Everyone knows that George Bernard Shaw, a proponent of spelling reform, pointed out that “fish” can be spelled “ghoti.” Along with a lot of what everyone knows, it’s wrong. “Ghoti” does not appear in any of Shaw’s writings. So where does it come from? And why does it make some people mad? All the necessary research is making me hungry, so I’ll have to decide what to get when I go out for lunch—and how to spell it.
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I got a notice from my vet that my dog was due for a biannual procedure. It’s actually done every six months, so I finally suggested maybe they should call it a semiannual procedure. No, the office manager said. They looked it up years ago, and biannual means twice a year. Now let’s see. Semi- means half. Bi- means two. Logically, then, semiannual ought to refer to half a year and biannual ought to mean two years. But we’re dealing with the English language here.
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The English language has a lot of words, and all too often, confusing words. Sometimes, two or more have similar spellings. Sometimes, two or more have similar meanings, but not similar enough to use them interchangeably. I have a whole series of posts I call misused pears that finds the humor in some of the wrong choices writers make. My intention, here, however, is to provide some explanations for a few pairs of confusing words. I hope you’ll find some clarity here to make your choices with more confidence.
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My dad once gave me a huge eraser with “I never make misteaks” printed on it. We all make misteaks mistakes, don’t we? Mistakes with language provide great entertainment for word lovers. People make so many mistakes in speaking that we can divide them into at least five different categories. If you search the internet for examples, you will not find necessarily find the same errors in the same categories all the time. It probably doesn’t matter what we call them. Enjoy!
Continue reading →Words ought to mean something. Unfortunately, it’s easy to get into the habit of writing common words and phrases that add no meaning. These filler words only inflate the word count and decrease readability scores. You may be familiar with Flesch-Kinkaid reading scores or the Gunning Fog Index. They examine the number of words in a sentence and the number of syllables in the words. Long sentences with long words are hard to read. Sometimes you need long sentences or long words to express your thoughts. But you don’t need filler words and phrases. Readers will probably not be consciously aware of filler words in writing. After all, they are so commonplace. So writers need to be aware of them as they proofread and edit what they’ve written. Recognize weak, unnecessary words. And delete them without mercy.
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