More words that are easy to confuse

Ware/ wear/ where

When words sound exactly alike, writers of Thai English can sometimes become confused about their spelling. This is another reason why when we spell words in English, we should not focus only on how we may think they sound. Instead, we should also keep in mind a visual image of the word, especially since our own idea of how a word is pronounced may not agree with the standard correct British or American English pronunciation. Short words are often the greatest challenge, because they may seem easy at first. A word with only a few letters would appear to be less challenging than one with many letters. Yet in practice, short words can often pose issues. For example, the noun ware, used to mean an object of a certain kind.

Those interested in the fine arts know about such specialized crafts as silverware. Students of computer science at Thammasat University are familiar with the terms software and hardware. In addition, shareware is a type of proprietary software which is initially provided free of charge to users, who are allowed and encouraged to make and share copies of the program. Types of shareware include adware, demoware, donationware, and nagware. For further information about these, ask your faculty webmaster. People interested in cooking and storing foods may be familiar with Tupperware, which provides home products for preparing, storing, and serving food. It is called Tupperware because the American man who founded the company in the 1940s was named Mr. Tupper. If the word ware is used alone, it may refer to pottery, as in earthenware, Arretine ware, grooved ware, Zürich ware, sandy ware, grey ware, buff ware, splashware, fritware, and many others. Some of these are on display at the Southeast Asian Ceramics Museum at Bangkok University, Pathum Thani. If authors refer to wares in the plural, they may mean items for sale. Vendors display their wares. Other kinds of ware:

tinware

clayware

cookware

dishware

flatware

giftware

ironware

ovenware

chinaware

delftware

glassware

metalware

stoneware

tableware

dinnerware

enamelware

willowware

earthenware

graniteware

kitchenware

lacquerware

All Thai students of English are familiar with the common verb wear, meaning to put on one’s body as covering, protection, or decoration. There is a secondary meaning of wear as a verb, to damage or erode, as in the phrase to wear down. These and other meanings of wear are understood, but telling them apart from ware is the challenge. Added confusion may be created by another familiar word that sounds the same, the adverb where, meaning at, in, or to a place. One way to help tell them apart might be to remember short sentences designed to put them close together, so that their difference becomes more visible:

• Hawaii is a place where people wear grass skirts as they clean their silverware.
• The jeweller recycled old silverware into decorative pieces for people to wear, where they had previously just collected dust.
• A webmaster thinks more about software and hardware and not so much about what to wear, as offices where computer experts work are rarely fashionable.

Some further usage examples:

• Toto Ltd, a Japan-based manufacturer for sanitary ware and fitting products, has set a strategy to improve its rankings in Thailand’s sanitary-ware market from the fifth spot at present to the top three by 2020.
• Fire damages plastics factory in Nakhon Pathom. A fire broke out in the warehouse building of a plastic ware factory in Nakhon Pathom early on Saturday.
• Toto Group of Japan’s shares in Siam Sanitary Ware Co Ltd (SSW), and Siam Sanitary Fittings Co Ltd (SSF) will be sold to SCG.
• For those who love to cook, the highlight is stamp redemption for German standard kitchen ware.
• The 12 professions to be opened to foreigners include manual labour, as defined by the Employment Department, and 11 others for which foreigners can be hired “as necessary”, with the condition that they can only be employees, not business owners or working independently. The 11 others are agriculture, including animal husbandry, forestry, fisheries and other non-expert jobs; bricklaying, carpentry and other construction work; and making mattresses, quilt blankets, knives, shoes, hats, dresses, pottery and ceramic ware…The 28 professions reserved for Thais include 16 that involve “Thai wisdom” and “Thai characteristics”. These are woodcarving; weaving cloth by hand; weaving mats and utensils from reeds, rattan, hemp, straw and bamboo pellicle; making mulberry paper and silk products by hand; making lacquerware, nielloware, Thai musical instruments, traditional Thai dolls, gold ornaments, silverware, bronzeware, alms bowls, cloth umbrellas and Buddha images; typesetting in Thai characters; and silk reeling and twisting by hand.
• Lux by Sacict’s first collection “Gold Touch” featured sophisticated products created by various masters long celebrated in their respective fields along with innovative designs by new generation artisans made according to original techniques. The products are made of or inspired by gold and include gold brocade silk, stone set bowls, Sukhothai gold jewellery, Petchaburi gold jewellery, khon masks, gilded lacquer ware, nielloware art and Benjarong or Pentachrome porcelain. The products have been well received by consumers.
• Extraordinary sake bottles, a 60-year-old print by a Japanese woodblock master and lacquerware from the resort city of Appi are among the highlights of the Chiang Mai exhibition “Beautiful Handicrafts of Tohoku, Japan” |opening this Saturday. Tohoku is best known for its metal casting, as seen in iron teapots and wind chimes – Nambu-Tekki (Nambu ironware) and Yamagata-Imono (Yamagata casting). Nambu refers to an area of Tohoku ruled by a powerful samurai clan in the Edo Period. Aiza-Hongo-ware (from Aiza Hongo-cho in Fukushima Prefecture), Naraoka-ware (from Nangai-mura in Akita) and Tsutsumi-ware (from Sendaricity in Miyagi) will also be on show. These range from antique pieces from the Edo Period to original works by individual artists in more recent times. Each piece has a specific intended purpose, such as preserving food through the winter, but it is the exquisite balance between the shape and glaze that distinguishes the pottery of Tohoku. The Joboji lacquerware featured in the exhibition was crafted at Joboji, a well-known origin of “raw lacquer” in the region. The method of collecting lacquer sap, known as urushi-kaki, has been passed down across the generations. It entails slashing the tree trunk in such a way that no lasting damage is done. The characteristics of the lacquerware differ among production sites in Tohoku, and the exhibition offers a chance to compare the subtle shifts.
• The second floor features the “Cotto Bathroom Showcase”, with tiles, sanitary ware and plumbing innovations, and the third floor has the “Product Variety” zone featuring building materials ranging from cement to timber substitutes.
• Medical staff members at a private hospital in Bangkok on Tuesday went the extra mile to wear period attire and dress up newborn babies in fetching Thai traditional outfits ahead of the Songkran Festival, which begins on Friday.
• Fans of the popular period TV series “Love Destiny” can wear traditional period Thai costumes while having their photo taken for the national identification card, a senior government official said on Friday.
• Visitors at the royally-initiated winter festival Oon Ai Rak Klay Kwam Nao at the Royal Plaza and Sanam Suea Pa in Bangkok wear traditional Thai clothes and take selfies amid the flowers and picturesque structures that were prepared for the event.
• Bangkok residents’ daily struggle for transportation, personal space and quality of life has prompted the emergence of a sarcastic hashtag among netizens. “Krunthep Cheevit Dee Dee Thee Long Tua” (Bangkok: living the good life where everything falls into place) mocks the Thai capital’s motto – “Bangkok … City of Life”.
• Where to eat in Bangkok: Bangkok is the ultimate destination for food lovers. From nondescript shop houses to Michelin-starred restaurants, Bangkok has a seemingly bottomless well of dining options.
• Sangkhlaburi is the wild side of Thailand where hidden waterfalls flow through thick jungle.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)