UNNECESSARILY DUPLICATED WORDS
So, few people would argue that English is a well-organized, user-friendly language. On my site, I show examples of auto-antonyms, unlikely synonyms, fun frustrations and words with letters pronounced twice. These are all in common use, and if they aren't enough to suggest that English could be at least honed some, then how about this group of words: pairs of words that mean the same--or nearly the same--and that sound almost the same, to boot.
For example, the words "moil" and "toil" are, at the very least, examples of perfect rhyme, since both sound identical in every way but in the sound of the first letters. In addition, they mean the same thing. In fact, when Johnny Cash recorded his rendition of Robert Service's, "The Cremation Sam McGee," he replaced the word "moil" from the original, and substituted "toil." And why shouldn't he? (Although it does seem somewhat presumptuous to rewrite someone else's art.) Especially since "moil" is so seldom used anymore that it can be considered archaic.
I also considered including pairs of words such as, "thrills" and "frills," and "risky" and "risqué" because the words in both pairs sound so much alike, yet, while they may share some minor points in meaning, they cannot be considered synonyms, unlike "moil" and "toil," which are distinctly synonymous.
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For example, the words "moil" and "toil" are, at the very least, examples of perfect rhyme, since both sound identical in every way but in the sound of the first letters. In addition, they mean the same thing. In fact, when Johnny Cash recorded his rendition of Robert Service's, "The Cremation Sam McGee," he replaced the word "moil" from the original, and substituted "toil." And why shouldn't he? (Although it does seem somewhat presumptuous to rewrite someone else's art.) Especially since "moil" is so seldom used anymore that it can be considered archaic.
I also considered including pairs of words such as, "thrills" and "frills," and "risky" and "risqué" because the words in both pairs sound so much alike, yet, while they may share some minor points in meaning, they cannot be considered synonyms, unlike "moil" and "toil," which are distinctly synonymous.
Paragraphs marked my an asterisk (*) indicate new content.
Why, pray tell, do we need the word "Capable" when we already have the word "able?" While they are each used differently syntactically, ("capable of doing" vs. "able to do") they still mean the same thing.
What purpose does the word "Amicable" serve that "Amiable" does not?
Be honest with me: if I have "Avoided" detection, have I not also "Evaded" detection? Yes, I thought so, too.
How different, really, is the word "Clemency" from "Amnesty" that we require both?
Wouldn't Tarzan's "loin cloth" be the same garment as his "groin cloth"? Clearly it would, so do we really need both "loin" and "groin" in English? Clearly not.
While a person can be "presumptuous" but cannot be "assumptuous" (not that I'm aware of, anyway), still, do we really need to have both "Presume" and "Assume" in the English language?
Okay, "Conception" usually deals with biology, but do we really need to distinguish it from "Inception"?
Is the word "Domain" so vague that we also need the word "Demesne" when they both sound almost the same?
Can a person be both "Irascible" and "Irritable"? If not, can we rid ourselves of one of these words?
Why is it that a person can politely interrupt a conversion with the word "Query," just as easily as he or she can with the word "Inquiry"?
The original says, "There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who 'Moil' for gold." Johnny Cash said, "There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who 'Toil' for gold." Do you know why Johnny Cash changed it? Because both words mean the same and sound almost the same. That's why.
Is a person in any greater agony if he has both "Pain" and "Pang"? If not, then let's limit our choices.
While it's true that "Quaver" refers to shaky speech as a result of nervousness, "Quiver" can also refer to a shaking sound, so are both of these words really necessary?
Can something be "Required" as distinct from "Requisite"? Do we really need two ways of saying this when both says derived from the same root?
If we have "Stored" something, haven't we also "Stowed" it? I think so.
Why did Spenser have to write his Lady's name upon the "Strand"? Wouldn't he have done just as well (or just as poorly) to write her name upon the "Sand"?
While the word "Wind" (rhyming with "find," not with "pinned") is far broader in meaning than the word "Wend," (One cannot "wend" a clock, for instance) one can always replace "wend" with "wind;" so do we really need "wend"? I think not!
What purpose does the word "Amicable" serve that "Amiable" does not?
Be honest with me: if I have "Avoided" detection, have I not also "Evaded" detection? Yes, I thought so, too.
How different, really, is the word "Clemency" from "Amnesty" that we require both?
Wouldn't Tarzan's "loin cloth" be the same garment as his "groin cloth"? Clearly it would, so do we really need both "loin" and "groin" in English? Clearly not.
While a person can be "presumptuous" but cannot be "assumptuous" (not that I'm aware of, anyway), still, do we really need to have both "Presume" and "Assume" in the English language?
Okay, "Conception" usually deals with biology, but do we really need to distinguish it from "Inception"?
Is the word "Domain" so vague that we also need the word "Demesne" when they both sound almost the same?
Can a person be both "Irascible" and "Irritable"? If not, can we rid ourselves of one of these words?
Why is it that a person can politely interrupt a conversion with the word "Query," just as easily as he or she can with the word "Inquiry"?
The original says, "There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who 'Moil' for gold." Johnny Cash said, "There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who 'Toil' for gold." Do you know why Johnny Cash changed it? Because both words mean the same and sound almost the same. That's why.
Is a person in any greater agony if he has both "Pain" and "Pang"? If not, then let's limit our choices.
While it's true that "Quaver" refers to shaky speech as a result of nervousness, "Quiver" can also refer to a shaking sound, so are both of these words really necessary?
Can something be "Required" as distinct from "Requisite"? Do we really need two ways of saying this when both says derived from the same root?
If we have "Stored" something, haven't we also "Stowed" it? I think so.
Why did Spenser have to write his Lady's name upon the "Strand"? Wouldn't he have done just as well (or just as poorly) to write her name upon the "Sand"?
While the word "Wind" (rhyming with "find," not with "pinned") is far broader in meaning than the word "Wend," (One cannot "wend" a clock, for instance) one can always replace "wend" with "wind;" so do we really need "wend"? I think not!
copyright © 2013 by A. J. Mittendorf
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