And truly, tenant/tenet and adverse/averse aren't homophones either (particularly the latter), but either people are lazy with their pronunciation, or they have imperfect hearing, or they don't visualize words upon hearing them, or SOMETHING, and so these are perceived as homophones.
Your example is particularly egregious, of course, by virtue of not being a word at all. :)
I'm trying to envision what "assembler pneumonics" might be - software that's buggy, wherein the "bug" is viral pnuemonia? A new disease commonly known as "factory-worker's lung"?
I, too, thoroughly appreciate the guardians of language. Yes, it's a living body of knowledge, but let's use that property intelligently: let's create new words and new constructions where the old ones are weighed and found wanting, rather than doing so from mere laziness.
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branchandroot
Re: Homophone that drives me crazy
Date: 2006-06-13 12:52 am (UTC)Your example is particularly egregious, of course, by virtue of not being a word at all. :)
I'm trying to envision what "assembler pneumonics" might be - software that's buggy, wherein the "bug" is viral pnuemonia? A new disease commonly known as "factory-worker's lung"?
I, too, thoroughly appreciate the guardians of language. Yes, it's a living body of knowledge, but let's use that property intelligently: let's create new words and new constructions where the old ones are weighed and found wanting, rather than doing so from mere laziness.