From: Michael M. Butler (butler@comp-lib.org)
Date: Sat Dec 18 1999 - 01:19:03 MST
Not very arguably. A'a might be the shortest _noun_ (it's a Hawai'ian word,
originally), but I and a are both shorter English words.
A'a (pronounced with two syllables, Ah ah, which is why the apostrophe is a
good idea, since otherwise it looks like it's pronounced with no stop,
Ahhh) is actually the sharp, less pillowy kind of lava; the stuff that
looks more like melted tires hardened in mid-flow is called pahoehoe (pa
Hway hway). I suppose a'a looks cindery compared to pahoehoe, but it
doesn't look anywhere near as cindery as pumice does. To me, anyway.
>As recompense, I will supply you with arguably the shortest word in the
>English
>Language: "Aa", meaning a sort of cindery lava. I have Helga Williams to thank
>for this one, who also confirms that "antidisestablishmentarianism" with its
>measly 28 letters is no longer Numero Uno, but according to her our new word
>with 45 letters is "the new contender".
>
>Naturally, the word "contender" is not given here as a dodge, but nevertheless
>we must continuue our research as a precaution.
>
>My congratulations to Gina and Zeb,
>
>Bob
>
>=======================
>Robert M. Owen
>Director
>The Orion Institute
>57 W. Morgan Street
>Brevard, NC 28712-3659 USA
>=======================
>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Fri Nov 01 2002 - 15:06:07 MST