The orthodox spellings of common words are often altered to make a political point, particularly in informal writing on the Internet, but also in some serious political writing that opposes the status quo. For example, letters used to represent the hard "k" sound can be replaced with the letters "KKK," the initials of Ku Klux Klan; or the letter "S" can be replaced with a dollar sign ($). Members of the second Ku Klux Klan at a rally during the 1920s. ... Evolution of the modern dollar sign. ...

"K" replacing "C"

Barcelona squat and anarchist center, labeled "OKUPA Y RESISTE"

It was common among 1960s and early 1970s United States leftists to write Amerika rather than "America" in referring to the United States. [1], [2], [3], [4], [5] It is likely that this was originally an allusion to the German spelling of America, and intended to be suggestive of Nazism, a hypothesis that the Oxford English Dictionary supports. It may additionally have been an allusion to the title of Franz Kafka's 1927 novel Amerika. I am the original photographer. ... I am the original photographer. ... The 1960s in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. ... The 1970s in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1970 and 1979. ... It has been suggested that Far-left be merged into this article or section. ... The term National Socialism has been used in self-description by a number of different political groups and ideologies, some of which have no connection with the Nazis; see National socialism (disambiguation). ... The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a comprehensive dictionary published by the Oxford University Press (OUP). ... Franz Kafka (July 3, 1883 – June 3, 1924) was one of the major German-language novelists and short story writers of the 20th century, most of whose works were published posthumously. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Amerika book cover Amerika was a novel written by Franz Kafka, published in 1927, which describes the adventures of a sixteen-year-old European emigrant called Karl Rossman in the United States, as a punishment for being seduced by a maid, to meet his uncle who receives him at his...

In the 1987 TV miniseries Amerika, it denoted a Soviet-conquered America. Amerika (suggesting a Russian name for the United States, see Alternative political spellings) is an American television miniseries that was broadcast in 1987. ...

A similar usage in Spanish (and in Italian too) is to write okupa rather than "ocupa" (meaning a building or area occupied by squatters [6]), which is particularly remarkable because the letter "k" is not found in native Spanish words. It probably stems from the Basque language, Euskera, which does often use the letter "k", and is spoken in a region which abounds in political radicalism. This is particularly associated with Spanish anarchist movements. This article is about occupying land without permission. ... Basque may refer to: The Basque language. ... Basque is the language spoken by the Basque people, who live in northern Spain and the adjoining area of southwestern France. ... Anarchism (the political philosophy advocating a libertarian society without hierarchy, based on mutual aid and voluntary cooperation) historically gained the most support and influence in Spain, especially in the seventy or so years before Francisco Francos victory in the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939. ...

"KKK" replacing "C" or "K"

The most common usage of the letters "kkk" in alternative political spelling is the spelling of "America" as Amerikkka. A reference to the Ku Klux Klan, this is often done to indicate the belief that the United States or American society is fundamentally racist, oppressive and corrupt. The earliest known usage of "Amerikkka" recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is in 1970, in a journal called Black World. Presumably, this was an extrapolation from the then already widespread "Amerika". Members of the second Ku Klux Klan at a rally during the 1920s. ... An African-American man drinks out of the colored only water fountain at a racially segregated streetcar terminal in the United States in 1939. ...

The spelling "Amerikkka" came into greater use after the 1990 release of the Gangsta rap album AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted by Ice Cube. This article is about the year. ... Gangsta rap is a subgenre of hip hop music which involves a lyrical focus on the lifestyles of inner-city thugs, criminals and gangsters. ... AmeriKKKas Most Wanted was Ice Cubes debut solo album after his acrimonious split from N.W.A.. It was originally released May 16, 1990(see 1990 in music). ... Ice Cube Ice Cube (born OShea Jackson on June 15, 1969) is an African American actor and rapper, originally a member of the controversial group N.W.A (Niggaz With Attitude) until launching a successful solo career in music and cinema. ...

The San Francisco Bay View regularly spells America as "Amerikkka". [7], [8], [9] San Francisco Bay View is self-promoted as the National Black Newspaper of the Year. ...

