I won't argue that the Glock is popular because of its capabilities as a handgun, but humor me here MIke. Might it's success, or perhaps the fact that non-gun owners like myself have even heard of it, have something to do with the name?
I contacted the author of Word Hero and asked him his thoughts about the word "Glock". His response: Sound symbolism is a concept from the field of linguistics. "Glock" is practically an onomatopoeia: the name evokes locking and loading, or the sound a bullet makes as it enters the chamber. From a branding standpoint, it says "German," which continues to connote high quality. As Spock might say, "Interesting". Michael A. Britt, Ph.D. mich...@thepsychfiles.com http://www.ThePsychFiles.com Twitter: mbritt On Jan 12, 2012, at 12:55 PM, Michael Palij wrote: > On Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:09:20 -0800, Michael Britt wrote: >> I was listening to the radio the other day and they were talking >> about how a pistol called the "Clock" [sic] has become extremely >> popular in the US. I don't know a thing about guns, but I have >> heard of the Glock. As it happens, I've been reading a very >> interesting book called Word Hero and I just finished your >> section on the idea of Sound Symbolism and I was wondering >> as I listened to the interview if one of the reasons why the Glock >> was popular was because of this word's ability to, as the author >> says, "evoke a mood or attitude" because of the sound of the >> word and how saying the word forces your mouth into certain >> shapes. Glock has a hard G and a K and the middle part forces >> you to really open your mouth (which, the author claims, makes >> things sound large). > > Ah, no. When you finish with "Word Hero", take a look at > Paul Barrett's book "Glock", an excerpt of which is available > on the Daily Beast website; see: > http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/01/07/glock-by-paul-barrett-interview-and-except.html > > Long story short on why the Glock became the most popular > handgun in the U.S., with about 70% of police departments > using them: > > During the crack epidemic of the the 1980s, police found themselves > out-gunned by drug dealers who were using semi-automatic guns > while many cops were using six-shooters. The main selling point > for the Glock is that it has a high capacity bullet holder, as shown > in the Arizona gun attack against Gabby Giffords -- the Glock had > a 30 bullet magazine and one bullet in the chamber (see: > http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2011/01/robert-farago/giffords-shooter-jared-loughner-used-a-glock-with-extended-clip/ > ) > Regular Glock 19s have 15 rounds. For more detail on the history > and the different lines of Glock guns, see the Wikipedia entry > (yadda-yadda): > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glock > > One interesting aspect of Glock history is that the NYPD > was against using them at first while other police departments > adopted them. When it was learned that the NYPD police > commissioner carried a Glock while the rest of the did not, > the media had a field day. > > So, no, nothing to do with sounds and, as usual with guns, > firepower is very important. > > -Mike Palij > New York University > m...@nyu.edu > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: michael.br...@thepsychfiles.com. > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13405.0125141592fa9ededc665c55d9958f69&n=T&l=tips&o=15271 > or send a blank email to > leave-15271-13405.0125141592fa9ededc665c55d9958...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@jab.org. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=15275 or send a blank email to leave-15275-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
