21.12: Words and Language

The English language is rich and always evolving, offering you many ways and words to express yourself in writing and speech.

Language Varieties

English is not one language but many, made up of regional and social dialects. In addition, groups speak using specialized language among themselves that can be difficult for outsiders to understand. As a writer, be aware of the audience for your writing. Use language that your readers will understand directly or from context.

Dialects

English dialects are distinctive versions of the language used in geographical regions and/or by particular social or ethnic groups. Standard American English, the English spoken by newscasters, is one such dialect, as are African American Vernacular English, Creole, Appalachian English, and others. English dialects have many features in common, but each has particulars of grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. (For an in-depth discussion of dialects and academic writing, see Spotlight on … Variations of English.)

Slang

Groups of people with similar skills and interests often develop slang that allows them to express ideas quickly and vividly. Slang also signals knowledge about a particular topic, such as meme culture, music, sports, and more. Slang is generally considered too casual for most academic writing, but it may be appropriate for personal essays. In your papers, be aware of your purpose and audience when choosing to use slang. Avoid using slang that your readers are unlikely to understand.

Technical Expressions

Experts in many professional fields use specialized and technical expressions that allow them to communicate efficiently and clearly with each other. Such language is often incomprehensible for nonexperts and should be avoided in writing for general readers. (For tips on writing about a technical topic for an audience of nonspecialists, see Spotlight on … Discipline-Specific and Technical Language.)

Biased Language

Biased words and expressions exclude or demean people on the basis of gender, sex, sexual orientation, age, ethnicity, social class, or physical or mental traits.

Biased Language Based on Sex and Gender

English includes words and expressions that are considered biased based on sex and gender, such as mankind, businessman, chairman, fireman, and so on. These are commonly replaced by gender-neutral words such as humanity, businessperson, chair or chairperson, and firefighter. (See Spotlight on … Bias in Language and Research for more on language bias.)

In addition, the English pronoun he has traditionally been used as the gender-neutral pronoun. For example, the construction A doctor should have a caring attitude toward his patients was once common but is now widely viewed as gender biased because many doctors are not men. For a discussion of the pronoun he used as the gender-neutral pronoun, see Pronouns.

Labels and Stereotypes

Be sensitive to labels and stereotypes that may insult a group of people you are writing about. Avoid labels that don’t put people first, such as cancer victim and wheelchair-bound. Don’t make assumptions about entire groups of people that promote stereotypes, such as teenagers are rebellious, elderly people don’t hear well, conservatives are rich, or women are more emotional than men. (See Spotlight on … Bias in Language and Research for more on language bias.)

Exact Words

As a general rule, use plain, direct words in your writing. Avoid reaching for a word that sounds fancy or impressive, especially if you are unsure about the meaning. If you use a word that is only vaguely familiar to you, look it up in a dictionary to ensure you are using it correctly. (You can type the word and “def” to get a definition.) Doing so has the added benefit of building your vocabulary.

Words Commonly Confused

The words in the following list are commonly confused or misused by writers. As you write, consult this list or use a reliable online tool, such as Merriam-Webster (https://openstax.org/r/merriam-webster), to check the meanings and usage of words you’re unsure of. Keep a list of words that cause you trouble as you become aware of them. Then, after you draft a document, do a search for the words on your list. (For a discussion of homonyms, homographs, and homophones, see Editing Focus: Words Often Confused.)

Table \(21.4\)

