Avoiding spelling mistakes

In Thai English, we sometimes see the noun mechanics spelled wrongly as machanics. This may be due to human error, when the writer does not pay enough attention to spelling a familiar word, and puts in the letter a where the letter e is needed. Another explanation would be that the writer of Thai English is following an instinct of trying to make the word look the same way that it sounds when pronounced aloud. In spelling English words, it is best not to think of how we pronounce the words in Thai English. Remember that often in Thai English, pronunciation of English words does not follow standard British or American speech. Even if we do pronounce a word correctly, there is no guarantee that the word will be spelled in the same way that it is pronounced. If we think of some basic English words, we easily see that they are not spelled in the way that their pronunciation would suggest. For example, the noun mortgage. If we spelled it the way it sounds when pronounced in standard English, we might write something like morgidge, and we would fail that spelling exam. Another familiar term in English which is not spelled the way it sounds is the noun Colonel, which sounds something like kernel. Then there is the noun queue which is pronounced rather like kew or cue. Even the noun language itself is spelled misleadingly, since when it is pronounced, it sounds something like lang-widge. The examples are many of very common words that might pose challenges to write, if we follow the mistaken approach to think of how they might sound. The noun squirrel should sound more like skwerrul. And the noun yoghurt sounds like yogurt, with no sound of the letter h in the middle of the word. Thammasat students who enjoy singing in groups will know that the English word choir is pronounced kwy-er.

Learners of English are often puzzled by simple elements such as how the letters ou should sound, since they are pronounced differently in the words sound, southern and soup. The sound oo is spelled differently in many words, including shoe, flew, through, you, two, too, and gnu. The English Spelling Society maintains a website explaining some of these problems, while calling for spelling reform. British English is a particular challenge, for any TU students who plan to continue their graduate studies in the United Kingdom. There a place name such as Leicester is pronounced Lester. The city of Gloucester is pronounced Gloster. The city of Worcester is pronounced Wooster. Some words that were names of people sound even less connected with the way they are spelled. So, the family name of Cholmondeley is pronounced as Chumly and the name of Featherstonehaugh is pronounced as fanshaw. Even the British admit that some of these prnounciations are funny, considering how the words are written. There are long explanations by linguists about how word pronunciation changes, and often becomes shorter, over time. For Thai learners of English as a foreign language, the most important thing is to remember not to rely on how we may think a word is pronounced in English, since there are too many varieties of pronunciation, and we may have the wrong idea of standard pronunciation to begin with. Here are some usage examples for the noun mechanics to remind us of its correct spelling:

• New aircraft mechanics course tailored to meet Thai AirAsia needs. Thai AirAsia has signed a collaborative agreement with Rajamangala University of Technology Krungthep and Bangkok Aviation Centre (BAC) for the provision of a development programme for aircraft mechanics, which will offer an intensive one-year course and the opportunity to be immediately employed by the airline.
• Bicycle mechanic sought as ‘low carbon tourism officer’ for Koh Mak. Koh Mak in Trat is looking to hire a bicycle repairperson who can also do triple duty as a photographer/social-media marketer and an ambassador for “low carbon tourism.”
• An explosion near a beauty salon has seriously injured two air-conditioner mechanics and damaged six parked cars in Bangkok’s Hua Mak district. The salon was also badly damaged by the explosion.
• There is not the slightest doubt that Salam used exactly the same tools as Weinberg did – principally quantum mechanics and relativity theory – and did physics exactly as other physicists do (but better than most).
• Mercedes-Benz (Thailand) Co recently signed an educational memorandum of understanding under the campaign “New Milestone of Mercedes-Benz Technical Apprenticeship under German-Thai Dual Excellence Education” for the development of Thai vocational students under German’s highest standards for automotive industry. Mercedes-Benz established the dual vocational training course (auto mechanics programme) in 1987.
• Seasoned drivers know that when the windshield breaks/cracks during a trip, the difficulty level in driving the vehicle rises significantly. If you keep driving, the glass may shatter when your vehicle passes through bumpy areas. And if you decide to stop the vehicle and totally remove the broken glass, you’ll find that it is not as easy as you think. This is not an easy task for non-mechanics, and even mechanics find it difficult if they don’t have the right tools.
• Hyundai Motor (Thailand) Co Ltd recently staged the 10th Hyundai Thailand Skill Olympics and Service Advisor Championship 2018 for technicians and service advisors in Thailand. Apart from being able to measure the capabilities of mechanics and service quality of employees, the event also helps Hyundai to develop personnel and raise service quality, executives said. Winners of the competition will represent Thailand in the Hyundai Global CX (customer experience) Championship in South Korea.
• More than 1,400 people have been put out of work as Samsung Electro-Mechanics (Thailand) has shut down its operations in Nakhon Ratchasima or Korat, and laid off employees because of low orders.
• The Education Ministry plans to begin offering seven new vocational study programmes this year to advance the government’s national development strategies. It will unveil courses in the rail transport system, aircraft mechanics, mechatronics, industrial robots, energy technology, tourism technology and logistics.
• Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics, alongside quantum mechanics.
• Quantum mechanics, including quantum field theory, is a fundamental theory in physics which describes nature at the smallest scales of energy levels of atoms and subatomic particles. Classical physics, the physics existing before quantum mechanics, describes nature at ordinary scale.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)