The letters "KKK" have been inserted into many other words, to indicate similar perceived racism, oppression or corruption. Common alternative spellings include:

• Amerikkka (United States): see above for OED citation.
• Ashkkkroft (John Ashcroft) [10] Sometimes also spelt Asskkkroft [11]
• Bukkkanan (Pat Buchanan) [12]
• Demokkkrat (United States Democratic Party) [13]
• KKKanada (Canada): due to racism against first nations [14]
• Kkkapitalism (Capitalism) [15]
• Kkklinton (Bill Clinton) [16]
• Kkkristianity, Kkkhristianity (Christianity) [17]
• Republikkkan (U.S. Republican Party) [18]
• South Afrikkka & South Afrikkkan : due to Apartheid
• Yankkkee (Yankee) [19]

John David Ashcroft (born May 9, 1942) was the 79th Attorney General of the United States. ... Patrick Buchanan Pat Buchanan (born November 2, 1938), is an American author, syndicated columnist, and television commentator. ... The Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... In common usage, the word capitalism means an economic system in which all or most of the means of production are privately owned and operated, and the investment of capital and the production, distribution and prices of commodities (goods and services) are determined mainly in a free market. ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe, III on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. ... Beliefs Though enormous diversity exists in the beliefs of those who self-identify as Christian, it is possible to venture general statements which describe the beliefs of a large majority . ... The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party), is a political party and is one of the two major political parties in the United States (the other being the Democratic Party). ... A segregated beach in South Africa, 1982. ... The term Yankee has a variety of meanings. ...

"$" replacing "S"; "€" replacing "E"; "£" replacing "L"

The dollar sign can be inserted in the place of the letter "S" to indicate plutocracy, greed, corruption, or the perceived immoral or unethical accumulation of money. For example: The term plutocracy indicates a form of government where all the states decisions are centralized in an affluent wealthy class of citizenry, and the degree of economic inequality is high while the level of social mobility is low. ... Look up greed in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Money Money is any marketable good or token used by a society as a store of value, a medium of exchange, and a unit of account. ...

• Bu$h (George W. Bush, George Herbert Walker Bush, or any member of the Bush family) [20][21], [22]
• E$$o (Esso or Exxon Mobil): used by the UK-based Stop Esso campaign encouraging people to boycott Esso, in protest against Esso's opposition to the Kyoto Protocol
• I$rael (Israel) [23]
• Micro$oft, M$ (Microsoft): has been accused of being a monopoly [24]
• T$R (TSR): A common epithet on the Internet used by fans of the company's products to refer to their habit of threatening to sue their fans over fan web sites (the company has since gone bankrupt and was purchased by Wizards of the Coast, purchased in turn by Hasbro).
• Co$, or $cientology (Church of Scientology): used by opponents to the Church of Scientology to imply that the religion is only about money. [25], [26]
• Ru$$ia (Russia) : used in reference to rampant corruption [27]
• $ocialist (Socialist) : problem of corruption in socialist politics [28]
• Uncle $am (Uncle Sam) [29]
• United $tates, United $tate$, U$, U$A (United States) [30]
• Wa$hington (Washington) [31]

