Beware the homonyms!

Image by Chris Sharp

Words that are similar to each other are known as ‘homonyms’, and it is these little gremlins that make daily fools of us in our English communication.  Spellcheckers will not pick up your misuse of these words as they are acceptable and similar to the ones you are really looking for, but are spelt differently and often have disastrously different interpretations.

Here are some of my favourite most commonly misused homonyms in South Africa.

• Stationery and stationary. You cannot order stationary, folks! You could order a vehicle to be stationary, which would mean that you are requesting it to stop moving! The type of stationery that you wish to order in the office is the variety that contains an ‘e’ in the spelling of the word.  Think of ‘e’ for envelopes.
• Site and sight.  Nothing involving your vision must ever be described as site. A site is either a place, or a website! Your eyes give you eyesight!
• Conscious and conscience.  If you are conscious you are awake, congratulations! Conscious is the opposite of unconscious or asleep - or maybe even in a coma! You cannot have a guilty conscious. Your conscience is the mechanism that enables you to tell right from wrong and prevents you from eating the last chocolate in the bag (or not).
• Dependant and dependent.  The first version of the word is a beneficiary you would add to a policy, such as a spouse or a child.  The second version is the opposite of independent.

The differences may seem slight, but consider with horror the consequences of the following sentence. “My conscious prevented me from being dependant upon my business partner, I preferred to pay for my own stationary and always kept a list of my expenses incurred on sight.”

I will post more homonyms shortly, and if there are any you wish to share, please comment on this post.

For more information contact us on www.minutetakersclinic.co.za

Image by Chris Sharp http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=584