Sensational spelling
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Sensational spelling is the deliberate spelling of a word in a non-standard way for special effect.[1]
Branding
[edit]
Sensational spellings are common in advertising[1] and product placement. In particular, brand names[1] such as Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (crispy cream), Weet-Bix (wheat, with bix being derived from biscuits), Blu-ray (blue), Kellogg's Froot Loops (fruit) or Hasbro's Playskool (school) may use unexpected spellings to draw attention to or trademark an otherwise common word.[2]
In popular music
[edit]Some bands in the mid-1960s (e.g. The Byrds and The Monkees) adopted sensational spelling. The Turtles successfully resisted an effort by their label, White Whale Records, to name them "The Tyrtles."[3]
Other examples include Def Leppard, and Led Zeppelin, in which "led" was deliberately misspelled to make clear it is pronounced /lɛd/ (as in the metal lead)[4] rather than the other pronunciation of "lead", /liːd/.
See also
[edit]- Cacography
- Catachresis
- Eye dialect
- Lolcat
- Ough (orthography) § Spelling reforms
- Pet Sematary
- Satiric misspelling
- Spelling reform
- Typographical error
- Typosquatting
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Rozakis, Laurie E. (2008). I Before "E" Except After "C": Spelling for the Alphabetically Challenged. Citadel Press. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-8065-2884-7.
- ^ Ross, Nigel (2006). "Writing in the Information Age". English Today. 22 (3). Cambridge University Press: 40. doi:10.1017/S0266078406003063. S2CID 143850443.
- ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. p. 1196. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
- ^ Keith Shadwick (2005). Led Zeppelin The Story of a Band and their Music 1968-1980. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 36. ISBN 0-87930-871-0.