A recent related usage is replacing "E" with the Euro sign "€", as in €$$O, €urope [32], and €C for the European Commission (EC) (which is used by those critical of alleged bribery and corruption in the EC). George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States. ... George H. W. Bush - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Barbara Bush, Jeb Bush, George H.W. Bush, Laura Bush, and George W. Bush watch tee ball on the White House lawn. ... An Esso Station in Toronto Esso in Higashi-Osaka Esso is an international trade name used by ExxonMobil and its related companies. ... Exxon Mobil Corporation or ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), headquartered in Irving, Texas, is an oil producer and distributor formed on November 30, 1999, by the merger of Exxon and Mobil. ... Greenpeace protest against Esso The Stop Esso campaign is a campaign by Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and People and Planet aimed at boycotting the oil company Esso because they believe it is doing damage to the environment. ... A boycott is a refusal to buy, sell, or otherwise trade with an individual or business who is generally believed by the participants in the boycott to be doing something morally wrong. ... Kyoto Protocol Opened for signature December 11, 1997 at Kyoto, Japan Entered into force February 16, 2005. ... Microsoft Corporation NASDAQ: MSFT (HKEx: 4338) is the worlds largest software company, with 2005 global annual sales of 40 billion US dollars and more than 55,000 employees in 85 countries and regions. ... In economics, a monopoly (from the Greek monos, one + polein, to sell) is defined as a persistent market situation where there is only one provider of a kind of product or service. ... TSR was a company formed as Tactical Studies Rules in 1972 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye (and others later) to publish the rule set for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game (RPG). ... Wizards of the Coast (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is a publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes. ... The Hasbro logo uses a smile to indicate the carefree nature of its products. ... Official Scientology Cross Symbol The Church of Scientology is a new religious movement founded by late science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard as an organization dedicated to the practice of Scientology, an applied religious philosophy formulated by Hubbard. ... The color red and particularly the red flag are traditional symbols of Socialism. ... The Lake George, New York Uncle Sam statue is the tallest in the world. ... State nickname: The Evergreen State Other U.S. States Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Governor Christine Gregoire (D) Senators Patty Murray (D) Maria Cantwell (D) Official language(s) None Area 184,824 km² (18th)  - Land 172,587 km²  - Water 12,237 km² (6. ... The euro (€; ISO 4217 code EUR) is the currency of twelve European Union member states: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain, collectively known as the Eurozone. ... The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive of the European Union. ... Bribery is the practice of offering a professional or an authority person money or other favours in order to circumvent ethics or other rules in a variety of situations. ...

"@" replacing "A" and/or "O"

Since at least 1980, Anarchists have used the "at sign" ("@") as a readily handy character to represent the circled letter A. This has been extended to substituting it for the letter "A" as in the Crass fanzine "Toxic Gr@fity" [33] 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Anarchism derives from the Greek αναρχία (without archons (rulers)). Thus anarchism, in its most general meaning, is the belief that rulers are unnecessary and should be abolished. ... Look up @ in Wiktionary, the free dictionary A commercial at, @, also called an at symbol, an at sign, or just at, is a symbolic abbreviation for the word at. ... This article discusses various anarchist symbols, including the circle-A and the black flag. ... For information about the anarchist writer see Chris Crass Crass was an influential English anarchist punk rock band. ... A fanzine (see also: zine) is a nonprofessional publication produced by fans of a particular subject for the pleasure of others who share their interest. ...

This may have influenced the usage in Spanish and other Romance languages of this symbol as a politically correct substitute for so-called sexist language. For example, the Spanish words "amigo" and "amiga" would be replaced with amig@. The character is intended to resemble a mix of the letters "o" and "a". According to Spanish grammar, this "mix" is not needed because, in Spanish, the masculine grammatical gender is inclusive (it can refer to both males and females), but the feminine gender is exclusive (only for females). There is no English-like neuter gender in Spanish. The Romance languages, also called Romanic languages or New Latin languages, are a subset of the Italic languages, specifically the descendants of the Latin dialects spoken by the common people in what is known as Latin Europe (Italian/Portuguese/Spanish Europa latina, Catalan Europa llatina, French Europe latine, Romanian Europa... Political correctness is the alteration of language to redress real or alleged injustices and discrimination or to avoid offense. ... Gender-neutral language (gender-generic, gender-inclusive, non-sexist, or sex-neutral language) is language that attempts to refer neither to males nor females when discussing an abstract or hypothetical person whose sex cannot otherwise be determined, as opposed to more traditional language forms, which may use male or female... Spanish is a relatively inflected language, with a two-gender system and about fifty conjugated forms per verb, but no noun declension and limited pronominal declension. ...

"*" replacing "O" and "A" or "I" and "E"

In Italian web writings (chats, forums, mailing-lists, pages, etc.) it is common to see "*" replacing the final vowels "o" and "a" or "i" and "e" (respectively masculine and feminine singular and masculine and feminine plural). Even though one could think this form lack of number, it is actually deduced from the context, so "*" (generally) replace only a pair of vowel: "amic*" instead of "amico/a" ("friend") XOR instead of "amici/amiche" ("friends"); yes, in the last case "*" is instead of the pair ("i", "he"), that is not a pair of vowels. Exclusive disjunction (usual symbol xor) is a logical operator that results in true if one of the operands (not both) is true. ...

