This article is more than 1 year old

Let it be Thus, Scottish Telecom decrees

Open and Thus case

Scottish Telecom, owner of Demon Internet, one of the UK's biggest ISPs, is changing its name to Thus, in a bid to save this fine Old English-derived adverb from the dustbin of new English archaisms. These days, most English speaking people use the words so or therefore, rather than thus. But it could soon change if language revivalist Scottish Telecom gets its way. Scottish Telecom thinks Thus is go-ahead and modern, or at least that's what its corporate design agency told it to think. And it gets to have jokey/ memorable websites like Letitbethus.com. But how will this play overseas? The 'th' sound in 'Thus' is notoriously difficult for non-native English speakers to wrap their tonsils around. Scottish Telecom is keen to change its name, because research shows that most people south of the border think of it as the equivalent of BT north of the border. Which wouldn't do at all. The company is plotting a £1.5 billion IPO before the end of the year, although the national newspapers last week were full of reports that a trade buyer might get there first. ® Register Fact:(borrowed from last Saturday's Guardian) American sitcom Joannie Loves Chachi was banned in Thailand, where Chachi means penis.

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