imminent/eminent

Oh dear!  Words like these pose a challenge to speakers and writers.  'Iimminent' and 'eminent' provide a splendid example.

Once, on a national radio service, I heard a broadcaster speak of an 'eminent' thunderstorm.

Of course he meant 'imminent'; but a slip of tongue shifted the vowel sound.  The result was a highly amusing mental picture of a thunderstorm, dressed in the regal robes of office, bearing down on my home town.

To be sure:

• 'immiment' means 'about to happen'.  I learnt to remember 'imminent' by associating it with 'immediate'.

•  'eminent' means 'important' or 'holding status'; this was taught to me, and remembered by aligning 'emiment' with 'emperor'

Accept and except - which short vowel sound is it?

Awkwardness continues to plague these two words. Perhaps the following will help you:

Accept - verb as in "I'm pleased to accept your invitation to your house-warming."

Except - preposition as in "All team members, except John, will be at the house-warming on Sunday."

I've noticed that because the initial sound is short, some speakers cut it even shorter and, in some cases drop it entirely.

If you're mindful of the context in which you are using these words, you are likely to give it appropriate strength and weight.

If English is your second or third language, this may be useful to you.

Impervious

This word provides an example of both literal and figurative meanings that abound in English.  Meanings that cause some confusion.

Literally the word means 'cannot be penetrated'.  It relates to the quality of the object that will not be changed by its environment.  As an example, a blown-up balloon that is tightly secured, will be impervious to water.

Figuratively, we can use the word applied to a person.

In this context, the word 'impervious' relates to a person who cannot (and, in some circumstances, will not) be changed.  In this instance, the word means that the person cannot be influenced or is not receptive to other's thoughts, actions, ideas etc. 

Is there a word that you'd like explained?  If so, let me know and I will post my response on this blog.

'Peripatetic'

A wonderful adjective that means 'itinterant' or 'someone who wanders'.

Taken into 16 Century Latin as 'peripateticus' it arises from the Greek 'peripatetikos'.  While 'itinerant' may, in some contexts, be taken to imply a person without a permanent abode, the word has an interesting history.

Within the British context, 'itinerant' can apply to a teacher who is employed by 2 educational institutions and thus travels from one to the other in the course of their work.

Notice the audio impact of the word with the short, sharp [p] and the crisp, clear [t] juxtaposed with a series of short, single vowel sounds.  Worth practising and integrating in your language.

If this is relevant to your bid for clarity, revise the short single vowel sounds here.

Descriptor: "pit-bull behaviours"

From The Age, Melbourne Australia, November 29, 2011
Article by Stephanie Dowrick writing about Christos Tsiolaks' novel, The Slap, and the subsequent television series on ABC recently viewed across Australia.

The containing sentence reads: "Yet some of the best-rewarded members of our own society continue to build reputations and careers on pit-bull behaviours."


See online article via SMH link

The central purpose of the writer is expressed: 'Where no adults take charge of their own behaviour, how can a child learn to consider other people and take their separate reality seriously? How can children learn not to blame others for their misery? Those lessons are basic to self-confidence and happiness.  The 'Hugo factor' does a surprising service in bringing them to our attention.'

A selection of valuable words and phrases are:

obnoxious; provoked; flawed; vulnerabilty; fallibility; volatile characters; meaningful responsibility; sticky social situation; self-righteousness may flicker or wane'

Which of these words can be put to work by you?