Confusing Words	Definitions and Examples
accept, except	Accept means “to receive willingly.” Except is used mostly as a preposition meaning “excluding.” He accepted all the gifts except mine.
advice, advise	Advice is a noun meaning “guidance.” Advise is a verb meaning “to recommend.” My mother gives good advice when she advises me about my college courses.
affect, effect	The verb affect means "to preoduce a change in." The noun effect means "result." The wine affected me, but it seemed to have no effect on my roommate.
all ready, already	All ready means “completely prepared.” Already means “happened by or before now.” We were all ready for the trip, but the train had already left.
all right, alright	All right is always two words meaning “acceptable” or “satisfactory.” Alright is an informal spelling.
all together, altogether	All together means “everyone or everything together.” We put the tickets all together for safekeeping. Altogether means “completely” or “entirely.” The book is altogether incomprehensible.
allusion, illusion	An allusion is an indirect or implied reference. The poem includes an allusion to the Bible. An illusion creates a false impression of reality. Magic relies upon illusion, seeing what you believe instead of what is really there.
A lot	A lot is always two words meaning "much" or "many." Alot is a misspelling.
apart, a part	Apart denotes a separation. Social distancing requires people to stand six feet apart from each other. A part denotes a segment of something. The dog is a part of our family.
bare, bear	As verbs, bare means “to uncover.” Bear means “to endure.” Bear with me while I bare my soul.
complement, compliment	Complement means “to add to” or “to complete.” Compliment means “to make an approving remark.” Many people now compliment the fresh gray paint that complements the exterior stone on the house. Complimentary also means “free” or “without cost.” Because they sold advertising space for the newspaper, they received complimentary tickets to the game.
conscience, conscious	Conscience is a noun that refers to the awareness of one's actions being right or wrong. I have guilty conscience. Conscious is an adjective meaning "awake" or "alert." She remained conscious after hitting her head on the windshield.
disinterested, uninterested	Disinterested means "impartial." Uninterested means "not interested." She s chosen as a disinterested party to hear both sides of the disagreement. Unfortunately, she was uninterested in the dispute.
elicit, illicit	Elicit is a verb meaning “to bring out.” Illicit means “unlawful.” His claims elicited a response from the mayor about the effort to stop demand for illicit drugs.
emigrate, immigrate	People emigrate, or leave, one country. The immigrate to a new country to live. When my family emigrated from Chile, they immigrated to the United States.
everyday, everyday	Everyday is an adjective meaning “common,” “ordinary,” or “used daily.” Every day is a noun phrase meaning “every day.” Everyday tasks are ones you do every day, like brushing your teeth and washing dishes.
farther, further	Farther refers to distance, I can't carry these groceries any farther. Further means "in addition," "more," and "to greater extent" and refers to abstractions like time or amount. I can't discuss this issue any further.
fewer, less	Fewer refers to items that can be counted. Less refers to items that cannot be counted: I have fewer assignments than my roommate, and she has less time than I do. Cacti need less water than other plants.
good, well	Good is an adjective. That color looks good on you. Well is an adverb. Marguerite speaks Chinese well. Well is used as an adjective only in reference to health. She looks well after recovering from the flu.
imply, infer	Imply means “to suggest.” Your email implies you’re upset. Infer means “to conclude.” I infer from your email that you’re upset.
its, it’s	Its is a possessive pronoun. The dog wagged its tail. It’s is a contraction of “it is” or “it has.” It’s my turn. Its followed by an apostrophe is incorrect.
lay, lie	Lay means "to put or set something down." Please lay the books on the tab. Lie means "to be in or move into a horizontal position" or "to be situated." I need ot lie down and rest my eyes. The towns lie near the waterfalls. Note also that lay is the past tense of lie. I fell asleep as soon as I lay down to rest my eyes.
lead, led	The past tense of the verb to lead is led. The noun lead (rhymes with red) is the metal. Nina led a group of tourists past the old lead mine.
lose, loose	Lose is a verb meaning to “mislay” or “not win.” I lose a sock every time I do laundry. These teams never lose their games. Loose means “not tight” or “not secure.” The loose shutters may be unsafe in a storm.
myself, herself, himself, yourself, ourselves, themselves, yourselves	Do not use the -self pronouns in place of a personal pronoun in an effort to sound more formal: Malia and I [not myself] wrote the report. The report was written by Malia and me [not myself]. Use the -self pronouns in the following situations: Malia wrote the report herself. She treats herself to brunch on Sundays.
peak, peek, pique	Peak means “a highest point” or “to reach a highest point.” After a difficult climb, the hikers finally reached the peak. Peek means “a secretive look” or “to take a secretive look.” My brother peeked at his birthday gifts. As a verb, pique means “to spark interest.” The two classes piqued her interest in physics. As a noun, pique also means “irritation.” His pique at her probing questions was obvious.
precede, proceed	Precede means "to go before." The example that precedes this one is peak/peek/pique. Proceed means "to go forward." The judge's decision allowed the lawsuit to proceed.
prejudice, prejudiced	Prejudice is a noun thatis sometimes used incorrectly in place of prejudiced, an adjective. His outrageous views were highly prejudiced [not prejudice].
principal, principle	Principal has several meanings: “a chief or head, particularly of a school,” “a capital sum of money,” or “first or highest in rank, importance, or value.” Principle refers to a “rule of conduct or action.” The school principal outlined the principles behind the code of conduct. The small principal in their savings account is not their principal source of income.
raise, rise	Raise means “to lift” or “to grow” and always takes an object. She raised her hand to tell the story of how she raised three children on her own. Rise means “to get up” and does not take an object. Like the sun, the moon rises in the eastern sky.
set, sit	Set means “to put” or “to place” and takes an object. He set the groceries on the table. Sit means “to be seated” and does not take an object. She sits in the same seat for every class.
than, then	Than is used to compare. I am older than you. Then indicates time. Do your homework, and then we’ll get pizza.
that, which	That is used to introduce information essential to the meaning of a sentence. The phone that I bought five years ago no longer charges fully. Which is most often used to introduce information that is nonessential to the meaning of a sentence. My iPhone 7, which I bought five years ago, no longer charges fully. (For more on nonessential and essential information, see Editing Focus: Commas with Nonessential and Essential Information.)
that, who, which	Use that and which to refer to things and most animals. The tiger that had escaped was found. Use who to refer to people and animals with names. Doctors who treated COVID-19 patients were often called heroes.
their, there, they’re	Their is a possessive pronoun. There indicates place. They’re is a contraction of “they are.” The Smiths rescued their missing cat from that tree over there; they’re happy to have him back.
to, too, two	To can be a preposition indicating direction. I am going to the pool. Or it can be part of an infinitive (the to form of a verb). I like to swim. Too means “also” or “excessively.” Do you like to swim too? Two is a number. I swim two times every week.
unique, unusual	Unique means "one of a kind." Unusual means "uncommon." Saying that something is more unique than something else is incorrect because something unique cannot be compared. Use unusual instead when comparing.
weather, whether	Weather refers to the state of the atmosphere. Whether refers to alternatives. Whether we attend the game in person or watch it on TV depends on the weather.
who’s, whose	Who’s is the contraction of “who is” or “who has.” Who’s going to the game? Whose is the possessive form of “who.” Whose backpack is this?
your, you're	Your is the possessive form of “you.” You’re is the contraction of “you are.” You’re going to be relieved that I found your earring behind the desk.