Kirk Mahoney . com

I heard this yesterday during an HGTV “Design on a Dime” program.

Problem:
The noun is misspelled.

Explanation:
The noun “momento” is a Spanish word and means moment.

The noun “memento” is an English word and means keepsake or souvenir.

The host of the TV program was talking about how the interior designer was influenced by the souvenirs that the home owners brought home from their vacations, so “mementos” would have been the correct noun.

I believe that the use of “mementos” in place of “momentos” is consistent with my “Devolution toward Simpler” linguistic hypothesis. It is simpler to say the initial “o” in “momentos” than to say the initial “e” in “mementos” (try it).

Solution:
“They brought back little mementos …”