Humorous photo-related misspellings

Well "Kiew" is not a misspelling but the literal translation of Kueb. The w is read like a V in English transcription hence Kiev.
 
Another interesting mishup - seller has listed P&S camera as APS. Despite clearly written model, no one else bid except me even if model name did tell it's 35mm camera.
 
"Discrete" always bugs me. If you're going to use a vaguely pretentious word about your camera, learn how to spell it already.

And in what dictionary will you find 'lense', by the way?
 
I found this scrap of newspaper under the floorboards of a house, I think it was from 1951...

It just shows how old the voightlander misspelling must be!

voightlander_500.jpg
 
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froyd said:
It's no longer a popular spelling, especially in the US, but it's by no means incorrect.
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Of course it's incorrect. The fact that the archaic spelling might at some time have been in use doesn't mean that any instance on a forum is not a mistake, exactly analogous to Dan Quayle's delusion regarding the singular of potatoes.

Anyway 'lense' doesn't fit here as it's not amusing.
 
andredossantos said:
Wow, I had no idea it was an alternate spelling. Learn something everyday!
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Alternate is an interesting one itself. Its use in the place of alternative is becoming dominant. Alternate (adj) should relate to one of an alternating series but now also does service as an alternative for alternative. I don't know if it is yet correct, however. If not, I suspect it soon will be.
 
'Lense' does indeed have its own entry in the OED 2nd edition, as an obsolete verb meaning 'to make lean; to macerate' or, intransitively, 'to become lean'. When they say 'obsolete', in this case, they're talking about 800 years ago. It is not listed as an alternative spelling for 'lens'.

Which in any case has nothing to do with amusing or humorous mis-spellings. Furthermore, I think that most of us are more than willing to make allowances for those who speak English as a second language: would that I could speak German, Spanish, Dutch, Greek, Turkish, Portuguese, etc., as well as many members of this forum for whom English (or even American or Strine) is a second language. The ones deserving opprobrium are those who allegedly have English or a dialect thereof as their first language, and are xenophobic about it.

And yes, I know about dyslexia, but I also harbour the suspicion than at least 50% of 'dyslexia' is shorthand for 'I'm middle class so my kids can't possibly be lazy or stupid'.

Cheers,

R.
 
pgeobc said:
Please be gentle on all who grew up with alternative spellings and those whose first language is not English. When linguists study language, one of the last things they worry about is spelling by convention--that is relegated more to teachers of grade school and high school grammar and spelling.

A careful reader might find some of the spellings revealing of how different languages interchange different letter, too.
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I was always taught and desired to be literate in those languages I studied. Can't imagine it being any other way. I wouldn't hire a translator who could not speil corectly.

But you are right on your last comment. Also how British and American English have not always stated in agreement with each other. Lense mentioned above is an example.

EDIT: I posted this before I got to the end of the thread. See Mr. Hicks' post above. I will stand corrected on "lense" until someone else can show Mr. Hicks wrong.
 
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On another photography forum, a user referred to rangefinders as "ragefinders" on purpose, because he was having difficulties getting good shots with his.
 
oftheherd said:
I was always taught and desired to be literate in those languages I studied. Can't imagine it being any other way. I wouldn't hire a translator who could not speil corectly.

But you are right on your last comment. Also how British and American English have not always stated in agreement with each other. Lense mentioned above is an example.

EDIT: I posted this before I got to the end of the thread. See Mr. Hicks' post above. I will stand corrected on "lense" until someone else can show Mr. Hicks wrong.
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When Jim Courier comes as a marvellous (corrected to UK spelling), insightful tennis commentator for the broadcast of the Australian Open my wife and I always notice the addition of the word 'of' as in 'off of his racket' and the dropping of it in phrases like 'bounces the ball a couple times' instead of a couple of times. Obviously not referring to the current champion. Churchill said that the English and the Americans were divided by a common language. And we're all the richer for that. His mother was an American.
 
Camara will often turn up a listing in the Craigslist I frequent.

There's even the plural, as in "vintage camara's."

Never found a listing with those spellings that was worth pursuing, though.
 
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