Our wacky but lovable language

English has become the common language of international commerce and discourse. That is so because it is wonderfully expressive and wonderfully compact in that expression. How did that come to be?

Several years ago I traveled frequently to Europe for work (poor me). One of the things I noticed in my travels was multilingual signs. Take the one nearby, for instance. Note that the same message in English takes 17%, 34%, and 46% more characters to represent in German, French, and Dutch respectively. The same is true when English is compared to Spanish and Italian. That is not uncommon, and it is not an accident.

While German and French and Dutch are relatively pure, English is promiscuous and highly mongrelized. English has freely borrowed words from many different languages (balcony, Italian balcone; absurdity, French absurdité; alligator, Spanish el lagarto). We borrow words enthusiastically and unabashedly. As a result, the English vocabulary contains about twice as many words as Spanish, for example. From this large vocabulary, we can most often express an idea in fewer words than any other language.

This is a mixed blessing. While English expression is more compact, Spanish is much more consistent and easier to learn. But for non-native adult speakers, English can be a nightmare to master.

In English, there are words that are pronounced the same, spelled differently, and mean something different: lo, low. We also have words that are spelled differently, pronounced the same, with different meanings: feint, faint. If this is not enough, we have words that have the same spelling, but different pronunciation and meaning: “He took the lead in banning lead-based paint.”

All this gives us significant cause to be proud of our English mastery, but also caution in how we understand and use it. There are very many common errors committed, even by native speakers. For instance, here are some examples taken from some very credible sources such as the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.

“Low and behold”

The writer may have meant to “stoop low and see (behold)” but that doesn’t make much sense. He might also have meant to “make a sound like a cow (low) and see,” but that makes even less sense. The multiple meanings of “low” arise because one sense is derived from Old Norman lagr, lying flat or low, while the other is from Old English hlowan, to make a noise like a cow. This is an example of a homonym – a word with the same spelling but different meanings. Did the writer mean some sense of “low?”

No, not at all – the writer meant “lo.” This is a heterograph, words that are pronounced the same, spelled differently, and mean something different. The writer didn’t mean to use “low” at all, but rather “lo,” from Old English locian “to look.” The phrase “lo and behold” thus means to “look and see.” That makes a lot more sense.

“Just make due”

Similar to the above, “due” is a homonym, either a noun, “she was due a refund” or an adverb, “proceed due west”. But neither are the writer’s meaning. In fact, “make due” is completely meaningless. This is another heterograph: the writer meant “just make do.” To “make do” is to manage with what is available.

“site/sight/cite”

These heterographs are commonly confused. They are not synonyms: each has a different meaning.

Site – place related. As a noun, the position of something, a building, etc. As a verb, to put into position or to provide a place to locate. From French site via Latin, situs, “place, position.”

Example – “The police selected a site for their speed trap.”

Sight – vision related. As a noun, something that is seen, or the process or function of seeing, or a device that aids the eye in seeing or finding an object. As a verb, to catch sight of or to test for straightness . From Old English sihþ, “something seen.”

Example – “The police tried to keep the speeding car in sight.”

Cite – officialdom related. A verb which means to quote an authoritative source, to summon officially (as in to court), or to commend for outstanding service. From Old French citer, "to summon."

Example – “After stopping the car, the police cited the driver for speeding.”

As earlier stated, English is wonderfully expressive. But because of the way the language has grown by acquisition, it is replete with easily confused words. Your best defense is to read widely and pay notice to context. And of course, in this Internet age, there are great sources of information on the web. One of the most interesting ones is http://www.cooper.com/alan/homonym.html. Alan Cooper maintains an extensive list of homonyms and encourages contributions of new ones from his readers. Join in the fun.