What's in a name, and what isn't

  Overlooked in the inane to-do about Anthony Weiner is the fact that the spellings are all wrong, and do not support the ribald aspect of the brouhaha.  Ideally, pornography should recapitulate orthography. To wit:  the Germanic name "Wiener" -- note the vowel order -- is properly pronounced "VEEN-er" (anglicized to "WEEN-er").  Most simply, this means a person from Vienna, which in German is "Wien" (say "VEEN").  More broadly, "Wiener" is colloquially short for "Wiener  Schnitzel" (cutlet) or "Wiener Würstchen" (sausage or frankfurter).  Similarly, denizens of the cities of Frankfurt and Hamburg are Frankfurters and Hamburgers, yet we commonly know these terms as grill.  As deli items, they're food; as names, they're people. German is full of this kind of stuff.  Berlin's specialty snack is a "Berliner."  Grammar being what it is, JFK meant to say, "Ich bin Berliner," but instead uttered "Ich bin ein Berliner," thereby forever...(Read Full Post)