Language Perfectionist: Another Spell

By Don Hauptman
I recently wrote a column on what may be the 14 most common misspellings in the English language. But additional candidates can readily be found.
In a newspaper article about automated parking garages, the word palate was used repeatedly for pallet. A pallet is "a portable platform used for storing or moving cargo or freight." A palate is a part of the mouth, or, metaphorically, the sense of taste.
Here are other frequently misspelled words, caught in print and online:

· "The National Spinal Chord Injury Association hosts its Mardi Gras Fundraiser."

This is a surprisingly common error. A chord is a combination of musical tones; a cord is a rope or wire - or in the case of the spinal cord, a column of nerve tissue that runs through the backbone.

· Film synopsis: "Arrowsmith's troubles are only beginning, as the dead will not rest easily and soon return to assure that this wicked scoundrel gets his just desserts!"

The expression is just deserts, meaning a merited punishment or reward. The spelling just desserts is incorrect, although it's often used punningly in names of restaurants and food companies.

· "This framework provides a sense of realism and versimilitude that contrasts sharply with the fantastic nature of the tales...."

The correct spelling is verisimilitude, meaning "the quality of appearing to be true or real." The pronunciation is "ver-uh-sih-MIL-uh-tood."

· "Even though our favorite community liason, Theresa, is now working in another town and is not readily available...."

Here's another case of a missing "i." The proper spelling is liaison, meaning a link or communication channel between groups. As for pronunciation, this is one of those words for which several pronunciations are acceptable, but I recommend "LEE-ay-zahn." Note, however, that pronouncing the first syllable "lay" is wrong.

The Language Perfectionist: What Hath Wrought Wreaked?

By Don Hauptman

I found the following three sentences via online search. Can you spot anything wrong with them?

· "The recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has wrought havoc on sea and on land."

· "China's exports began to fall in November as the global recession wrought havoc on the textile, toy, and steel industries."

· "This touch of scandal has wrought havoc on her social and love life, turning it into an open book."

Charles Harrington Elster gives us the answer in his helpful new usage guide The Accidents of Style: Good Advice on How Not to Write Badly.
"Wreaked is the proper past tense of wreak, which means 'to cause, bring about.' Wrought is an archaic past tense of the verb to work. Havoc is wreaked, caused or brought about; iron is wrought, manufactured in such a way that it can be readily worked."
Be aware that the phrases "wreck havoc" and "work havoc" are also incorrect. But "play havoc" is acceptable.

The Language Perfectionist: It’s Personal!

By Don Hauptman

Can  you spot anything wrong with the following three sentences, all found via online search?

• “I personally can’t see us not doing any more shows again.”
• “Personally, I prefer to write about literature, but, yes, I recognize that these sorts of entries are the bread and butter of this blog.”
• “I will cherish the personally autographed book forever….”

In each case, the word personally is superfluous. After all, how else could the first individual perceive the situation, or the second prefer to write? And how would one autograph a book without doing so personally?

In his new usage guide The Accidents of Style, Charles Harrington Elster advises:

“Personally is almost always a redundant filler word that cries out to be deleted.” And most sentences “would be stronger without the useless adverb personally.”

Elster adds that the adjective personal is equally redundant and dispensable in such well-worn expressions as personal friend, personal history, and personal opinion.

The Language Perfectionist: Whose Rules?

By Don Hauptman

If you're old enough, you may recall a song that contains the lyric, "So it's the meantime, meantime / All they gave me is that in-between time."

 The words meantime and meanwhile are handy transitional devices, but they are sometimes misused.

For all practical purposes, the words are interchangeable. Both mean simultaneously or during a brief intervening time. Both words may be used alone. But always write or say in the meantime, never in the meanwhile. To begin a sentence, use Meanwhile, not Meantime.

The following are correct:

"I'm waiting for an important e-mail message to arrive. In the meantime, I'm reading the headlines."

"The sheriff pursued and captured the two bank robbers. Meanwhile, back at the ranch..."

