Re: Words to that Effect

[jim palmer <jimp@pobox.com>]

> As far as linguistic horrors, how about that "is, is" thing going around?
> My grandmother used to say "flustrated"--ah, the portmanteau . .
> Gary
> 

i noticed this a few years ago.
i think it's really interesting that people fail to notice it even when 
they are
saying it themselves.  language processing occurs mostly subconsciously.
only people who really listen to sound seem to even notice this one.
it seems to me that it comes from the tendency for contraction in spoken 
language.
phrases like "the problem is" and "the answer is" become a single word.

i even caught myself doing it once. (gasp)

i think that this tendency has a very interesting effect on musical 
improvisation.