When commas change history The US constitution: where linguistic quirks get serious. Wording and punctuation are scrutinized with life-and-death consequences. The 2nd amendment states: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” The comma after the word “arms” was used to argue that the Framers believed the right of an individual to own a gun was more important than collective self-defense, an interpretation resulting in striking down Washington DC gun controls, among the strictest in the nation.
‘Nucular’ war Bush II's quaint malapropisms of the man in charge of the world’s most powerful nuclear arsenal ~
he couldn't pronounce it right. He said “nucular”
~one more black mark against his intelligence. This
syllable-flip is a linguistic process called
metathesis.
At www.theguardian.com
