It's All Easy

Some word spellings seem perpetually confusing to people. The latest evidence of the prophecy/prophesy confusion came this morning when I read an email from the director of a Mennonite seminary. Here's part of one sentence in the email: " . . . the practice of prophesy . . . " (When used as a noun, the word is "prophecy"--with a "c." The professor erred.)

How about this as a nonsensical mnemonic device for remembering that prophesy is always a verb: "It's easy to prophesy." (Get it? Both words end in "sy.")

The other perpetually confusing pair is "affect" and "effect." Part of the problem here is that both words have a very common and a more rare useage. In the common useage, "affect" is always a verb and "effect" is always a noun. But it's not quite that simple. A person can effect (verb) change and experience an affect (a noun meaning emotion or desire). I've always assumed that my high school students will not feel a need to use the rare useages, and have little need to learn them now.

My struggles to create a memorable mnemonic device for the common useage of "affect" and "effect" have not been memorable so far. Adding another layer to the previous nonsensical mnemonic device might work: "It's easy to get the right effect." ("Easy" and "effect" in this common useage both start with an "e.")

It's all really very EASY.

**********************

I read the lament recently of another writer who is distressed by the pervasive insertion of "eks" or "eggs" ("ex") sounds in words that have none of the above spellings. The writer gave two examples: "Egg cetera" instead of "ET cetera" and "Eks-presso" instead of ESS-presso." The dictionary at my desk at school actually lists "Eks-presso" as one of the pronunciations for espresso --not surprising from a dictionary publisher that has adopted the "descriptive" rather than the "prescriptive" approach to pronunciation.

My former co-teacher, Wendell N., hated this approach so much that he made sure he always had a "prescriptive" dictionary at his desk. I would guess that only "ESS-presso" was present in Wendell's dictionary.