Category Archives: Phonetics & Phonology

Awkwordplay: Just because you can doesn’t mean you should

Posted on February 3, 2024 by The Name Inspector

Originally published Jan 7, 2009 The word awkwordplay, which The Name Inspector has just coined, demonstrates what it means: awkward wordplay. A play on words can be awkward for different reasons, and awkwordplay shows one of the most common reasons: a mismatch in … Continue reading →

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The linguistics of Obama

Posted on February 3, 2024 by The Name Inspector

Originally published Oct 14, 2008 If Obama wins the presidential election, he won’t just make history for being the first black president of the United States. He’ll also break new linguistic ground in the list of presidents’ names. And The … Continue reading →

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YouTube

Posted on February 2, 2024 by The Name Inspector

Originally published Jan 9, 2007 When YouTube was acquired by Google, there were jokes about how it might be renamed (GooTube? GoogTube?). There were some serious suggestions, too. One branding expert urged Google to change the name to GoogleTube. In the Name Inspector’s not-so-humble … Continue reading →

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