English ...jheesh!

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
Namasté

Many struggle with english , yet there are real reasons when it comes to word applications.
These are just some of the words ( are there words in Tamil, Hindi, etc. that come with the same dual meanings? )

altar - a table/platform
alter - to change

aural - listening
oral - spoken words

base - a bottom
bass - lowest range in music or voice

berth - a bed on a train
birth - being born

born - brought to life
borne - support or endured

capital - upper case letter
capitol - a place of government

foul - unpleasent
fowl - birds

idle - at rest
idol - an image, statue, etc.

peace - tranquility
piece - a part of something

there's ton's of them! vain, vane or vein? weather or whether; who's or whose? threw or through? accept or except?

yikes!

[Star]

Namaste

I see what you mean... *lol* Being a native speaker of English myself I had never really thought about that. I wonder if also happens in other languages; at least in Portuguese you'll get those too (for example, "acento" meaning accent mark, and "assento" meaning seat...or "cozer" meaning to cook, and "coser" meaning to sew...wow).

PS: I think in "peace - a part of something" you actually meant "piece".

[Eastern Mind]

Yajvan: Its better to look at it in a humourous fashion I think, rather than any kind of griping. (Not suggesting you are griping, not in the least). Here are a couple of my favorites gained from my years teaching 12 year olds.

Tougher homonyms ... stationary, and stationery

And ones with more than 2 ... there, they're their ... to two too ... rite right write and Wright, if you like the brothers rein rain reign etc

My favorite joke from this. A hungry (talking) lion is doing the local evening news for his pride. "Well, that's it for the sports and weather, now for the gnus.

Or this one about punctuation.

You, Star, and I are on a hiking trip yatra to some far off ancient temple where the darshan is so powerful we will be so humbled that there will be no talking for at least 10 minutes afterwards.

We come to a river, and its approaching meal time. I say, "Lets eat, Yajvan, before we cross the river."

But then I whisper to Star. "Let's eat Yajvan before we cross the river.

One comma can get you into a whole lotta trouble.

Then there's the classic for teaching meaning in context.

Arjun has a tear in his _______________.

Aum Namasivaya

whether its eye or shirt in the blank determines the pronunciation of the word tear.

[Star]

Lol! Let's not eat Yajvan, that'd be a very nasty thing to do! *giggles*

Awesome examples.

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
Namast� star

Namaste

I see what you mean... *lol* Being a native speaker of English myself I had never really thought about that. I wonder if also happens in other languages; at least in Portuguese you'll get those too (for example, "acento" meaning accent mark, and "assento" meaning seat...or "cozer" meaning to cook, and "coser" meaning to sew...wow).

PS: I think in "peace - a part of something" you actually meant "piece".

Thank you for the correction , I adjusted the post accordingly. EM gives some nice additions to the list ( and don't eat yajvan!).

Here's a few more:
dew, do or due?

discreet - tactful
discrete - distinct

hole - empty
whole - full!

pedal - used with the foot
peddle - to sell

they're, their or there?

affect or effect?

desert or desert or dessert ( to abandon, a dry barren area, the last course of a meal).

[sunyata07]

Yeah, if you've had to learn English as a second language, it's a nightmare when it comes to distinguishing between homophones. And don't forget how words sometimes aren't spelt anything remotely like the way they are pronounced.

One big one I've always had a problem telling the difference apart is with:

- enquire
- inquire

Anyone know the difference? It still confuses me to this day. As does the past tense of hang... is it hanged or hung?

[Star]

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/inquire-vs-enquire/

Basically...it seems you can use either! :P Personally I tend to use "enquire", that might've something to do with being brought up (academically) in a British background.

Also, it'd seem that "Hanged is used only as the past tense form for killing someone through hanging". So "hung" would be the correct answer...unless, of course, you're talking about someone who was hanged. (Hmm, smiley face + hanging, not very appropriate is it...lol)

[sunyata07]

Thanks for that little lesson, Star! I had a feeling enquire and inquire had pretty much the same meaning. Now that I think about it, the sentence: "The prisoner was hung" sounds a bit off... almost like they were hanging him out to dry or something. I've also realised just how macabre this topic has suddenly become!

Also, it would probably be relevant to mention that if you're an English student you'll have to learn to differentiate between Standard British English and American English, not that it's important, but it must really confuse people sometimes why they're spelt differently (centre vs. center) and why different words are used to mean different things on other sides of the Atlantic (elevator vs. lift; trunk vs. boot...).

[Eastern Mind]

If you want to read some funny stuff on English go to Indiamike.com (a travel website about India ... extremely helpful loaded with info if you ever want to travel to India) and find the thread 'Quirks of Indian English" . A lot of misunderstanding goes on here and everywhere.

Aum

[saidevo]

The quirks and quibbles and quiddities of the English language make the most qualified quills to quake, quail and quit lest they should sound like quacks! (Sorry if you had to look up the dictionary--I did it myself in working out that sentence).

Did you notice that in English words starting with the alphabet 'q', always--rather almost always--had 'u' as their second letter? The bond between the 'q' and the 'u' was so strong that in those days our friends used to bless newly-married couples jovially: "may you live together like the q and the u!"

Well, the 'q' and 'u' are indeed parted in a few words such as: Qaddafi, qanat, Qatar, and the qwerty.

The quaints of the English start right at its alphabets, rather than its words! Some illustrations from the Elizabethan alphabet (more at http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/):

The letter 'U' is pronounced 'you', right? The letter 'W' is written as combination of a double 'V' and yet it is pronounced 'double U'--not 'double V', why?

• This is because during the Chaucerian and Elizabethan times, the English language had only 24 alphabets as against the modern 26.

• The letters 'u' and 'v'were used as the same letter (interchangeable): 'u' was used only in the middle of a word, and the 'v' was used at the beginning!

• The old English letters 'i' and 'j' were used as the same letter (interchangeable): 'j' was used as the uppercase of 'i'.

• Another letter which resembled a 'y' was used to represent the 'th' sound. The word 'the' was therefore written in a similar way as 'ye' would be today.

Here is the first stanza of the poem titled 'An ABC' from Geoffrey Chaucer (c1400-1500):

Almighty and al merciable queene,
To whom that al this world fleeth for socour,
To have relees of sinne, of sorwe, and teene,
Glorious virgine, of alle floures flour,
To thee I flee, confounded in errour.
Help and releeve, thou mighti debonayre,
Have mercy on my perilous langour.
Venquisshed me hath my cruel adversaire.

**********

Perhaps everyone knows that the word 'jeep' was actually 'GP' in the beginning, meaning a 'general purpose four wheeler used by the US armed forces in the World War II.

By the bye, what exactly does the word 'jheesh' mean, Yajvan? Incidentally, as of now, search google with the word and you would find that this thread is listed as the first entry!

Did you use the word 'jheesh' to mean 'jeez' (expressing surprise, annoyance) or 'jeer' (a funny remark or comment) or the 'jeesh' mentioned in the Urban Dictionary at http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=jeesh ?