crack, back,
> > lack, sack, Jack" and a myriad more –  combined with the awkwardness of
> > "fraccing" as well as "fracced". Its spread in the protest movement,
> > though, is certainly attributable to the reasons cited by the writer.
> >
> > Mark A. Mandel
> >
> >
> > On Fri, Aug 7, 2020, 2:13 PM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Amazon reviewer, 2012:
> > >
> > > "This mission was fracked up when the ambush jumped."
> > >
> > > JL
> > >
> > > On Thu, Jan 26, 2012 at 9:11 PM James A. Landau <
> JJJRLandau at netscape.com
> > >
> > > <
> > > JJJRLandau at netscape.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > > -----------------------
> > > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > > Poster:       "James A. Landau <JJJRLandau at netscape.com>"
> > > >               <JJJRLandau at NETSCAPE.COM>
> > > > Subject:      "fracking"
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > > >
> > > > For anybody on the list who would like to start a barfight...
> > > >
> > > > (I am not taking sides.  There are serious environmental problems
> with
> > > > fracking; whether the natural gas industry will overcome these
> > problems I
> > > > cannot predict.)
> > > >
> > > > from
> > > >
> > >
> >
> http://channels.isp.netscape.com/pf/story.jsp?idq=/ff/story/1001/20120126/1739.htm
> > > >
> > > > No energy industry backing for the word 'fracking'
> > > > JONATHAN FAHEY
> > > > AP Energy Writer
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > NEW YORK (AP) — A different kind of F-word is stirring a linguistic
> and
> > > > political debate as controversial as what it defines.
> > > >
> > > > The word is "fracking" — as in hydraulic fracturing, a technique long
> > > used
> > > > by the oil and gas industry to free oil and gas from rock.
> > > >
> > > > It's not in the dictionary, the industry hates it, and President
> Barack
> > > > Obama didn't use it in his State of the Union speech — even as he
> > praised
> > > > federal subsidies for it.
> > > >
> > > > The word sounds nasty, and environmental advocates have been able to
> > use
> > > > it to generate opposition — and revulsion — to what they say is a
> nasty
> > > > process that threatens water supplies.
> > > >
> > > > "It obviously calls to mind other less socially polite terms, and
> folks
> > > > have been able to take advantage of that," said Kate Sinding, a
> senior
> > > > attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council who works on
> drilling
> > > > issues.
> > > >
> > > > One of the chants at an anti-drilling rally in Albany earlier this
> > month
> > > > was "No fracking way!"
> > > >
> > > > Industry executives argue that the word is deliberately misspelled by
> > > > environmental activists and that it has become a slur that should not
> > be
> > > > used by media outlets that strive for objectivity.
> > > >
> > > > "It's a co-opted word and a co-opted spelling used to make it look as
> > > > offensive as people can try to make it look," said Michael Kehs, vice
> > > > president for Strategic Affairs at Chesapeake Energy, the nation's
> > > > second-largest natural gas producer.
> > > >
> > > > To the surviving humans of the sci-fi TV series "Battlestar
> Galactica,"
> > > it
> > > > has nothing to do with oil and gas. It is used as a substitute for
> the
> > > very
> > > > down-to-Earth curse word.
> > > >
> > > > Michael Weiss, a professor of linguistics at Cornell University, says
> > the
> > > > word originated as simple industry jargon, but has taken on a
> negative
> > > > meaning over time — much like the word "silly" once meant "holy."
> > > >
> > > > But "frack" also happens to sound like "smack" and "whack," with more
> > > > violent connotations.
> > > >
> > > > "When you hear the word 'fracking,' what lights up your brain is the
> > > > profanity," says Deborah Mitchell, who teaches marketing at the
> > > University
> > > > of Wisconsin's School of Business. "Negative things come to mind."
