More words that are easy to confuse.

Breath/ breathe/ breadth

When separate words are closely related, they are especially easy to confuse. The noun breath refers to the air that is taken into the lungs and let it out again by living beings. The noun breath is also sometimes used in academic research papers or theses to refer to a hint or suggestion about something. If we see the phrase:

There was not a breath of scandal apparent.

This means that there was no trace of any scandal. The word breath originates with a German term meaning smell or scent. The verb breathe means the action of taking air into the lungs and inhale and exhale. Sometimes in literary English writing, we will find the verb breathe used to mean to speak quietly or whisper, as in the phrase:

I failed my midterm exam, Malivalaya breathed.

The verb breathe may also signify giving an impression of something, as in the phrase:

The Thammasat University Hospital breathes efficiency.

That means if we visit the TU Hospital and look at the way things are run there, we get the impression of an efficient organization. The verb breathe may also be applied to things which we may not think of as breathing. People who love drinking wine will insist:

• Wine that has had a brief exposure to air is positive since it allows wine to breathe, similar to stretching its legs after being cooped up in the bottle for so many years. This exposure has a positive effect on the wine after 25 to 30 minutes.

Some students who are fans of scents and aroma therapy will know about Breathe BKK The Designer Aroma shops which sell home fragrance products made in the Kingdom. Since only one letter separates the words breath and breathe, they may be easily confused. One way to reduce the chances of making this confusion would be only to write these words when they are absolutely necessary in the context of an academic research paper or thesis. This means not writing breath when used as a figure of speech, such as a breath of fresh air or take our breath away. Instead of a breath of fresh air, we can simply write something new or an innovation. Instead of take our breath away, we can write surprise or astonish. The best way to get the spelling right is to keep in mind that the vowel sounds in the words breath and breathe are pronounced differently. They are pronounced eh and ee, making thr words sound like breth and breethe. It is difficult for some writers of Thai English to remember that even in words where the letters ea appear together, these are not always pronounced as ee. We might remember that there are many words where the letters ea are not pronounced as ee:

• dead
• head
• lead
• read
• bread
• dread
• spread
• thread
• tread
• health
• wealth

These are just some of the exceptions. So if we can recall that without a final letter e, the word breath is pronounced as breth and is a noun, not a verb, we should prevent many errors. We can invent a sentence to remind us of the different pronunciations. As usual, the meaning is not essential, but the way words sound when put close together may help us remember their differences:

Apinya told Chaow, “Please do not breathe on me because your breath smells of durian.”

Because English often adds new difficulties just when we think we may have resolved one, there is another word liable to cause problems. The noun breadth means the width of something as measured from side to side. It is pronounced very close to breath, and most native born English speakers say the words as if they sounded the same. To clear up potential annoyances, we can safely use the word width instead of breadth, although we may see the phrase length and breadth in scholarly literature. Another instance of the noun breadth as used to mean range or extent is the phrase:

Ajarn Kraisid Tontisirin, an emeritus professor at Mahidol University and chair of the Policy Board of the Thai Research Fund, has great breadth of experience.

Some usage examples:

