(no subject)

[tesla]

Why do people so frequently misuse homophones? "Tenants" (should have been "tenets") and "adverse" ("averse") both came up today, both used incorrectly by very literate folks. I suppose that I can understand doing this in a casual forum (e-mail to peers, etc.), but one of them was in a presentation to 50 people. I'm always surprised when people can't hear the difference between these words when they're spoken, and hence surprised when people use them incorrectly in either written or verbal forms.

What is the etiquette surrounding this? I'll certainly point out the one in the presentation, because the person involved will appreciate it. But in a business setting, when do people want to be corrected and when would they rather be humored? I typically err on the side of gentleness, because in my world right now, relationships are more important than absolute precision.


Mmm - 15-year Laphroaig. Yummy.

Comments

[kalmn.livejournal.com]

being able to hear the difference between them really varies, based on what dialect you(they) are speaking, and also what dialect(s) you(they) are used to listening to. there are sounds in some that aren't in others. applied on a larger level, this is the basis for the whole japanese-->english l/r issue-- japanese has only one letter where we have two, and it's located solidly between l and r. so frequently, they can't hear the l/r difference, because they hear the japanese sound instead, and when they make that sound, english speakers can only tell that it's not the sound that they would say, so they assume it's the other one.

huh. with a brief brushup on my phonology terminology and without this damn cold i could likely explain that better. but for now, that's it.

my theory on correcting such things at work is if it's in a presentation, or in a situation where me correcting it could allow the person to make a useful change in it (reading a draft, etcetera), then i'll point it out. other than that, i let it slide, unless it's completely egregious.