The SpecGram Inquisition—Keith Slater—with Inquisitor Generalis Jonathan Downie SpecGram Vol CLXXII, No 4 Contents Saving Endangered Languages with Prescriptivism—Neil de Veratte

From the Archives!The Grand Nauruan Hotel Bill, 1888

The SpecGram Archive Elves™

As previously reported, our very own Butch McBastard unearthed a satchel of papers and other miscellanea labeled, “Top Secret SpecGram Time Capsule, 1964Do Not Open for 50 Years!” The intermittent wrangling with the SpecGram legal team over potential incriminating evidence proprietary information continues, but we are again able to share with our readers some of the treasures found within the satchel.

Here is a photo of the eighteenth archival item, a bill from the Grand Nauruan Hotel, purportedly incurred by the SpecGram Editors-in-Exile from the Nauruan Party Days, which ran until around 1889. That was indeed a dark period in the history of SpecGram, but there is a silver lining here. In addition to documenting the egregious splurging and infamous tipping of the Editors-in-Exile, we have early documentation of certain linguistic cocktails and other delicacies that have been featured in comparatively recent issues of SpecGram.

Truly, there is nothing like a Phonetic Sprinkler and a spot of Woodchuck à la Étymologie Folklorique at the end of a long hard day of editing a satirical linguistics journal!

Restaurant bill from The Grand Nauruan Hotel.

More to come...

The SpecGram InquisitionKeith Slaterwith Inquisitor Generalis Jonathan Downie
Saving Endangered Languages with PrescriptivismNeil de Veratte
SpecGram Vol CLXXII, No 4 Contents