Avoiding spelling mistakes.

Building      

The common word building is sometimes seen spelled wrong in Thai English as bilding. This is a difficult problem, since the way the word is pronounced, it would be more logical to spell it bilding. This way of thinking does not help, however. Even with very good excuses, an error remains an error. We must try to figure out ways to not make the same mistake, even if it seems reasonable to do so. The letters ui in building are clearly pronounced as if the letter u was not there. This is no doubt confusing to every learner of English. The only way to be more comfortable when pronunciations that seem unusual occur is to remember that they are not so unusual after all. For example, the letters ui are pronounced as if the letter u were missing in the following words:

build

builder

building

circuit

guilt

guilty

guide  

guitar  

guinea pig,

guild

biscuit.

There are other examples of words where the letter u is silent even when the letters ui are not involved. So, these words with the letters ua or ue also sound as if the letter u were missing:

guarantee

guard

guardian

guess

Trying to recall that all of these words have something in common might be too difficult, unless we make up little sentences to help us remember the story. As always with invented sentences, the meaning is not as important as placing these words close to one another in a memorable way, so we learn to associate them with others. A few samples:

The guinea pig lived in a building, playing the guitar and eating a biscuit.

The guardian guaranteed that the guide was guilty.

Science

For all students and ajarns, not just those in scientific subjects, the noun science is an important word in English. Yet in Thai English the word science is sometimes seen spelled wrongly as seience. Many words in English begin with the letters sei, but science is not one of them. So the word science is not be to be associated with such words as seismology or seizure. How can we avoid this problem? As we know, science means studying the physical and natural world through observations and experiments. The word’s origins are from a Latin term, scientia, meaning knowledge. It is not necessary to know Latin to spell the word science correctly. We can link it with many other words in English beginning with the letters sci, although these other words do not have the same origins. Many of these words beginning with the letters sci are unusual or rare words, but all are useful. To be sure of spelling science correctly, it might be a good occasion for learning about some of these other words, to be able to remember them all together:

Sciatic is an adjective meaning related to the hip. People who suffer from pain in their sciatic nerve are sometimes diagnosed with the ailment sciatica.

Scimitar is a sword with a curved blade, first developed in Persia.

Scintillating refers to something that shines or sparkles brightly.

Scion is a formal term for a son or daughter of a noted family. Scion was the name of a type of car formerly manufactured by Toyota, Inc. Scion is also the name of role-playing games using rules similar to the Storyteller system made popular by the World of Darkness, for those who enjoy such games.

Scirocco, also spelled sirocco, is a hot southerly to southeasterly wind originating in the Sahara and adjacent North African regions. The Volkswagen Scirocco is a sport compact coupe first introduced in 1974, and again in 1992 and 2008.

Scissors is a common term for shearing tools operated by hand.

Again, if we grow familiar with this seemingly unusual way of spelling, and remember that it does happen in English, then we are better prepared for when we must use it. Otherwise, we will always be surprised and puzzled when it must be used. The point is to realize that the system often does not make sense, and just try to handle as many of the exceptional cases as possible. No language works according to rules that never change. Thai language developed from different sources. Modern English too derived from a number of different languages, and used rules and manners of spelling from each of them. This can seem a mess, and also a waste of time for those who are trying to understand the basic rules in as little time as possible. Since there is no short cut to perfect spelling, the best approach is just getting to know words better and better over time. As always, reading is the best way to increase English language vocabulary and also become more sensitive to correct English language spelling. It does not matter what is read, whether printed books or online magazines, as long as we can be reasonably sure that almost all of what we read has been carefully written and proofread by people who are able to do this. For this reason, just texting with Thai friends in English does not help our spelling in English to improve. Even native born users of English make lots of spelling mistakes in texts and emails because of the small buttons needed to be pressed to write a message. Instead, we should read reliable publications and books in English. Even these may have a few spelling mistakes, since they are almost impossible to eliminate entirely in English. Yet seeing how things should be spelled is the only way to increase our chances that the next time we must try to spell them for ourselves, we will increase the odds of getting things right.

With   

With is an example of a short and very common word that is sometimes seen spelled wrong in Thai English. In English, short words can be especially difficult to define and fully understand, which may be one reason why in Thai English, with is seen mistakenly spelled as wtih and wiht. Like other short words such as in or to or on, with is often placed before a noun – the name of a thing – or a pronoun, a word substituting for a noun. This important linking word informs the reader about how the noun or pronoun relates to the rest of the sentence. Typically, in English classes, students are taught that with is a preposition, but knowing that does not really help with getting its spelling right. Instead, it may be more useful try to understand why certain spelling errors are made. The wrong spelling wtih appears to be due to careless typing. No one thinks that the word with should be pronounced as if it were written wtih, so it is likely a simple matter of human error.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)