You Say It How?
The English language has often been described as the most complicated to fully understand, according to the global point of view of worldly linguists! For instance, when the word RIGHT is mentioned, what truly is the right explanation for it? Exactly, how do you say it?
Which Right Is Right?
As an adjective, right means good, proper, or just.
“Tommy’s directions to the store are right.”
As a noun, right has the same meaning as title or moral ground.
“Tommy is in the right position to give directions because he already knows the way.”
And, as an adverb, it is a direction or location.
“On Tommy’s right, there is a gas station that can sell diesel fuel.”
Right Or Write?
And, English dictionary has one particular word that has three different meanings, there is another which sounds just like it but is spelled entirely different!
“According to Tommy, writing the directions down was the right thing to do.”
What Is Rite?
Oh, and let us not forget about the word, rite, right?
“Tommy thinks it’s not right to simply write the Roman rite in just one language.”
Wright, Right?
And if that’s not enough, how about wright, which is typically attached to a classification of sorts such as a millwright? Now, don’t confuse this with a Copywrite!
Do You Know How To Say It Otherwise?
Upon taking the example of the word right from the English dictionary, let’s compare this exact same word to two other languages, French and Spanish, to see how they measure up;
- French
Adjective – droit, juste, bon, bien, vrai
Adverb – a droite, directement
Noun – les droit, la droite, le bien
Verb – redresser, corriger - Spanish
Adjective – derecho, justo, correcto, recto
Adverb – derecho, bien, direcetamente, a la derecha
Noun – el derecho, la derecha
Verb – corregir, enderezar
How Do You Do? (Say It)
Spoken in English, when we greet someone, we say “How do you do?”
In French, we say “Comment allez-vous?”
And in Spanish, it’s worded “Como lo haces?”
World Of Words
Like the world itself, words continue to change as time moves on! Even how we say certain words once upon a time, perhaps even just a decade ago, can have an entirely different meaning today!
Once upon a time, saying the word “sick” was how we described someone who is ill. Nowadays, “sick” is a terminology sometimes used (usually among artists) as another word for awesome!
