More words that are easy to confuse

Flammable/ inflammable/ nonflammable

As all students of English as a foreign language know, sometimes words play tricks on us. We are taught in English class that the letters in at the beginning of a word sometimes mean not. So the word inactive means not active. Keep in mind that this is not the only meaning for the letters in at the start of a word, because there are also exceptions. Thammasat University undergraduates and graduate students in the sciences often see the adjective flammable, or easy to burn. The meaning of this adjective is clear, since we see the noun flame in the word flammable. The noun flame is the hot glowing gas that results when something is on fire. Students in the computer sciences may have seen references to flames or flaming as slang terms for when angry internet users send messages to attack one another over the web. Some students may mistakenly think that the opposite of flammable must be inflammable. This is a mistake commonly seen even in writings by native speakers of English. Still, it is wrong. The adjectives flammable and inflammable mean exactly the same thing. It would be an error to use the word inflammable in an academic research paper or thesis if we mean to discuss something that is not flammable. For that purpose, the word non-flammable or nonflammable is used. Explaining why this confusion exists involves looking at how languages develop over the centuries. In the 1600s, Latin terms meaning to cause to catch fire resulted in the word inflammable. The letters in as part of this word were not used to mean not, but rather to cause to. We cannot be expected to always think of word origins when we are using words in academic writing. The best solution is just to never use the word inflammable in our academic writing. We can easily restrict ourselves to flammable and non-flammable.

Students who are not in the sciences may still see the word inflammable used figuratively, when actual fire is not being discussed. For example, we may see the words:

The singing contest on television excited the inflammable emotions of the viewers.

This means that people watching the program were easily excited over which singer would win the competition. There was no real fire or flames involved. In scientific texts, flammable is usually preferred over inflammable, because there is less chance of confusion when it is used. For example:

Sugar is a carbohydrate much like flour, and it is flammable for the exact same scientific reasons.

Some scientists suggest that while something that is flammable can be easily set fire to, a substance that is inflammable may burst into flames without being set fire to. Students who are in doubt about the fine points of these scientific terms should ask their ajarn. Here are some more usage examples:

• The fire broke out at around 4am at worker shacks within the shop’s yard in Soi Chatuchote 2 and spread to piles of inflammable items.
• The second fire was at Super 4 Narathiwat Department Store, the largest store in Narathiwat. Firefighters took about four hours to control the blaze after it swept through and damage the entire building. Firefighters heard sounds of explosions several times, apparently from oil and inflammable goods.
• For residents near Praeska, in Samut Prakan province, the intensity of the blaze has left them in little doubt that inflammable chemicals swash around the foetid mounds of trash.
• Huai Khwang police chief, Pol Colonel Boonsong Namkorn, said the fire may have been caused by a spark from tripped circuit, which set fire to the inflammable items stored in the room.
• Sale of balloons filled with nitrous oxide gas, also known as laughing gas, is illegal. However, vendors on Khao San Road – Bangkok’s famous tourist street – are still selling this balloon to tourists. Some of them have set up stands along the street, luring tourists to pay Bt100 to Bt150 for each piece. The cost of a balloon containing laughing gas is only Bt20. Tourists have been warned to not buy these balloons as the colourless and non-inflammable nitrous-oxide gas can cause severe symptoms for inhalers and some might even become unconscious if there is an overdose.
• Thailand Post has introduced Automated Postal Machine (APM) service at Suvarnabhumi Airport to enable air travellers to dispatch by post any items prohibited from being carried on board. However, prohibited items such as sharp items with or without protection, explosives, live animals, pressurised items, and inflammable items cannot be sent using this facility.
• Meanwhile Pol Col Boonsong Namkorn, Huaykwang police chief, said the fire may have been caused by an electrical fault and that the storage room was full of inflammable items.
• A fire broke out at a rubber plant in Trang province Sunday morning, causing about Bt3 million in damages. Plant owner Rabin Wongmusa said he saw some smoke before his workers started running out for their life. “They said it’s not possible to put out the blaze. Rubber sheets are very flammable,” he said.
• INVESTIGATORS are looking into the cause of a fire at Major Cineplex Pinklao after firemen managed to get the blaze under control at 1.30pm yesterday. Two people suffered minor injuries, according to Bangkok Emergency Medical Service. According to police, the fire broke out in the seventh theatre on the fourth floor of the Cineplex shortly before noon and spread fast because of the presence of flammable materials.
• Two teachers’ houses at Baan Bang Tao School were completely destroyed after a furious blaze started at about 8pm. No injuries or casualties have been reported. Located behind the school, the two-storey houses were built of timber and concrete 40 years ago. Firefighters took about 40 minutes to extinguish the flames as the wooden parts were highly flammable.
• Meanwhile, Forensic Science Office chief Pol Maj-General Thawatchai Mekprasertsuk said investigators have found no signs of irregularity, flammable substances or even petrol on the 10th floor of the SCB building, though arson has not been ruled out yet.
• Customers flee as fire breaks out in Uttaradit bar. About 20 customers and staff at a newly-opened bar in Uttaradit’s Mueang district escaped uninjured after a fire broke out in the entertainment venue late Monday night. Police said the fire at the New Bangkok pub was caused by an electrical short circuit in the stage area. The blaze spread through the three-storey pub fast because of flammable foam that was used as soundproofing.
• Family in Pattaya escapes blaze. A Thai couple and their two toddlers had a narrow escape when they woke up to find their shophouse on fire early on Sunday, Bang Lamung district chief Naris Niramaiwong in Pattaya City said. Firefighters broke open the shop’s metal door and put out the flames. The fire reportedly came from an air compressor or tyre inflator before spreading fast through flammable tyre piles.

• Fire destroys paint-making plants. The major blaze destroyed two paint-making factories in Samut Prakan province early yesterday, resulting in four injuries and an estimated damage bill of more than Bt500 million. The fire at UR Chemical Ltd in Bang Phli district was reported to authorities early in the morning, said Captain Phongnarin Nontanok, deputy inspector of Bang Phli Police Station, with 20 fire trucks sent to the scene. The factory stored many flammable materials such as fuel oil, turpentine, resin oil, and methanol, which were stored in more than 300 200-litre barrels and 30 300,000-litre tanks.
• Consumers increasingly use ceramic tiles for their walls and floors because they are durable, resistant to water damage, easy to clean, resistant to dust and germs, and non-flammable.
• The rise is a lightweight system constructed from metal decks and non-flammable EPS (expanded polystyrene) foam as thermal insulation.
• Non-flammable expanded polystyrene foam panels were used for the roof structure and insulation, requiring no additional ceilings since the roof panel provides adequate thermal insulation.
• It is a non-flammable gas negligibly soluble in water and slightly soluble in alcohol.
• The group said the buildings used non-flammable insulation but announced immediate works to remove the aluminium composite panels, starting on Tuesday.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons).