Close Word Groupings for Pause

Did you think I mean "close" as proximity or imperative? As the text is visual rather than aural, the pronunciation can be either, and the title's meaning ambiguous.

Various words seem to have at least visually related words that cause pause before I pick one for uttering or inserting in text. Some word "sets" apply maybe more for people that English is not their first language. This article lists mostly pairs of words that can cause misunderstanding because of picking the incorrect word. Context helps with the correct word selection. The trade-off is a time slowdown to assess the situation.

I've run across most of my hesitancy-inducing terms that I list while writing technical documentation or composing or answering email. Occasionally, I've run across some terms in a conversation, a TV show, or visual text that I read. For an example of pause-causing terms, think of this sample sentence and my use of "read" in the previous sentence. I used "example", "sample", and "read". "Read" is past tense in the context of my having used "I've run", although "read" can be present or past tense.

example, sample
In differentiating example from sample, an example serves as a pattern to imitate or not, per m-w.com, and a sample is a representative part of something larger. If you take a morsel from a tray of same-items to taste, that's a sample. If I see a crowd of people and notice someone dressed especially neatly, the person is an example of someone well-dressed.

resent, re-sent
If I send email and state that I sent something again, I will always write "re-sent" and not "resent", differentiating the action from a word that has negative meanings. (From M-w.com: "to feel or express annoyance or ill will at".)

pane, panel
"Pane" and "panel" differ by only one letter, but I often got confused when I confronted style guides that referred to both terms. Even googling "pane vs. panel" leaves uncertainty. In thinking out loud, I arrived at "instrument panel" for menu option panels, and at "window panes" for separate sections that display on a graphic interface.

A style guide at a current workplace would be the best source. If not thinking technical writing use, think of context—visualize window pane and wood panel.

astronomy, astrophysics, astrology
Of the three star-pertinent words, the two most recognizable ones are astronomer and astrologer. Their occupations are, uh, worlds apart despite their (uh again) focus on celestial bodies. From "The difference between astronomy and astrology":

Astronomy is ‘the branch of science which deals with celestial objects, space, and the physical universe as a whole’. If you’re thinking about the academic study, stargazers, telescopes, and the like, then the word you need is astronomy.

Astrology, on the other hand, is ‘the study of the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies interpreted as having an influence on human affairs and the natural world’. If you are writing about people using stars or planets to predict favourable or unfavourable events happening to humans, then astrology is the correct word.

Astrology originally included the calculation of natural phenomena and meteorological events (such as the measurement of time and the times of tides and eclipses) that are now considered the domain of astronomy.

"What is Astrophysics?" explains the professional's field. (The most well-known astrophysicist in our time might be Neil deGrasse Tyson.)

Astrophysics is a branch of space science that applies the laws of physics and chemistry to explain the birth, life and death of stars, planets, galaxies, nebulae and other objects in the universe. It has two sibling sciences, astronomy and cosmology, and the lines between them blur.

cosmology (science), cosmetology (certain appearance enhancement)
"Cosmology is not Astronomy/Astrophysics" is a YouTube explanation of cosmology (study of the universe as a whole), with nod to astronomy (study of individual celestial bodies, such as stars and galaxies).

Cosmetology is a field of hair, skin, and nail care, with subfields with varying occupation titles. "Cosmetology" shows cosmetology example focuses—hair, skin, and nail care.
Cosmetologists work on hair, skin, and nails. Estheticians work on skin care only. From "What’s the Difference Between a Cosmetologist and an Esthetician?"

Cosmetology is an area of study and a career that focuses on hair, skin, and nails. Cosmetologists can do both hair and nails, or focus their careers in one area. In comparison, esthetics focuses on skin care only. An esthetician is not qualified to perform pedicures, cut hair, or work with hair chemicals. With additional training and education a cosmetologist can also be an esthetician. … However, estheticians are generally not cosmetologists. Most states require separate licensing for each career.

The make-up artist in "What Is the Difference Between Cosmetologists & Makeup Artists? : Makeup Tips & Application" explains the differences between the occupations and also touches on esthetician roles. She also states that make-up artists only apply items to skin, a more narrow scope than esthetician.

Close Enough
close
If adjective, "s" pronunciation.
If verb, "z" pronunciation.

"English Pronunciation, common mistakes, close" is a good video for presenting both pronunciations and contexts.

closer
If adjective, "s" pronunciation.
If noun, "z" pronunciation.

Numerous YouTube videos pronounce with "s" without explanation. I found some videos that provide context for "closer" pronunciation. Examples:

• "How To Pronounce Door Closer"
• "How to Pronounce closers - American English".
• "The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey - Closer Lyrics" ("pull me closer")
• "Closer – an (attempt at) analysis"
  

  Although it speaks ”closer”, there is hardly any intimacy between the characters. The word ”stranger” is being repeated a couple of times throughout the movie. ... The word emphasizes that in fact there is no closeness between people in the movie, everybody is a stranger to everyone.

Additional Items (Short Looks)
read
If present tense, long "e" pronunciation.
If past tense, short "e" pronunciation.

lead
If present-tense, long "e" pronunciation. Coincidentally, past tense has short "e" sound, but is spelled "led" rather than "lead".
If noun (the metal or periodic table element), short "e" pronunciation.

bass
If adjective (denoting very low-note type or types of musical instrument), long "a" pronunciation.
If noun (fish), short "a" pronunciation.

herb
If noun for seasoning or spice plant, silent "h".
If noun for male's name, spoken "h".

silicon
If noun for element or material for making particular type of semiconductor, short "o" pronunciation.

silicone
If noun for certain rubbery and flexible material, long "o" pronunciation.

union
If noun for items joined together, long "u" pronunciation in the first syllable, short "u" in the second syllable. Examples: Union vs. Confederacy, Western Union.

onion
If noun for the plant, short "u" pronunciation in the first syllable, short "u" in the second syllable. Examples: Green onion, Eastern Onion Singing Telegram.

hummus
If noun for the pureed chickpeas food, short "u" pronunciation in the first syllable, short "u" in the second syllable.

humus
If noun for decayed material for plant food, long "u" pronunciation in the first syllable, short "u" in the second syllable.

Spoken Out

Pronunciations interest me for how words and names often sound different than their spellings. Even as a native English speaker, I trip up. I've started this article talking about EU (not you) and skipped along names, consonants, words, and contextual pronunciations.

EU
In a TV show about Paris, the narrator pronounced unique as YOO-nik, like the word spelled eunuch. Phonetically related is the name Eunice, a name I heard of at a young age. I heard it as yoo-nis, but thought it would be spelled Unis. If I’d never known the pronunciation of Eunice, I might have thought the name should sound like ee-YOO-nise (long i) or EU-nise.

More observations about name pronunciations

• Basil—if if’s a name, pronounced BAAA-zul. If it’s a spice, pronounced BAY-zul.
• Herb—it it’s a name, pronounced herb. If it’s a spice item, pronounced urb.
• Lincoln (LINK-un) and palm (pom) spell with l’s, but don’t sound with them.
• Bret Favre (farv)
• Bode Miller (BOH-dee)
• Bono—BOH-noh if you're talking Sonny, Cher, or Chaz. BAH-noh if you're talking about the Irish singer.
• Gabriel vs. Gabrielle. The guy's name has a long a, and the woman's name gets a short a. I would think it should sound like gay-bri-ELLE.
• Paul Krugman (long u or short u?), John Boehner (pronounced bay-ner), Matt Groening (pronounced grayn-ing)

More OE pronunciation
Three names with "oe" vowel combinations can seem unpredictable and confusing besides the ones I just mentioned. Why is Joe pronounced joh, but Zoe is ZOH-ee and Chloe is KLOH-ee For that matter, if I hadn’t heard of Chloe, pronunciations could include chloh, shloh, SHLOH-ee, CHLOH-ee, kloh. Hmmm, Joe needs a y for the pronunciation of JOH-ee. Seems the other two names should be spelled Zoey and Chloey.

A segue to CH, a major consonant-pair confuser
While I'm discussing ch pronunciations, I think it must be difficult for people who are not native English speakers to decide on the sound as ch (chair), sh (machine), or k (chemical).

• Melancholy (MEL-un-KAH-lee) looks like it should be pronounced mel-AN-CHO-lee, something related to a pepper.
• Chamomile (CAM-uh-myul) is a tea flavor made from dried flower heads of a particular plant. This word is a minefield for mispronunciation possibilities.
• The ch sound is in truck. I hear the pronunciation as chruk, not truk.