• A Thai woman who fell into a coma during a trip in South Korea has started to breathe by herself but is still being closely monitored by doctors, said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Bussadee Santipitak on Wednesday.
• Chiang Mai residents are being urged to join a rally on Friday, March 30 to draw the authorities’ attention to the worsening air pollution in the northern city. The rally, which is called the “Right to Breathe Gathering,” has been organised by Citylife Chiang Mai Magazine and will take place at 5pm at Tha Pae Gate. Those taking part are asked to wear an air pollution mask to highlight the seriousness of the situation. “Grab your mask and bring your friends and family and let’s have our voices heard,” the magazine said.
• Meghan Markle, Prince Harry’s actor girlfriend, will breathe fresh air into the British royal family when she marries Queen Elizabeth II’s grandson next Spring.
• Clothes that let you breathe. Uniqlo is all set to launch its spring/summer 2018 U collection featuring a range of reinvented basics from the design team at the Uniqlo Paris R&D Centre led by artistic director Christophe Lemaire.
• How a group of calligraphers breathed new life into the Constitution. It was five in the morning. Cups of coffee and containers of Rotring ink were being filled up, one after another. Calligraphers started their days, and ended their nights, penning all details and bits of the 2017 Constitution on sheets of 120-gsm paper, soon to be assembled as traditional Thai folding books.
• PM2.5 is so harmful because the tiny microns, more narrow than a single human hair, can lodge deep inside lung tissue with ease, exposing people to severe respiratory disorders. “Bangkok residents should not breathe in this toxic dust any more,” Mr Thara said, adding the pollution will affect the city’s economy in the long run.
• Art breathes life into black leopard campaign – despite repeated attempts at suppression A CAMPAIGN calling for the prosecution of a construction tycoon over his alleged killing of a black leopard and other protected animals has expanded, with people expressing their grief and anger in essays, poems, paintings and, in the latest development, street art.
• Accommodation to take your breath away. Airbnb is introducing a new shortlist of well-decorated, comfortable accommodation that will answer the needs of K-pop fans as they descent on Bangkok for the G-Dragon World Tour concerts on July 7 and 8.
• Smoking ban on popular Thai beaches. Twenty of Thailand’s most popular beaches get a breath of fresh air.
• Thai sport fans are waiting with bated breath as they start the countdown to one of the biggest international motorsport events, the Race of Champions in Bangkok, from December 14 to 16.
• Fans around Rajamangala National Stadium held their breath as Thailand and Gabon entered a penalty shoot-out in their opening King’s Cup tie on Thursday.
• It is also quite ironic that the great Mayweather is sunning himself in these parts for another man, nowhere near as famous, is tucked away in Issan, working feverishly to earn himself the right to be mentioned in the same breath as the American.
• In that respect, Watanaporn’s statement is a breath of fresh air, but the truth is Thais do not treat dialects and languages of different regions with equal respect.
• Through meditative thoughts, Jiratchaya Pripwai draws endless lines keeping with her infinite breath.
• Jail and a heavy fine are now in the headlights of any driver who refuses a police directive to take a breath test — they will be assumed drunk and can be arrested and charged under the drink-driving law that has just been amended.
• Despite the harmful dust levels reported across Bangkok since last week, residents seem unfazed by the potential risk to their health as they have already grown accustomed to some of the world’s most congested roads and thick traffic fumes… “Even though some people wear face masks on the street, most won’t. Holding their breath or covering their noses with their sleeves is more likely,” said Ms. Sirirat.
• Baker, an American manufacturer of fine home furnishings, has just unveiled its new collection by renowned French guest designer and architect, Jean-Louis Deniot, a breadth of work that spans an impressive 80 pieces in total, including casegoods, upholstery, lighting and accessories.
• “Apple brings customers a diverse breadth of entertainment content, while giving artists and creative people a global platform to express themselves and find new audiences,” the tech giant said this week in a press release.
• His writing showed an unusual breadth of knowledge and depth of insight into Asian affairs.
• Tan Choon Hin, president and chief executive officer of UOB (Thai), said that the UOB Thailand Painting of the Year competition aims to showcase to a regional audience the breadth of talent and creativity in Thailand.
• With travel and tourism now widely recognised as a major contributor to grassroots economies, job creation and income distribution, we are now taking specific measures to ensure that the benefits are better distributed across the breadth and depth of the entire kingdom.
• “To accomplish our mission, Mr Sanchai Thiewprasertkul has been invited to join and further strengthen the team. Given his unique depth and breadth of experience in retail management and information technology recognised in the innovation industry, it is the company’s conviction that [he] will make significant contributions to our efforts to strive towards a stronger position and exert its leadership as ‘Thailand’s top retail and real-estate developer’ that has been behind countless phenomena of the era and will continue to offer novel experiences to its customers through the years.”

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons).