Homophones and Homophobes

Homophones and homonyms are the not the same when it comes to spelling  and even though "they're" similar in sound, in most cases they have different meanings. I usually bite my tongue and keep on reading to capture the gist of whatever I might be reading. However, a few days ago an egregious spelling/grammar error had me grinding my teeth. It was simple a declarative sentence, that said, "Prices may very." Quickly, what is the problem?

First, “very” is the wrong word. Even though it sounds like the correct word “vary” its use is incorrect.“ “Very” can be an adverb or adjective meaning it is a modifier while “vary” is a verb. Who cares? You should. If you are involved with any written communications, the proper use of words is important to your career as spellcheckers don't always capture words used incorrectly. For instance, three of the most abused words are "there," "their" and "they're." They sound the same in speech but are written different. Again, "There" is an adverb indicating place or position. "Their" is an adjective indicating possession or abstract ownership. "They're" is a contraction made up of a pronoun and a verb. The contraction pronounced the same as the other two represents "They are."

The following is a list of some of the most commonly abused homonyms in business communications.

Meat, meet, mete

Your, you're

Waist, waste

Wave, waive

Vein. Vain

Threw, through

Whine, wine

Weak, week

Raze, raise, rays

Write, rite, right

Chilli, chilly

Malapropisms are the opposite of the written in that in speaking they are words that sound similar, but in reality are incorrect. Most Americans are unaware of their existence though many use them in everyday conversation. A malapropism is the misuse of a word that creates a “ridiculous sentence," usually as a result of confusing similar sounding words. This can create embarrassing moments for people, especially during public speeches. To get a better idea of how malapropisms work, check out some of the examples below.

Sixteenth Chapel=Cistine Chapel

Please Precede=Please Procede

Private Instigator=Private Investigator

For All intensive Purposes=For all intents and purposes

Supposively/Supposably=Supposedly

Sciences=Sinuses

Delusions=Allusions

Monotony=Monogamy

So, as you can sea, proofing what you right is important. Check and recheck and bee sure that what goes out under your name is the best it can bee.