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Tiny Dissertation 1: OMG QWERTY WTF

Disclaimer: This post is about the process, not the result. You may be wasting your time by reading it.

Premise: I am left-handed (and proud!) The QWERTY keyboard is preferential to the left-hand. 56% of keystrokes happen on the left-side. More than 3000 English words can be written with the left hand alone (i.e. reverberates), while only 450 are possible with the right hand (i.e. lollipop). There are various models of letter frequency in English, one order from most used to least is: ETAON RISHD LFCMU GYPWB VKXJQ Z with the left-hand letters in bold.

Question: Do internet acronyms follow the pattern of 56% left-handed frequency? What is the letter frequency for the most used internet acronyms?

Hypothesis: The top 2 vowels are on the left-side, and I think it’s mostly the vowels that creates this imbalance. Most words are not vowel-initial, so their frequency should go down in a study of acronyms. This means that the top consonants TRSDF would need to appear more frequently to maintain this ratio. I think overall, left-handed frequency should go down in acronyms.

[and then suddenly…]

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January 25, 2012

in alphabet,computers,dissertation,University of York,Words & Origins

A Wimman Needs a Man like a Ghoti Needs a Bicycle

Does that title make you as happy as it makes me? Probably not, but let’s see if I can change that.

Linguistics Llama Knows What I’m Saying

Part 1: Ghoti is a satirical spelling of fish [fɪʃ]. It is often attributed to George Bernard Shaw, but he doesn’t take credit for it. Ghoti is used to mock spelling inconsistencies in English and advocate reform. (There’s a clever bunch who even say ghoti should be silent). I don’t deny it, English spelling is very irregular. It’s a Germanic language at heart, but with massive word-borrowing from French and Latin, and PTSD from the GVS (Great Vowel Shift). This is the phonetic thinking behind ghoti:

GH is [f] as in TOUGH
O is [ɪ] as in WOMEN
TI is [ʃ] as in NATION

Obviously, the ‘sh’ in nation needs a larger environment to have its unusual pronunciation, as in ghotion. Likewise, ‘gh’ in tough needs to be syllable-final, as in roughotion [rʌfɪʃən]. That works, I guess, except for that tricky vowel. That silly vowel that makes people say WOAH-man. [and then suddenly…]

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January 24, 2012

in best post ever,career,english,Etymology,history of language,insignificant linguistics mystery,IPA,Words & Origins

#4 2012

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January 23, 2012

in #4,2012,candy,Monday Comic,pacman,popsicle jokes,video games,Webcomic

Word Appreciation Society: Gerrymandering

Gerrymandering is the re-drawing of district lines in elaborate twisted ways to unfairly influence the weight of votes by district. It’s a cruel political move to dilute the power of demographic areas. In 1812, Governor Elbridge Gerry changed the shapes of districts to skew voting towards his political party. A newspaper commented that the new contorted shape looked like a salamander, and the term was coined. Gerrymandering is an eponym and a portmanteau at the same time. Yeah. That is pretty awesome.

Gerry + salamander = Gerrymander

I’ve been thinking about eponyms and portmanteaus a lot recently, because I need a dissertation topic, and those two kinds of word formations make me happy. However, I can’t think of a specific question I could ask and answer in 4 months, and I haven’t found any great research as a jump-off point, so for now I’m just pleased to find a word that combines these two concepts.

Appreciate a word today!

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January 23, 2012

in animals,eponyms,politics,portmanteaus,wordnik,Words & Origins

Subliminal Panda Playlist: Comparatively and Superlatively Better Songs

1. Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger – Daft Punk

2. Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend – Marilyn Monroe

3. Waltz (Better than Fine) – Fiona Apple

4. Plus Dur, Meilleur, Plus Rapide, Plus Fort – La Pompe Moderne

5. I Like You So Much Better – Ida Maria

6. Hit Me With Your Best Shot – Pat Benatar

7. Nobody Does It Better – Carly Simon

8. Better than Anything – Irene Kral & Junior Mance Trio

9. Nothing Better – The Postal Service

10. Better than Cocaine – Red Elvises

11. Better Together – Jack Johnson

12. The Best Day Ever – SpongeBob Squarepants

13. If I Feel Better – Phoenix

14. I Better Be Quiet Now – Elliott Smith

15. Better Version of Me – Fiona Apple

aired 1/21/12 on URY

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January 22, 2012

in Music,Playlists,Subliminal Panda,URY

Short List: Missing You Songs

1. Miss You – The Rolling Stones

2. Miss You – Foster the People

3. I Miss You – Blink 182

4. I Miss You Now – Stereophonics

5. Officially Missing You – Tamia

6. Missing You – Franz Ferdinand

7. (Dude) I Totally Miss You – Tenacious D

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January 20, 2012

in Music,Playlists,short list

IPA FYI: Ejectives and Implosives

This week at the University of York I learned how to do ejectives and implosives in Articulatory and Impressionistic Phonetics class. Yay! Written in IPA, ejectives look like this: [p’, t’, k’] and implosives look like this: [ɓ,ɗ,ɠ]. Watch them now in a tiny video I just did to show off to my mom!