Part 2 of Making Every Word Count
The English language is confusing – there is no other way to put it. We have words that are spelled alike but are pronounced differently and have different meanings. How do you know when to use which word? You just kind of have to know, is the technical answer.
Someone – I don’t know who – has put words into classes. I think this is supposed to make it easier to understand. The four basic classes are nouns (person, place or thing), verbs (actions), adjectives (describe), and adverbs (additional information). And from there, each class is broken down into skillions of other grammar issues. We’re not going there.
We’re going to NymWorld. (But not very far!) You know it – synonyms, homonyms, etc. The suffix -nym comes from the Greek word for name or word. So, homonym (homo comes from the Greek word homo and means same) means same word. And looking at a list of homonyms, you’ll find the same word with different meanings that depend on context. Here we go!
Mark Twain said, “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.”
Synonyms (I use these a lot, looking for another word that says what I want to say, so I don’t repeat one word over and over) Syn comes from the Greek word sun which means together, which we understand better as similar. Synonyms are words that are similar.
- Plate and dish are different, although we use them interchangeably.
- Boat and ship both refer to floating vessels, but they are two very different things.
- Wolf and dog both look the same and make similar sounds, but they are two different animals.
- Child and baby, lamp and light, chair and seat, thread and yarn …
Homonyms are words that sound the same and could be spelled the same but have different meanings.
- Bow (bend from the waist) and bow (front of the boat)
- Quail (bird) and quail (to cringe)
- Bear (animal) and bear (to endure)
Antonyms are words that are opposite from each other. Ant from the Greek anti, meaning opposite words. Yeah, this one is easy.
- Large and small
- Open and closed
Now that you’re warmed up, let’s get really confused!
Homophones (a type of homonym) sound alike, have different meanings, and different spellings.
- Peek, peak and pique
- Pair and pear
- See and sea
- Their and they’re
- Right and write
Homograph (type of homonym) spelled the same, sounds different and has different meanings
- Lead (people follow) and lead (metal)
- Bass (fish) and bass (low musical note)
- Tear (cry) and tear (rip)
So, what’s the point in knowing all that? Maybe nothing. It depends on what you do in your life and job. In my life and job, words are very important. I’m interested in what they mean, where they came from and how to use them. As a rule we should
- Have choices when we use words. So, the more words you know, the more choices you have.
- Have a better understanding of the words we do know. Knowing one meaning of a word limits us. Take the word squash – it’s a vegetable, a game and an action. In a conversation about squash (‘cause those happen all the time, right?) if you’re talking about the vegetable but your friend is talking about the game – you’re not communicating.
And the whole point of knowing, speaking, and writing words is so we can communicate. We are big on communicating. If you doubt me, just check Facebook, Twitter and hundreds of other social media apps.
We all want to be heard, but what will cause someone to listen to you (me) and not the next guy? Making sure that I speak (write) succinctly, kindly and with a fresh point of view.
We watched a political debate last week and it was just a lot of loud talking, interrupting and taking credit. Why would I vote for any of them when they can’t even follow basic courtesy? It goes like this – I can’t trust you to be kind or polite, but I have to trust you with the welfare of my family. I don’t think so. But I’m getting off my subject.
“Courtesy is as much a mark of a gentleman as courage.” – Theodore Roosevelt
And all of that has been summed up by a young rabbit named Thumper, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all.”
