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Chris -- 2018-04-11
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A lady once told me that she was heading for the Secretary of State’s office to get her licens. She meant that she would get a new licen plate to put on her car, and she would renew her Driver’s Licen. (The Driver’s Licen is the card we carry around in our wallets, to show to the cops when they stop us, and to prove who we are when we cash checks.)
This lady was planning to get both licens on the same visit, rather than renewing one licen at a time.
In my part of the world (Supermesohesperia, USA), we still have many people who seldom read. This lady and many of my other neighbors always have believed that licen is a word. This lady lives in rural, western lower Michigan. The conversation took place circa 1990 CE. Does anyone else anywhere else say, “Licen?” Please let me know.
And… This shows that the borderline between the S sound and the Z sound is ill-demarcated in my part of the world. The real word license has an S sound at the end. But the made-up word licens must have a Z sound.
Last edited by Tom Neely (2006-09-14 17:36:50)
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Since Tom’s 2006 post, the web has given us a large number of example of “driver’s licen” and “licen plate.” Scan, for example, the Google search for “licen plate.”
Anything that escapes from Michigan should be a concern to everyone.
Last edited by kem (2015-03-19 13:46:50)
Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.
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kem wrote:
Anything that escapes from Michigan should be a concern to everyone.
Having escaped from Michigan, I’d have to agree with you on that.
I’m originally from southwestern Michigan—born in 1950 in Kalamazoo (only because there wasn’t a hospital in Paw Paw yet) and raised in Galesburg and St. Joseph. After being away from MI from ‘69-’71 for a stint in the Army, I lived there for another couple of years (St. Joseph, Benton Harbor, Stevensville and Sodus) off and on before escaping for good by late ‘74. FWIW, I don’t recall ever seeing or hearing “licen”.
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Ha! I meant that as a tongue-in-cheek play on stereotypes. Had no idea the shoe would actually fit anyone on the Forum. I get what I deserve.
Last edited by kem (2015-03-25 23:30:05)
Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.
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kem wrote:
Ha I meant that as a tongue-in-cheek play on stereotypes. Had no idea the shoe would actually fit anyone on the Forum. I get what I deserve.
Just to be clear—no offense whatsoever was taken. But now you’ve gotten me curious; is there a stereotype of a Michigander? If so, what is it?
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