A more 'complex' substitution may involve articles: "solidali con * compagn*" --- if it is singular, it is instead of "solidali con il/la compagno/a" ("solidly behind the comrade"); if it is plural, it is instead of "solidali con i/le compagni/e" ("solidly behind the comrades"). More concisely the first "*" stand for ("il", "la") XOR ("gli", "le"), the second one stand for ("o", "a") XOR ("i", "e"). Exclusive disjunction (usual symbol xor) is a logical operator that results in true if one of the operands (not both) is true. ... Exclusive disjunction (usual symbol xor) is a logical operator that results in true if one of the operands (not both) is true. ...

Hidden puns

Occasionally a word written in its orthodox spelling is altered with internal capital letters, hyphens, italics, or other devices so as to highlight a fortuitous pun.

After the controversial U.S. presidential election, 2000, the alleged improprieties of the election prompted the use of such titles as pResident and (p)resident [34] [35] for George W. Bush. The same effects were also used for Bill Clinton during and after Clinton's impeachment hearings. These devices were intended to suggest that the president was merely the resident of the White House rather than the legitimate president of the US. Presidential electoral votes by state. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States. ... The southern side of the White House The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States. ...

Similarly, the controversial United States law, the USA PATRIOT Act, is sometimes called the patRiot Act, (pat)Riot Act, PAT Riot Act or PAT RIOT Act [36] by its opponents. President George W. Bush signing the Patriot Act in the White Houses East Room on October 26, 2001. ...

The perception that membership in the United Nations is counter to US interests is denoted by the terms Un-ited Nations or EU-nited Nations (similarity to EU - European Union). Similarly, the perception that the United Nations is ineffectual (castrated) is denoted by the term EUN-ited Nations (similarity to eunuch). Chinese Eunuchs A eunuch is an infertile human male whose testicles have either been removed (deliberatley or by accident) or are otherwise non-functional. ...

Feminist theologian Mary Daly has used a virgule (slash) to make a point about patriarchy: gyn/ecology, stag/nation, the/rapist. [37] Mary Daly (born 1928) is a radical feminist theologian, a mother of modern feminist theology and thealogy. ... A solidus, oblique or slash, /, is a punctuation mark. ... Patriarchy (from Greek: patria meaning father and arché meaning rule) is the anthropological term used to define the sociological condition where male members of a society tend to predominate in positions of power; with the more powerful the position, the more likely it is that a male will hold that...

In French, where con is an insulting word comparable to 'damned fool', the word conservateur 'conservative' has been written con-servateur [38], con… servateur [39], or con(servateur) [40].

Additional examples

The phrase public schools is occasionally altered as a commentary on the quality of the education they are providing. One alternate spelling, pubblik skoolz, hints at the lack of spelling ability in the students of said schools, as a result of their inferior education from public school teachers. Another alternative that's been spotted on the Internet but initially associated with talk radio is public screwels, which implies that poorly run schools staffed by incompetent teachers tend to "screw" students--a slang term for cheating someone or taking advantage of them. The term public school has two contrary meanings: In England, one of a small number of prestigious historic schools open to the public which normally charge fees and are financed by bodies other than the state, commonly as private charitable trusts; here the word public is used much as in... Look up Teacher in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Talk radio is a radio format which features discussion of topical issues. ...

In a similar vein, the terms teachers and teachers' union have been rendered as teechurz and teechurz' yoonyun respectively, alluding to the aforementioned lack of spelling ability in students that are taught by unqualified educators. Teachers' unions such as the National Education Association are often seen as promoting mediocrity and failure in public education, hence the reference to them by this modified spelling. Look up Teacher in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up Teacher in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Union has several meanings. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States, representing most of the countrys teachers along with other school personnel. ...

See also

• List of pejorative political puns
• List of political epithets
• Herstory
• Womyn

// This is a list of some perjorative political puns and epithets. ... This article contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... Herstory refers to history from a feminist perspective. ... Womyn is the best-known one of a number of alternate spellings intended in radical feminism circles to degender the English word women and as female empowerment. ...

External links

• On de spelling and use of various words by Mangwiro A. Sadiki-Yisrael