More visual consonant-pair and single-consonant confusers

• I think the combinations can be difficult if the word is not familiar. Is it pronounced like thermometer or there? Think of a thimble there that is close to those thermometers.
• One consonant that stumps me constantly is "g" ("g" or "j" sound)? The other day I saw an ad for Allergan's Allegra. I have no problems with Allegra, but I want to pronounce Allergan with "g" and not "j". General, germ, galaxy, garble, gin
• Another consonant with dual pronunciations is "s" ("s" or "z" sound). State, states, status, statuses.
• Close—"z" sound or "s" sound? Depends on the context. Related: the movie "Closer". Not having seen it or heard the name pronounced, I don't know whether the title pertains to relative distance or something or someone who closes a deal.
• Of, off, oof are three words with two letters in common but pronounced differently from each other Odd that pronunciation of "of" is "ov". Stick an "a" between the letters to get a long "o" pronunciation (oaf).

A meandering to relative speakings
Uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, cousin don't really spell as simply as they sound.

UNG-kul, ant or ont, NE-few, nees, KUZ-un

Anomalous spellings considering the pronunciations

• Knuckle, knee, and knight are odd for starting with k’s.
• Muscle (MUS-sul) actually evolved from mouse, little mouse, which a muscle resembles as a body shape under skin.
• Scissors (SIZ-urz)—Vanna, get me an s. What a strange way to spell the device.
• Iron (I-yern), irony (I-yern-ee) are mystifying because no one pronounces them as I-ron or I-ron-ee. Iran and Iraq sound like they’re spelled. Of course, the pronunciations for residents of those countries wind up with short i’s.

A few town names to try the spelling or pronunciation

• Worcester, Ma (WEST-er)
• Quogue, NY (kwog)
• Phoenix, AZ (FEE-niks)
• Coughran, TX (unsure)
• Manor, TX (MAY-nr)
• Burnet, TX (BURN-et)
• Manchaca, TX (MAN-chak). I want to pronounce it man-CHAK-a. (Now thinking of Chaka Kahn's "I Feel for You" song and lyrics.)
• Pedernales, TX (pur-deh-NAH-less)
• A couple of similar sites that address some Texas town pronunciations, not that I necessarily agree—Rules of Austin, Keep Austin Weird

Different pronunciations depending on context

• read—present tense and past tense verb that are spelled the same but pronounced differently.
• lead—noun and present tense verb. The past tense of lead is led. If attempting to apply similar rules to that rhyming word read, past tense seems like it should be red. But red's a color.
• live—adjective and verb. Pronunciation of long i or short i depends on usage.
• sewer—nouns. Pronunciation of SOO-ur or SOH-ur depends on usage, which I have written about.
• minute—MIN-it or my-NOOT. Odd that it looks like it could be pronounced min-NOOT. Seems like the word should be spelled minit if talking about the time unit.
• woman—weird that the plural form is pronounced wimmin. For that matter, the singular form sounds like WUH-mun, not WOH-man.

Other mysterious word spellings, attributed to French origins
Even though I took French classes in the past, I don't have explanations for some of the following words: soldier (SOLE-jer), colonel (KER-nul), lieutenant (LOO-ten-unt). Hmmm, lieu tenant (an officer in place of a tenant).

While I'm on the topic of military ranks, I'm bringing up private. The private has the lowest rank, yet the word implies choice and control over self-disclosure. On the opposite end of the rank, we have general. A military general is highly ranked. As an adjective, general indicates ordinary status. Exceptions might be if general is part of a proper noun, such as General Electric, General Motors, General Dynamics.

Written words that surprised me when I first heard the pronunciations

• Cupboard (KUB-urd). I want to pronounce it CUP bord.
• Preface (PREH-fus). I want to pronounce it PREE fays.
• Tuberculosis (too-BER-kuh-LOH-sis) looks like it should be pronounced TOO-ber-kol-OH-sis. And it looks like it should mean some sort of potato disease.
• Vacation. The first time I saw it spelled was in the first grade. I had not yet learned about long and short vowels. I immediately spotted "cat". I might have wondered why "tion" was pronounced "shun".

Home and Hermione
I see the word home, and I think homage should sound like HOME-age or home-AZH. The pronunciation is "\ ä-mij, hä-\ ". I mentioned "homage" and other puzzlers in my Hermione pronunciation article a year ago.