A final tip: In The Careful Writer, Theodore M. Bernstein advises his readers to be certain that the two events under discussion really are simultaneous or close in time. An example of what to avoid: "The play opened in Chicago a year ago. Meanwhile, the producers are raising money to transfer it to Broadway."

PD Toastmasters Language Perfectionist: Another Spell

By Don Hauptman

I recently wrote a column on what may be the 14 most common misspellings in the English language. But additional candidates can readily be found.

In a newspaper article about automated parking garages, the word palate was used repeatedly for pallet. A pallet is "a portable platform used for storing or moving cargo or freight." A palate is a part of the mouth, or, metaphorically, the sense of taste.

Here are other frequently misspelled words, caught in print and online:

· "The National Spinal Chord Injury Association hosts its Mardi Gras Fundraiser."

This is a surprisingly common error. A chord is a combination of musical tones; a cord is a rope or wire - or in the case of the spinal cord, a column of nerve tissue that runs through the backbone.

· Film synopsis: "Arrowsmith's troubles are only beginning, as the dead will not rest easily and soon return to assure that this wicked scoundrel gets his just desserts!"

The expression is just deserts, meaning a merited punishment or reward. The spelling just desserts is incorrect, although it's often used punningly in names of restaurants and food companies.

· "This framework provides a sense of realism and versimilitude that contrasts sharply with the fantastic nature of the tales...."

The correct spelling is verisimilitude, meaning "the quality of appearing to be true or real." The pronunciation is "ver-uh-sih-MIL-uh-tood."

· "Even though our favorite community liason, Theresa, is now working in another town and is not readily available...."

Here's another case of a missing "i." The proper spelling is liaison, meaning a link or communication channel between groups. As for pronunciation, this is one of those words for which several pronunciations are acceptable, but I recommend "LEE-ay-zahn." Note, however, that pronouncing the first syllable "lay" is wrong.

The Language Perfectionist: Of Course This Point Is Important

Another posting by Port Dickson Toastmasters Club

By Don Hauptman

The expression of course looks innocent, but it can create problems.

Writers and speakers casually insert the phrase to indicate that something is obvious or self-evident. In most cases, it's perfectly acceptable. But in others, it can sound insulting or patronizing.

The Penguin Dictionary of American English Usage and Style, by Paul W. Lovinger, has a good explanation of the trouble these two words can cause:

"A writer attaches an 'of course' to an obscure fact or arguable proposition, thereby implying to a number of readers that they are dolts for not knowing what the writer knows."

Here are a few examples, found online, demonstrating how of course may presume too much or make unintended insinuations:

· "Of course, we trust the wisdom of the bankruptcy court in supervising such a delicate endeavor."

· "Of course, the premier event of the racing year is Pimlico's Preakness Stakes..."

· "The Army is formally stating that of course combat is continuing in Iraq..."

Lovinger notes other common phrases that present similar risks of offense or condescension: as everyone knows, it goes without saying, for the simple reason that, and assorted variants.
So should you exercise care with this expression? Of course!

The Language Perfectionist: A Caucus of Confusables

By Don Hauptman

It's time once again to set the record straight on pairs of words that are commonly confused. Here are examples from print and online sources:

• "The number had been cut before the premier of the film."

A gala event is a premiere. The adjective meaning first is premier.

• "Mr. Heiberger said his new company would provide brokers with a network of consultants - from a concierge service for brokers and their clients to legal services and social-networking advise."

The noun, intended here, is advice; the verb is advise.

• "This particular corner, where Canal Street meets West Street and the Hudson River, is one of the more honorific and important intersections in New York City."

An honorific is a title of respect or a salutation, such as Mister or Doctor. The word presumably wanted in this context (though perhaps with some exaggeration) is honored.

• "The 19th-century philosopher John Stuart Mill... barely survived a 'tiger father' who enforced a regimen of ruthless discipline and learning that would make [author Amy] Chua blanche."

The verb blanch means to turn pale; Blanche is a woman's name.