# If you're gonna use 'cute' misspellings, at least spell it the way it sounds, willya? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 12, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-gonna-use-cute-misspellings-at-least-spell-it-the-way-it-sounds-willya/509832 "2009-09-12T17:22:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-gonna-use-cute-misspellings-at-least-spell-it-the-way-it-sounds-willya/509832/21 "2009-09-13T07:42:49Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > **Syfy** , as any idiot can see, is a word that would rhyme with “wifey” or “high fee”. As such, it’s a very bad choice for a new & improved respelling of “Sci Fi”. Glad to see someone else say this; I think the name is a further abomination of an already-bastardized short form (yeah, I don’t like “Sci Fi” either). But what’s really kind of sad is [this guy](http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/6502) whining about how he created it and how NBC ripped him off for the rights. I wouldn’t be bragging about creating that particular idiotic term. Oh, and I’ll agree with the rest of it, too. Kewl misspellings for whatever effect are just lame. ---
**Author:** ![Maia\_s\_Well](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Maia\_s\_Well](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maia_s_Well)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-gonna-use-cute-misspellings-at-least-spell-it-the-way-it-sounds-willya/509832/22 "2009-09-13T10:00:57Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > • **Syfy** , as any idiot can see, is a word that would rhyme with “wifey” or “high fee”. As such, it’s a very bad choice for a new & improved respelling of “Sci Fi”. > [@Mr.Krebbs](#): > > Not that the rest of your OP isn’t also worthy, but I don’t think I would mind if they summarily executed those who were responsible for that name change. I was struck catatonic when I first saw that abomination at the end of one of their commercials. ETA: I will probably be jailed, subsequent the moment I see “Syfy” on top of a bookshelf. Glad to know I’m not the only one who has a problem with this. I turn on the TV, see this “SyFy” thing, and think, “maybe that’s the kids’ SciFi channel. If so, way to destroy their fragile understanding of phonics.” I live in fear of stumbling on an episode of “My Lil’ Battlestar”.\* _And I’m hatin’ da “lil”, too._\* \*\* And I’m da talkin’ like that IRL, too. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-gonna-use-cute-misspellings-at-least-spell-it-the-way-it-sounds-willya/509832/23 "2009-09-13T10:12:56Z")
“aiight, don u be chattin shit bart the way we spk+spl. jus cos u don unnastan, dunt mean we don tk propa” ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-gonna-use-cute-misspellings-at-least-spell-it-the-way-it-sounds-willya/509832/24 "2009-09-13T21:49:29Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > I hate it when people want to draw out a word for effect, but they draw out the wrong letter: > > Whattttttttt? > > or > > Nnnnnnnnno! > > Other than that, I don’t really currrr. I have a young friend who usually draws out the silent e when she wants to extend a word like that. Drives me nuts. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-gonna-use-cute-misspellings-at-least-spell-it-the-way-it-sounds-willya/509832/25 "2009-09-13T23:41:57Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Actually, it looks to me like it should rhyme with Biffy. Which is Canadian slang for toilet, which is what the “Syfy” channel has become… ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-gonna-use-cute-misspellings-at-least-spell-it-the-way-it-sounds-willya/509832/26 "2009-09-13T23:50:18Z")
> [@Lust4Life](#): > > My particular bugbear is "n’ "used to replace “and”,as in salt n’ vinegar,or fish n’ chips. > > It was introduced many years ago as I recall for crisps(U.S. chips) in the U.K. to appeal to the “thick bastards” market. > > Are you stupid n’ a poor speller then these crisps r 4 u!!! That does at least resemble a fast pronunciation of /fish-n-chips/. Do you really pronounce the vowel and the “d” in “and”? Let’s rock-n-roll! ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-gonna-use-cute-misspellings-at-least-spell-it-the-way-it-sounds-willya/509832/27 "2009-09-14T13:55:18Z")
I have this problem with “Big Boi”, of Outkast. I always pronounce it “bwah”, as if it were French. ---
**Author:** ![tacoloco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tacoloco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tacoloco)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-gonna-use-cute-misspellings-at-least-spell-it-the-way-it-sounds-willya/509832/28 "2009-09-14T13:56:01Z")
op ur kewl dood, k? ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-gonna-use-cute-misspellings-at-least-spell-it-the-way-it-sounds-willya/509832/29 "2009-09-14T14:31:53Z")
> [@tacoloco](#): > > op ur kewl dood, k? The rest of it parses decently well, but… “ur” for “you’re” ? Goes onto the pile. Reads as “errr”, like what my chihuahua does when she’s contemplating an outright bark but hasn’t progressed that far. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-gonna-use-cute-misspellings-at-least-spell-it-the-way-it-sounds-willya/509832/30 "2009-09-14T14:46:01Z")
> [@wierdaaron](#): > > They’ve got a pretzel for the M in Time, but since the letters are green and the pretzel is brown, when I see it my brain says “pretzel” not “M”. So I read the Pretzel Time logo as “Pretzel T-I-Pretzel-E.” I do that out loud as well. Similarly, in the 80s I used to see “SMASH THE STATE” graffitied on walls. Except the As would be written as [anarchy symbols](http://www.stickergiant.com/Merchant2/imgs/125/sp2043_125.gif?code=125.gif), which to me says “anarchy” on its own. So I would inadvertantly read it as: SManarchySH THE STanarchyTE! (Pronounced “Smanarkeesh the Stanarkeet”, which could be the name of a wizard from a bad fantasy novel.) ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8797f3/32.png) [@Brainiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-gonna-use-cute-misspellings-at-least-spell-it-the-way-it-sounds-willya/509832/31 "2009-09-14T17:09:59Z")
Mark Twain commented on this problem. He wanted to mimic people who pronounced “once” as “wunst”. That looked wrong, but “oncet” looked like it would sound like “onset” and “once’t” was just hard to read and sound out. His writing contains all three forms. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-gonna-use-cute-misspellings-at-least-spell-it-the-way-it-sounds-willya/509832/32 "2009-09-14T17:46:07Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > I have this problem with “Big Boi”, of Outkast. > > I always pronounce it “bwah”, as if it were French. He kind of does too though. ---
**Author:** ![Taber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@Taber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taber)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2009, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-gonna-use-cute-misspellings-at-least-spell-it-the-way-it-sounds-willya/509832/33 "2009-09-14T19:46:03Z")
I don’t know if it is a regionalism, but I’ve never heard anyone pronounce sandwich sammich, and I hope I never do. ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-gonna-use-cute-misspellings-at-least-spell-it-the-way-it-sounds-willya/509832/34 "2009-09-15T03:55:26Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > “aiight, don u be chattin shit bart the way we spk+spl. jus cos u don unnastan, dunt mean we don tk propa” My god, I had Ali G’s voice in my head when I read that. I must not be getting enough sleep… ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-gonna-use-cute-misspellings-at-least-spell-it-the-way-it-sounds-willya/509832/35 "2009-09-15T14:51:25Z")
You know why they do it, don’t ya? Trademarks. Trademarking a common word just doesn’t work, because anyone can still use the common word. But if you have a cutesy misspelling, why, now you have an intellectual property right that’s easy to defend! Hence “Coors Artic Ice”, Oreos filled with “Double Stuf”, donuts by “Krispy Kreme”, and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![legalsnugs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@legalsnugs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/legalsnugs)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-gonna-use-cute-misspellings-at-least-spell-it-the-way-it-sounds-willya/509832/36 "2009-09-15T15:04:02Z")
> [@tacoloco](#): > > op ur kewl dood, k? > [@AHunter3](#): > > The rest of it parses decently well, but… “ur” for “you’re” ? Goes onto the pile. Reads as “errr”, like what my chihuahua does when she’s contemplating an outright bark but hasn’t progressed that far. Man, I am out of the loop. I thought “ur” was short for “you are.” I was wondering where the “a” was, so it would be “ura kewl dood.” Live and learn. And I’ve been out of the US for awhile and haven’t seen the SyFy thing. (Looks like siffy to me, too.) Was it because too many people were pronouncing SciFi as “sky-fi”? Hmmm. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-gonna-use-cute-misspellings-at-least-spell-it-the-way-it-sounds-willya/509832/37 "2009-09-15T20:16:40Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > I > Nnnnnnnnno! > . This one wouldn’t be so bad if they drew out both letters: Nnnnnnnnnnnnooooooo!!!. At least it is physically possible to protract a nasal sound. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-gonna-use-cute-misspellings-at-least-spell-it-the-way-it-sounds-willya/509832/38 "2009-09-15T21:43:04Z")
> [@wierdaaron](#): > > They’ve got a pretzel for the M in Time, but since the letters are green and the pretzel is brown, when I see it my brain says “pretzel” not “M”. So I read the Pretzel Time logo as “Pretzel T-I-Pretzel-E.” I do that out loud as well. A similar thing happens frequently in British adverts and logos where letters are replaced with the pound sign, ‘£’. It’s done for the same reason as people write things like “ca$h prizes”, but what annoys me is that they never replace the right letter. A ‘£’ is in fact a capital ‘L’ for libra (as is lb for pounds in weight), but instead of replacing 'L’s they always use it to represent an ‘E’ or a ‘C’ or even an ‘M’ on its side. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-gonna-use-cute-misspellings-at-least-spell-it-the-way-it-sounds-willya/509832/39 "2009-09-15T22:51:16Z")
I have the habit of refusing to deal with gamers that cant be arsed to actually spell out words. As if leaving the ‘a’ out of can really saves all that much typing time…then they get all huffy when I tell them in general chat that I couldn’t understand them. I tend to actually use proper sentences, proper spelling … You should hear the whinging about it. usually they are asking for some favor or another, like running them through an instance or grouping for something. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-gonna-use-cute-misspellings-at-least-spell-it-the-way-it-sounds-willya/509832/40 "2009-09-15T23:02:27Z")
I don’t know, when I used to frequent chat rooms I found people who were meticulous about spelling, punctuation, etc to be annoying because they couldn’t keep up with the conversation. Those chat abbreviations (like l8r, and u instead of your, omitting vowels, etc) do serve a practical purpose. They save typing time so you don’t have to wait so long for a response. If there’s one guy who is spelling out everything in full you find yourself having to backtrack in the conversation to figure out what he’s talking about - everybody else will have moved on to a new topic by the time he has his response typed in. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-gonna-use-cute-misspellings-at-least-spell-it-the-way-it-sounds-willya/509832.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-youre-gonna-use-cute-misspellings-at-least-spell-it-the-way-it-sounds-willya/509832.md?page=3)