TexasDesign.com

Contributed by Chuck Lustig, of ExcitingWriting Communications

Well, last month’s Exciting Writing Advisory was a hit. My subscribers took the survey and 100% of them said the issue was helpful. A number of you suggested your own favorites. Only three subscribers wrote me to point out that I had used an incorrect word in the text of the newsletter itself. I twice used “entomology(ies)” when I should have used “etymology(ies).” Entomology means the study of insects. Etymology means the history of words. Entomology/etymology: A perfect homonym! The three who wrote me about my confusion: Bob Green, Emet Schneiderman and Michael Milhite. Trust me: These are three smart, observant people! If you like this EWA, let me know. Send me your favorite homonyms!
–Chuck Lustig

A Hymn to Homonyms

Let’s review what we covered last month: Homonyms are pairs of words that sound alike but have radically different meanings. Let’s cover one that Jennifer Burgess suggested: Affect / Effect. It drives people nutso. (By the way, “nutso” is a high-level, refined word that is related in etymology to “batso.”) Let’s start with the most common confusion between these two words.

Affect is a verb meaning to cause or influence an outcome. Thus, “The downdraft in the Asian markets affected the Dow.”

Effect is a noun describing the result of a cause. Thus, “The after-effects of the drug lingered.”

I know you are already confused, so I’m going to give you a model you can easily memorize or refer to. It cuts through all the confusion:

It is thought that an overabundance of carbon dioxide affects global warming. The effects of global warming are everywhere around us, from polar icecaps to equatorial jungles.

Is that clear? Affect is the “influence” verb. Effect is the “result” noun caused by the influence. If you can memorize that, you’ve got the problem more than half solved.

The trouble is these words have specialized usages that cause even more confusion:

Affect

As a noun, affect means a feeling or the projection of a feeling. Psychologists and psychiatrists routinely use the word to describe the feeling a person puts out. “He had a depressed affect.”

As a verb, affect means to put on airs. He affected an air of being above it all.
He affected an upper-crust accent

Effect

As a noun, effect means to make an impression or give an appearance, to have a basic intent. That painting gives the effect of floating.

Effect can be used to describe when someone does something for show: Her histrionics were designed for effects. After all, that’s where we get the term sound effects from.

Now we come to a very specialized usage: Effects can mean belongings when used in the plural. Before leaving jail, he picked up his personal effects.

If you cannot memorize all this, carry this issue of the EWA with you at all times! You never know when you will need it.