More words that are easy to confuse.

Flounder/ founder

Many words in the English language are spelled similarly, with only a letter or two different. This makes it a good idea to look closely at words when we are reading or writing them, to be sure we understand what the meaning should be. If we are in a fish market, we may recognize the noun flounder. It refers to a flatfish that lives in shallow coastal water. A flounder is a small fish, and the term flounder is generally used to refer to fish of about that size from those types of habitats, which are not sole, another type of fish. In academic research and theses, unless we are writing about biology or the economics of the fishing industry, chances are that we will not be referring to a flounder as a noun. Yet the verb to flounder does appear in a wide range of subject matter. It means to struggle with great difficulty, such as trying to swim in strong waves, on the edge of drowning. Someone or something that is floundering is struggling with violent movement. To flounder suggests that failure may be the result of efforts, as in the verbs to flail or stagger or stumble. While this use of the verb to flounder occurs often when there are disasters such as shipwrecks, there is also a more general meaning of the verb. It means to struggle in our minds or be confused. If we cannot meet a challenge, we may be said to flounder, because we are not ready to conquer the problem. In the business world at a time of economic crisis, companies may be said to flounder. This means that they are unable to meet financial requirements, and are at risk to go into bankruptcy.

The verb to founder refers to what happens after a ship has been floundering and can no longer stay afloat. When we say that a ship founders, it means that it fills with water and sinks. A ship that has foundered has gone to the bottom of the sea and is lost. The origin of the verb to founder is in a Latin term meaning the bottom, so to founder means to sink to the bottom. More generally, we can say of any project or plan that if it has foundered, then it has definitely failed. Note that if the plan or project is floundering, it is not dead yet, although it may appear to be in serious trouble. By the time it has foundered, then all is definitely lost, and there is no more to be done. So, although both verbs, flounder and founder, are about serious situations, to founder is more definitive than to flounder. We would not want to suggest that a project or company has already failed, just because it may be struggling or otherwise facing difficulties. How can we remember this difference when we are reading and writing English? Let us take a look at the other meanings of the word founder. As a noun, we know the familiar term founder, meaning someone who establishes something. Pridi Banomyong was the founder of Thammasat University:

Officially established to be the national university of Thailand on June 27th, 1934 the university was originally named by its founder, Pridi Banomyong, the University of Moral and Political Sciences.

The meaning for the noun founder derives from a term in Latin meaning to lay a foundation. Buildings are constructed by first putting down a foundation, and the person who does that symbolically is a founder. Still another meaning of the noun founder means someone who owns or works in a foundry, a place where metal castings are made. Founders cast metals into shapes by melting them into liquid form and pouring them into a mold. Founders often work with aluminium and cast iron in this way, as well as bronze, brass, steel, magnesium, and zinc. All of these metals may be found in foundries.

So how can we be sure to tell the two verbs apart, to flounder and to founder? We should keep in mind that even native speakers of English tend to confuse these words, so if users of Thai English do so as well, it is understandable. To try to get it right, we might invent some sentences that will help us keep in mind the different meanings and avoid confusion.

The flounder jumped out of the water and was floundering on the shore.

The company founder owned a large foundry until it foundered during the economic crisis.

The founder who owned a large foundry was worried that it might founder during the economic crisis when his business plans were floundering.  

The company floundered for a few years until it finally foundered.

If we think of the verb to flounder with a mental image of a fish thrashing about, trying to save itself, we will have the right idea about the action of floundering.

The water buffalo was floundering in the muddy swamp.

If we think, on the other hand, of someone who has created a business and is proud to be a founder of a company, suffering when that company fails completely, then we will think of it foundering.

The company founder was sad when his business foundered.

Here are some more usage examples:

• An earlier attempt this year to woo new partners for Proton foundered on the Malaysian government’s refusal to allow foreign bidders to acquire control.
• Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho must rally a fatigued and foundering team this weekend as he rekindles an increasingly thorny rivalry with his former club Chelsea, the Premier League leaders.
• Indonesia’s already-foundering rupiah decreased to a low unseen in 17 years.
• The boat foundered late Friday around 200 kilometres from Christmas Island, the usual destination for boats put to sea by people-smugglers in Indonesia.
• But that plan has foundered. The NCPO on Tuesday announced it has invoked Article 44 again in a bid to get the two lines connected.
• Her photos posted to Instagram always offered clues about her relationship with Chonsawat, so why not let the social networks draw their own conclusions once the marriage foundered?
• It is possible that a ship this size could get into trouble in a severe storm, but the Sewol was facing foggy conditions, not stormy, when it foundered.
• Jamie Vardy’s 100th goal in English league football helped inspire Leicester City to a 2-1 win at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday that left the visitors’ title bid floundering.
• However, thanks to Valverde’s shrewd management, the Catalans have bounced back in incredible style, dropping only six points in their opening 17 league games while their rivals have floundered.
• The Thai athletic association targeted 14 golds, the same number as in the previous Games, but their campaign floundered.
• The kidnap attempt floundered after the van overturned in the Northeast, but the affair was not resolved until the son of the diplomat was released after lengthy negotiations.
• Loretta Lynn — a protegee of Patsy Cline, who broke through the gender barrier in country music — has won a fan base with songs that highlight the woes of white Southern women faced with philandering and floundering husbands.
• With the world floundering, and with America and Europe in deepening crises, the captains of industry and economic gurus appear to have no answers.
• In order for waste recycling and reduction to work at a feasible economic scale, it has to be adapted on a regional scale. Bali seems to be floundering on this issue.
• Konsortium Logistik was floundering after the financial crisis with debts estimated at RM1.7 billion.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons).