I’ve always wanted to carry around a pack of comma
stickers. Every time I saw a bumper
sticker that read, “Go Team!” I could change it to read, “Go, Team!” It’s subtle, but it changes the meaning of
the sentence dramatically. (Does it
change an exclamatory sentence into an imperative? Sometimes I wish I knew more grammar.)
More recently, I’ve considered coming up with a whole guerrilla
grammar graffiti kit to carry. It would
contain not just comma stickers, but other punctuation as well. There would also be a selection of affixes to
affix wherever it would seem most clever.
In addition, it would come with a set of plastic letters for standard
marquee signs used by businesses, schools, and churches. Finally, I would add chalk to be used on the sandwich
boards you find in front of restaurants and bars.
The goal, of course, would be to make changes so subtle as
to go unnoticed, yet change the meaning of the message as drastically as
possible. I’d find it fun, but would
there be enough demand to go into production with this idea? Are there enough bored linguistics nerds just
waiting for an outlet for intellectual vandalism?
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