no smoRking?

What's the deal with the "No Smorking" signs I often see in Japan. I
don't understand the cause of that particular misspelling. If it was
"No Smokingu" or some other spawn of katakanafied English I would get
it, but where is that "r" coming from?

If you haven't seen these signs yourself, there are plenty of examples
in Google images or Flickr:

http://images.google.com/images?q=smorking&hl=en&btnG=Search+Images
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=smorking

Any ideas?

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: no smoRking?
    ... don't understand the cause of that particular misspelling. ... "No Smokingu" or some other spawn of katakanafied English I would get ...
    (sci.lang.japan)
  • Re: no smoRking?
    ... don't understand the cause of that particular misspelling. ... "No Smokingu" or some other spawn of katakanafied English I would get ...
    (sci.lang.japan)