> > > >
> > > > Obama did not use the word in his State of the Union address Tuesday
> > > > night, when he said his administration will help ensure natural gas
> > will
> > > be
> > > > developed safely, suggesting it would support 600,000 jobs by the end
> > of
> > > > the decade.
> > > >
> > > > In hydraulic fracturing, millions of gallons of water, sand and
> > chemicals
> > > > are pumped into wells to break up underground rock formations and
> > create
> > > > escape routes for the oil and gas. In recent years, the industry has
> > > > learned to combine the practice with the ability to drill
> horizontally
> > > into
> > > > beds of shale, layers of fine-grained rock that in some cases have
> > > trapped
> > > > ancient organic matter that has cooked into oil and gas.
> > > >
> > > > By doing so, drillers have unlocked natural gas deposits across the
> > East,
> > > > South and Midwest that are large enough to supply the U.S. for
> decades.
> > > > Natural gas prices have dipped to decade-low levels, reducing
> customer
> > > > bills and prompting manufacturers who depend on the fuel to expand
> > > > operations in the U.S.
> > > >
> > > > Environmentalists worry that the fluid could leak into water supplies
> > > from
> > > > cracked casings in wells. They are also concerned that wastewater
> from
> > > the
> > > > process could contaminate water supplies if not properly treated or
> > > > disposed of. And they worry the method allows too much methane, the
> > main
> > > > component of natural gas and an extraordinarily potent greenhouse
> gas,
> > to
> > > > escape.
> > > >
> > > > Some want to ban the practice altogether, while others want tighter
> > > > regulations.
> > > >
> > > > The Environmental Protection Agency is studying the issue and may
> > propose
> > > > federal regulations. The industry prefers that states regulate the
> > > process.
> > > >
> > > > Some states have banned it. A New York proposal to lift its ban drew
> > > about
> > > > 40,000 public comments — an unprecedented total — inspired in part by
> > > > slogans such as "Don't Frack With New York."
> > > >
> > > > The drilling industry has generally spelled the word without a "K,"
> > using
> > > > terms like "frac job" or "frac fluid."
> > > >
> > > > Energy historian Daniel Yergin spells it "fraccing" in his book, "The
> > > > Quest: Energy, Security and the Remaking of the Modern World." The
> > > glossary
> > > > maintained by the oilfield services company Schlumberger includes
> only
> > > > "frac" and "hydraulic fracturing."
> > > >
> > > > The spelling of "fracking" began appearing in the media and in oil
> and
> > > gas
> > > > company materials long before the process became controversial. It
> > first
> > > > was used in an Associated Press story in 1981. That same year, an oil
> > and
> > > > gas company called Velvet Exploration, based in British Columbia,
> > issued
> > > a
> > > > press release that detailed its plans to complete "fracking" a well.
> > > >
> > > > The word was used in trade journals throughout the 1980s. In 1990,
> > > > Commerce Secretary Robert Mosbacher announced U.S. oil engineers
> would
> > > > travel to the Soviet Union to share drilling technology, including
> > > fracking.
> > > >
> > > > The word does not appear in The Associated Press Stylebook, a guide
> for
> > > > news organizations. David Minthorn, deputy standards editor at the
> AP,
> > > says
> > > > there are tentative plans to include an entry in the 2012 edition.
> > > >
> > > > He said the current standard is to avoid using the word except in
> > direct
> > > > quotes, and to instead use "hydraulic fracturing."
> > > >
> > > > That won't stop activists — sometimes called "fracktivists" — from
> > > > repeating the word as often as possible.
> > > >
> > > > "It was created by the industry, and the industry is going to have to
> > > live
> > > > with it," says the NRDC's Sinding.
> > > >
> > > > Dave McCurdy, CEO of the American Gas Association, agrees, much to
> his
> > > > dismay: "It's Madison Avenue hell," he says.
> > > >
> > > > ___
> > > >
> > > > Jonathan Fahey can be reached at http://twitter.com/JonathanFahey.
>
>

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