English is Messy
I actually love teaching grammar and vocabulary. I make lots of corny jokes and reassure my 6th graders that there is no such thing as perfect; we are all just trying to use the language well. I often punctuate lessons and practice with this refrain: "English is messy." Afterall, there are many exceptions and contradictions, and some rules just do not make sense.
One fun way to get students thinking about the messiness of English is to ask them to identify some homonyms. They happily shout out examples, and we guffaw at the ridiculousness of homophones and homographs alike. I mean, how is someone supposed to master English when two words are spelled or sound the same (or both), but mean totally different things?
train: Is it a massive vehicle moving at the speed of a bullet or the long extension of the back of a fancy dress? No? Oh, are you trying to get your dog to catch a frisbee?
bark: You mean that loud noise a dog makes, or it could be the outer layer of a tree...cause that makes sense.
tear: Depending on how you pronounce these four letters, you could mean a rip in your favorite hoodie or a watery secretion from your eye!
bow: I still have to pause and look at the context before proceeding with this one. There is a bit of distance between meanings, including the way to tie a ribbon decoratively versus a weapon with which to shoot arrows. Plus, with a slightly different pronunciation, it could be an actor bending from the hips toward the stage in grateful acknowledgement of the audience's applause.
privy: A personal favorite that I have to teach the kids is the close relationship between knowing, as in "privy to", and an outhouse. Then, I have to make the joke that they are newly privy to the function of a privy.
The list goes on and on:
current
address
fair
spring
wind
English is rife with opportunities for confusion, whether (weather) it's one's first language or second.
A day ago, I was reading the newspaper and saw an article about the war in Iran, specifically the House bill to register males in the United States for the draft automatically. My mind immediately identified the options...
draft: 1) an iteration of a piece of writing or drawing; 2) a current of air; 3) a banking transaction; 4) a technique whereby one racer stays behind another to benefit aerodynamically; 5) negotiations related to trading and choosing athletes for a team
As the mother of a 15 year old boy, I shudder to consider the only other meaning of the word I know.
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