Words that are commonly confused

Mantel/ mantle          

As often happens in the English language, two short words are spelled in very similar ways but mean different things. One in particular is frequently used in a figurative sense, so that spelling it correctly in theses and academic research papers is essential. The noun mantle refers to a loose sleeveless cloak or shawl, worn especially by women. Another term for mantle would be cape or wrap. From this specific meaning, mantle has also been extended to mean any covering, such as a mantle of snow. This expression mantle of snow is equivalent to mentioning a layer or blanket of snow. Science students at Thammasat University may have heard of a form of nonelectric incandescent lamp called the gas-mantle lamp:

The mantle is a mesh bag of fabric impregnated with a solution of nitrates of cerium and one or more of the following metals: thorium, beryllium, aluminum, or magnesium. The mantle is fixed over an orifice carrying a flammable gas such as natural gas, coal gas, propane, or vaporized benzene or other fuel. When the gas is ignited, the mantle fabric burns away, leaving a brittle residual lattice of metal oxides. Light is produced when this lattice is heated to glowing by the gas combustion, although the mantle itself does not burn. Gas lamps may operate without mantles.

TU students of ornithology may also have heard of the noun mantle used to describe a part of a bird. As we know, a mantle may mean a shawl worn across the shoulders and down the back, often falling to a point. That is the shape of what ornithologists means when they refer to the mantle of a bird. Other TU students in the natural sciences who are busy with zoology may have heard of another meaning for the term mantle. It is a fold of skin on the back of the animal containing the internal organs and secreting a substance that forms the shell. The word mantle is used because as with the original meaning of cloak or covering, the animal’s mantle extends beyond the main part of the body. This use of the term mantle is found in studying mollusks, or soft-bodied invertebrates, cirripedes or barnacles, and brachiopods, or marine animals that secrete a shell consisting of two parts called valves that are very different from the anatomy of clams and other shellfish.

TU students of geology will also be aware of yet another meaning for the noun mantle. The mantle is a layer inside a terrestrial planet and some other rocky planetary bodies. The mantle is bounded on the bottom by the planetary core and on top by the crust. Explorers would find a mantle made of silicate rock in the terrestrial planets, otherwise known as Earth, Venus, Mars and Mercury, among others. Apparently mantles of ice and other solid substances are found in two moons of Jupiter, Ganymede and Callisto.

Students in the humanities and social sciences will not need to worry about each specific meaning of these technical scientific uses of the word mantle. Yet it is helpful to give us an idea of the importance of the word, and how frequently it appears in academic research papers and theses. More generally, the noun mantle also has a figurative meaning of a significant role or responsibility passed along from one person to another. With all these different meanings of the word mantle, we can see it would be awkward to spell it wrong as mantel, which sometimes happens in Thai English.

This is a particular problem because the word mantel is also a correct word in English, so spell check programs will not catch it if we make the mistake. The word mantel is used to describe part of the construction of a fireplace in domestic architecture. A mantel may be a beam used to support the brickwork or stone work above a fireplace. It may also refer to a shelf above a fireplace or the decorations around a fireplace. So when we use the term mantel, we should have a fireplace in mind, while the spelling mantle has many other meanings. How can we avoid this confusion? One way might be to remind ourselves of the popular British author Hilary Mantel, whose books about Wolf Hall have made popular television adaptations. The TU Library owns a translation into Thai language of one of the volumes of the Wolf Hall series by Hilary Mantel. If we think:

I enjoy reading a book by Hilary Mantel when I am cosily curled up in front of the fireplace.

We will then associate the spelling mantel with a fireplace. TU students who are baseball fans may also recall that a famous American baseball player was named Mickey Mantle. The TU Library owns a copy of a memoir by Mickey Mantle, about how he courageously fought back through many injuries. Since this baseball player was very active and not the type of person to sit next to a fireplace and read a book, we can easily keep apart in our memories Hilary Mantel and Mickey Mantle. Similarly, we can also keep separate the nouns that are identical with their names. Some usage examples:

• A smooth transition of central procurement of medical supplies is now underway as Rajavithi Hospital assumes the mantle of purchasing medicine for hospitals and some other medical organisations nationwide.
• Loud and annoying sounds are not only a scourge in tourist cities like Pattaya, Phuket, Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Thailand is also renowned for noise pollution in rural areas. Indeed Thailand may well claim the mantle of “noisiest country in the world”. I could list all the different types of eardrum assault, but it would entail two hours of typing, and I’ve got better things to do with my time.
• Saibua has passed on the mantle to his two sons, who rent 30 rai of land each to grow rice, as they only own 10 rai.
• In “The Last Reel”, a teenage girl jumps off the back of her gangster boyfriend’s motorbike to take up the mantle of movie producer and actress as she tries to reconstruct the missing reel of a 1970s historical epic.
• “Senko will complement our business by finding us new customers as well as advanced logistics know-how,” said Somchai, adding that the joint venture will provide M-Senko with solid foundations for taking the market’s leadership mantle in full-service cold chain logistics.
• When I’m done and can no longer ride my bike, it will hang above the mantel over my fireplace.
• The fire burned brightly beneath the mantel.
• The small clock on the mantel slowly ticked the time away.
• Ever since I was young, we’ve hung a stocking from the mantel on Christmas Eve.
• Her mantel was littered with figurines she had collected in her travels around the world.
• Although the mantel was sparsely decorated, each item had been artfully placed.
• The fireplace was framed by the most ornate mantel I had ever seen.
• The mantel in the old house had become cracked and crooked with age.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)