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Lee Ellis

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Apr 2, 1996, 3:00:00 AM4/2/96
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Why do people seem to want to spell "barbecue" with a "Q," when there is
not one in the word? Perhaps the abbreviation has caused people to think
that the correct spelling is "barbeque." Almost every flyer for the
various organizations holding a BBQ misspell the word when it is not
abbreviated.

Lee

Truly Donovan

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Apr 3, 1996, 3:00:00 AM4/3/96
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They want to spell it with a "q" because they pronounce it with a "q."
People generally will spell things as they pronounce them unless they've
some compelling reason, such as knowing that the correct spelling is
something else, to do otherwise. And, yes, it does compound the difficulty
of knowing or guessing the correct spelling when the supposed abbreviation
is phonetic rather than literal.

Truly Donovan

Coby (Jacob) Lubliner

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Apr 7, 1996, 4:00:00 AM4/7/96
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In article <4jul6j$i...@news-2.csn.net>,

Truly Donovan <tr...@lunemere.com> wrote:
>Lee Ellis <indi...@cyberg8t.com> wrote:
>>Why do people seem to want to spell "barbecue" with a "Q," when there is
>>not one in the word? Perhaps the abbreviation has caused people to think
>>that the correct spelling is "barbeque." Almost every flyer for the
>>various organizations holding a BBQ misspell the word when it is not
>>abbreviated.

>They want to spell it with a "q" because they pronounce it with a "q."

That's why people write "Thanq you", "You're qute", and so on...

I agree with the abbreviation theory. Or, rather, I recall that in
the 50s there were signs advertising "BAR-B-Q", which gave rise to
the abbreviation.

When I see "barbeque", I pronounce it [barbEk], by analogy with
"discotheque" and "cheque".

Coby

Bob Cunningham

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Apr 8, 1996, 3:00:00 AM4/8/96
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Lee Ellis <indi...@cyberg8t.com> wrote:

>Why do people seem to want to spell "barbecue" with a "Q," when there is
>not one in the word? Perhaps the abbreviation has caused people to think
>that the correct spelling is "barbeque." Almost every flyer for the
>various organizations holding a BBQ misspell the word when it is not
>abbreviated.
>

Along the same line, I've never understood why people insist on
spelling "burlycue" with a lot of extra letters, such as a "q", an
"s", and an extra "u".

Would someone please explain "troll" again?

Meanwhile, anyone who cares to consult a good dictionary
(RHUD2/87 or ChD/93) will see that "barbecue" and "barbeque" are both
accepted spellings. RHUD2 also has "bar-b-que", and ChD/93 has
"(informal) bar-b-q".

---
Bob Cunningham, | "Short words are best and the old words
Los Angeles, | when short are best of all."
California, USA | -- Winston Churchill

Steve Bacher

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Apr 12, 1996, 3:00:00 AM4/12/96
to
In article <4jul6j$i...@news-2.csn.net>

>Lee Ellis <indi...@cyberg8t.com> wrote:
>>Why do people seem to want to spell "barbecue" with a "Q," when there is
>>not one in the word?

Truly Donovan <tr...@lunemere.com> wrote:
>They want to spell it with a "q" because they pronounce it with a "q."

Really? You mean native English speakers use pharyngeal stops?

- seb


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