Dearest linguaphiles,
I've set up a (very) simple website which generates Spoonerisms from an input phrase, at fabelbish.com - the spoonerism generator
It goes through the following process (roughly):
1. Strips spaces from the beginning and end of the input, removes control charaters (linefeed etc), and makes everything lower-case.
2. Separates the input into words (by breaking it up wherever a space is found)
3. Any words which begin with a vowel or are only one letter long are left alone.
4. Any words longer than one letter and begin with a consonant go through the following process:
i) Any letters before the first vowel are extracted
ii) The 'starts' of these words are shuffled around
iii) The words are re-assembled with the starts shuffled
5. The sentence is re-formed (like a fish finger) with all the words in (3) left as they were, and all the others put back with the starts shuffled around.
6. The first character is capitalised, as is so often neglected on the net nowadays... (!)
They're not really 'true' spoonerisms all the time - true spoonerisms involve swapping the sounds from the start of words, not just the letters, to make other valid words with correct spelling,
e.g. my program does "tool kits" > "kool tits". A proper spoonerism would be "cool tits".
I would massively appreciate any feedback or suggestions for enhancements to the process described above.
Thanks!
Tim.
Sis ting theems fo work after its own thashion.
A proper spoonerism would be "cool tits"
That's probably not the best example of a "proper spoonerism" for use in this forum, timr.
Just tryin' to be helpful.
Thanks plutarch, but I don't follow your line of thinking. Why is cool/kool not a good example? I was trying to think of something simple to demonstrate my point that transposing letters doesn't always give an output which is spelt correctly, even if it it is phoenetically valid.
You have to understand that plutarch is his own self-appointed arbiter of manners and good taste in these unmoderated forums. You'll just have to listen hard to him... or not.
The Lone Haranguer
Why is cool/kool not a good example? I was trying to think of something simple to demonstrate my point that transposing letters doesn't always give an output which is spelt correctly, even if it it is phoenetically valid.
I don't have any objection to "cool tits" personally, fabelbish. But, despite what snoot suggests, I am not "the arbiter" of taste around here, and one cannot even satirize Paris Hilton here without being taken as a fan of Paris Hilton and, therefore, a person of prurient interests.
Actually, I don't have anything against Paris Hilton personally. She is a creature of her times and it is her fans whom I satirized in "Confessions of an Heirhead", not Paris herself.
Paris is certainly a brassy, opportunistic vamp, but what can you say of the parents who name their daughters after her?*
As for snoot, well, snoot proclaims that she is "The Lone Haranguer". Snoot has averaged about one post per month over the past 3 1/2 years but snoot seems to have picked up the pace recently.
Paris Hilton: She can't milk a cow, but boy can she milk America.
The name Paris is No. 156 on the list of most popular baby names, up from No. 508 in 2001, according to the Social Security Administration.
Assembling celebrity Paris Hilton taps her talent for manufacturing fame
Jaimee Rose
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 18, 2005 12:00 AM
I appreciate I'm in no position to slap wrists here as the extreme newbie, but aren't Paris Hilton, and snoot's 'post count' slightly off-topic? Is there an assumption on this forum that the more you have to say, the more your opinion counts? As an outsider coming here for some constructive feedback, it looks like I've wandered into a fitch bite.
it looks like I've wandered into a fitch bite
Could be timr.
No reflection on your program, however.
fitch bite
Interesting term. Do you know the origin?
while most of the current poster are adults, as a 'general rule' (since, there are no real rules) we enjoy wit.. and a cleverly turned phrase. one that has us laughing before we blush, and one that we feel comfortable seeing in print.
there is a forum for AWAD in schools, and some teacher use this site, and some very G rated publication encourage their readers to join AWAD--and well we are generally not interested in bawdy talk (yeah, it happens, but like i said, we enjoy more wit than tit(tlating) talk.
fitch bite, and the tool kit.. well --if these are the "Prime" examples -- they are just not witty enough.. they come across as attempts to be rude. (well they do to me.. )
yes, the reverand spooner made so extremely embarassing remarks--(perhaps he secretly harbored pruient interests.)
we general don't. we are mostly grown ups, and know a vulgar and scatalogical and profane words.. and elect, in general not to use them. that is.
we chose, in general to keep the level of conversation one that is above that level.
but we are human, and yes, we occational will have a bit of word play that is vulgar or low brow. we just don't aim to do that.
(by the way, the imperial we? well-- it's a style.. really i am speaking for myself--and the opinions expressed in this post are mine, all mine..
(it is my opinion that others here behave the way i described when i used the word we--but i certainly don't speak for anyone but myself!)
> imperial we
once, while I was working as a waiter, I had a customer say, "we would like..." (he was dining alone). I asked if that was the royal we, and he said, "no, I just took that."
heh.
welcome timr.
Welcome, timr. Your program seems pretty nifty to me; the only kind of improvements I can imagine would probably require undue complexity (along the lines of validating homophones that occur in a recognised dictionary, in order to obviate the kind of only-partial Spoonerism you drew attention to). It still seems a clever bit of programming to this simpleton, and personally I don't care a dying fluck for whatever kind of language you care to use, fwiw!
Note to others on this board: responses thus far seem to me extremely rude and ungracious to a new poster whose question remains unaddressed. I suggest you get over your own obsessions, or shut up.
C'mon, Maverick. Do not shilly-shally nor beat around the bush. Refrain from obfuscation. Expose your inner self and tell us what you really think. No need for reticence here.
And a renewed welcome to Tim.
What a cute idea, timr. I tried "fish fork" just to see your "I'm sorry Dave ..." message. :)
I put in several more phrases, but as of yet have no good hits. I'd be interested to see what your favorites are so far.
I'm sorry thave, i'm afraid i can't do dat.
> No need for reticence here.
s'me, Father, guilcup as charged: subtle as a housebrick! Sorry for any offence caused anyone, but it did seem unfair on a legitimate new poster...
'Git of wod' got me thinking about another suggestion, timr: howsabout ignoring connections like 'the' in the melting pot? Spoonerism only seems to work on certain principle parts of speech, doesn't it? ~ I expect the grammmarians like Fong, tsuwm, Bingley and others can help pin the butterfly more accurately.
I can't get at "fabelbish.com", but I'm looking forward to trying it out. Thanks, timr, for another hit of our word addiction. And don't mind maverick - he's always been shy about expressing himself - needs a little encouragement (very little - oops, did I say that with my outside voice?).
When pain and anguish wring the brow, an interesting mangle thou, as we used to say in the good old days when the pun and the Spoonerismus were in fashion. - Aldous Huxley, Antic Hay
As I was reading your post ((welcome by the way) I thought how much I enjoy true spoonerisms as well as puns. Then I heard myself think that "I like most humor but I prefer a sniggle to a chucker."
Help
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