Miko O'Sullivan writes: : > > "Wouldn't Know a Tagmemic if it Bit Him on the Parse" : > : > Ooh, can I steal that as a title? (Though I'll s/Tagmemic/Tagmeme/.) I : > like it! :) : : You got it! : : I hope this isn't too off topic, but... is the word "tagmeme" somehow : related to the urban legend concept of a cultural "meme"?
Not really. Pike predates Dawkins, who I believe made up the term. (Could be wrong about that.) They are similar concepts, however, in that a tagmeme is a psychological linguistic construct that propagates culturally. It's certainly possible that Dawkins read Pike. But it's also quite likely that he didn't, and made up "meme" as a portmanteau on "gene" and "memory". Doubtless the latest OED could shed some light on that. Larry
