Topic 1 (session B) - Levels of language: Linguistic levels, style & meaning > Levels of language & pop group names > INXS

Levels of language & pop group names

Analysis of the popgroup name, INXS

This is graphologically the most striking of the pop group names we are examining. It consists of four capital letters which do not spell an English word, but which, if read out in the right way, create the prepositional phrase 'in excess'. This is achieved by 'seeing' the first two letters as spelling the preposition 'in' and pronouncing the names of the letters 'X' and 'S' so that they combine to resemble the pronunciation of the noun 'excess'. The first consequence of this name, then, is that we have to work at it when we first see it, rather like a piece of elementary code of the sort seen in children's comics.

Once we have 'decoded' the capital letters, we discover a grammatical oddity in that, unlike the names of most pop groups, this one consists of a prepositional phrase, not a noun phrase.

Finally, in semantic terms, the prepositional phrase is most commonly found modifying verbs referring to anti-social and self-damaging behaviour (cf. 'he drinks to excess', he smokes to excess). This suggests a possible associated character for the band and the kind of music they play, and indeed they have fostered such an image, although it is arguable that they have also not lived up to their name as much as they might!

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