Some time ago I recalled the band of Hammertowne and some of their songs. Now I return to this topic having a question about their name. That "e" on the word's end seems quite odd for me. If we take some other names, like IIIrd Tyme Out, we can also see some phonetical deviations, but in this case the replacement of "i" with "y" can be explained with the similarity of the sound. And looking at Hammertowne (or the other example of Grasstowne) I fail to find any explanation to the usage of this additional "e". It doesn't seem to have any particular phonetic function.
Thanks in advance for your explanations!
P.S. please forgive my awkward wording - being a non-native has its impact :)
The extra "E" harks back to the English spelling of some words. It has no phonetic function and is just an old fashioned, English way of spelling. At least that's my take. Others may have a better explanation.
One I used to think was odd wasn’t an added letter but a space in Bill Monroe’s band name The Blue Grass Boys, him hailing from the Bluegrass State.
Edited by - chuckv97 on 11/21/2024 15:28:10
Kinda how we have shopping centers that try to be all uppity by calling themselves "The Shoppes at Blahdity Blah"... I respond by referring to them as "Shoppies" smart alec that I am.
If you want to tradelmark a name, adding an extra letter may provide a way.
Elijah: "... doesn't seem to have any particular phonetic function."
At the moment I'm too lazy to look it up, but I think ^^ applies to a significant chunk of the English language.
Unconventional spelling makes a name more distinctive, especially when the name includes commonly used words--
BUT--
it almost guarantees that people will misspell the name!
