Tag: english

Monday Messages…

Wiwohka4 Comments

It’s amazing what kind of stuff you can find in a dictionary, but what if it’s not amazing stuff… what if it’s inamazing? Apparently, that’s not a real word, and I even checked!

So, what’s with Famous and Infamous? Why didn’t they just say famous or average… famous or unknown… or even, famous or boring? I think these are valid questions.

Before I go judging those who created the English language rules, I’ll make an effort towards some good old google research… that’s what everybody else does.

According to Google,

Famous and infamous both describe someone or something that is widely recognized, but they differ significantly in reputation: famous means well-known for positive, admirable, or neutral reasons, while infamous means famous for bad, evil, or scandalous actions. While a celebrity is famous, a criminal is infamous. 

Sorry, but that’s sort of a silly reason to do that with the word famous. You’re either famous or creepy, so why muck up the language waters?

What stops us from switching up all words and giving them nefarious opposites by adding two letters?

I thought to find out how many words they’ve actually done this to… oh, and they call these words Antonyms, if you were at all wondering.

Google says,

Many English words form opposites (antonyms) by adding the prefix in- (or its variations im-, il-, ir-) to indicate “not” or “opposite of.” Common examples include accurate/inaccurate, complete/incomplete, visible/invisible, formal/informal, and sensitive/insensitive. 

Ok, in some instances, I guess it actually does make sense, and also saves a good amount of time in explaining a thing… but all of them? I’m still not sold!

In most of these words, adding the in seems more like holding a mirror up to a word, and seeing it’s perfect opposite. But I believe that some words are too broad of a word to simply flip-flop it’s meaning with two simple letters.

Here’s where things get really irritating for me, personally…

Valuable and Invaluable,

Valuable and invaluable are often confused, but they are not antonyms; rather, invaluable is an extreme form of valuable. Valuable means having high worth, importance, or monetary value. Invaluable means something is so extremely precious, useful, or essential that its worth cannot be calculated—it is truly priceless. 

Now, they’ve added a new in word, but with an entirely different definition to remember.

How on earth did any of us learn to read as children, honestly? Grown ups need to make up their minds, I think.

Monday Messages…

WiwohkaLeave a comment

What’s the deal with the whole i before e except after c, song and dance? And, am I the only one who thinks that there’s not a big difference in the word’s pronunciation and meaning if you flippy the little letters around?

So, why did they make that rule, then? I’m going to find out!

Simply because a rule doesn’t make sense doesn’t mean that it’s wrong. Although I think it’s a rather silly rule of the English language, rather than something that makes any real sense, maybe we should just ask Google…

According to the ai generator,

“I before e, except after c, or when sounding like ‘a’ as in ‘neighbor’ and ‘weigh'” is a popular English spelling mnemonic: use IE (like believe, thief) unless the letters follow a C, where you use EI (receive, ceiling), or when they sound like a long ‘A’ (neighbor, weigh). It’s a useful guideline but has exceptions, so memorizing tricky words like weird, seize, and height is also key.

How it works

  • IE: In most words with a long ‘e’ sound, ‘i’ comes before ‘e’ (e.g., believe, piece, thief).
  • CEI: After the letter ‘c’, the order reverses to ‘ei’ (e.g., receive, ceiling, deceit).
  • EIA: When the sound is like the ‘a’ in neighbor, use ‘ei’ (e.g., neighbor, weigh, vein).

Common exceptions (memorize these!)

  • weird, seize, leisure, height, science, glacier, caffeine, protein.

Why it’s not a perfect rule

  • English spelling is inconsistent due to influences from other languages, so this is a guideline, not a strict law.

Nope! I still think it’s more of a confusion than any help! Can’t we just keep things simple?

All this early morning research made me hungry. It’s off to share some oatmeal with Wiwohka. She makes it the best! Oh, don’t think I forgot about you, too…

Oatmeal cookies, of course!