“Shoecabbage”:http://www.ucomics.com/shoecabbage/ is a new syndicated comic (appearing three times a week) that revolves around “shoecabbages”. According to the website,
bq. A “shoecabbage” is a word in another language with the same sound as a word in English but with a different meaning. For example, in English a “shoe” is a covering for a foot, while in French “shoe” [spelled: chou] means “cabbage”.
The “press release”:http://www.amuniversal.com/ups/newsrelease/?view=73 for the comic cites several prominent linguists who support the idea, among them a colleague of mine:
bq. Adds Norvin Richards, a linguist at MIT: “It’s a real pleasure to see a feature like this that celebrates language…”
(What’s with the ellipsis in the quote, Norvin?)
Here is an example cartoon, actually suggested by Norvin to Teresa Dowlatshahi, the author of the cartoon:
[Thanks to the Audhumlan Conspiracy for the tip. And thanks to Teresa Dowlatshahi for permission to use the Lardil cartoon.]
Don’t blame Norvin for the ellipsis in
the quote! That was probably my misdoing.
Kindly sent me an email address, and I’ll
send you one of Norvin’s cartoons (in Lardil)
to post on your blog.
–T.D.
January 5th, 2004, at 12:53 pm #