Month: August 2008

“Ritual” vs. “Superstition”

Nouns, Versus

Some American English speakers use these words interchangeably.

Problem:
These two nouns are not synonyms.

Explanation:
Both of these nouns are often applied to habitual behaviors seen in athletes.

While watching a televised event from the 2008 Olympics, I heard the TV commentator call one of the athletes’ behaviors a “superstition”, but I saw the behavior as a “ritual” instead.

The definition of “ritual” as it applies to habitual behavior is a pattern of behavior that regularly occurs in a defined manner.

The definition of “superstition” as it applies to habitual behavior is an act based on a belief not based on knowledge or reason.

So, although superstitious behavior can be ritualistic, not all ritualistic behavior is superstitious.

A ritual for a tennis player could be focusing on the racket strings between points; a superstition for a tennis player could be always entering a tennis court from the north side.

In other words, a ritual can help an athlete to stay centered, whereas a superstition can unnerve an athlete when the athlete cannot perform the habitual behavior associated with the superstition.

Solution:
Use “superstition” for habitual behavior that is not based on knowledge or reason. Use “ritual” otherwise.

“well-qualified buyers” vs. “well qualified buyers”

Adjectives, Adverbs, Common English Blunders, Hyphens, Versus

I saw the phrase with the hyphen last night in an Acura advertisement on television.

Problem:
These two phrases have different meanings, but many people do not appreciate the difference.

Explanation:
The phrase “well qualified buyers” without the hyphen is equivalent to “well, qualified buyers” — with a comma and a space between the word “well” and the word “qualified”.

The word “well” in this hyphen-free phrase is an adjective, as in “He is a well man.”

In contrast, the word “well” is an adverb in the hyphenated modifier “well-qualified”.

In other words, “well” is modifying the word “qualified”, which on its own acts as an adjective, as in “qualified participants”.

One should typically NOT use a hyphen between an adverb and an adjective when together they form an adverb-adjective modifier of a noun.

However, when an adverb can also act as an adjective, and “well” is just such a word, one must put a hyphen between the adverb and the adjective to form the adverb-adjective modifier of a noun and thereby avoid possible confusion about whether the first word is an adverb or an adjective.

The word “more” is like the word “well” in that “more” can be either an adjective or an adverb.

  • An example of “more” as an adjective can be found in “more attractive women” — with a space between “more” and “attractive”. A synonym for this example is “additional attractive women”.
  • An example of “more” as an adverb can be found in “more-attractive women” — with a hyphen between “more” and “attractive”. A synonym for this example is “women who are more attractive”.

Solution:
The word “well” acts as an ADVERB in “well-qualified buyers” — with a hyphen between “well” and “qualified” — to form an adverb-adjective modifier of the noun “buyers”.

The word “well” acts as an ADJECTIVE in “well qualified buyers” — with a space between “well” and “qualified” — so that each of the words “well” and “qualified” individually modifies the noun “buyers”.

“Malaria has touched their own lives.”

Adjectives, Possessives

I have repeatedly heard this in an ExxonMobil TV commercial running during the 2008 Olympics coverage.

Problem:
The adjective does not belong in the sentence.

Explanation:
The word “own” has two meanings as an adjective.

The first definition of “own” is pertaining to itself or oneself, and the adjective “own” in this usage typically follows a possessive — such as “their” — to highlight the sense of ownership of that possessive.

This relates to an essentially reflexive use of “own”, as in “They earned their own money.”

The second use of “own” is as an intensifier to emphasize that the subject is the one and only actor, and the adjective “own” in this usage always follows a possessive.

This relates to an essentially intensifying use of “own”, as in “They insisted on being their own contractors.”

Unfortunately, the sentence “Malaria has touched their own lives.” calls for the adjective “own” in neither of these ways.

  • It does NOT match the first usage because malaria is not acting reflexively in the sentence.
  • It does NOT match the second usage because “own” does not emphasize in the sentence that the subject is the one and only agent of the “touched” action.

I fear that this form of misuse of “own” is a side effect of the increasing misuse of reflexive pronouns, as in “I am fine. And yourself (sic)?”, and as in “Please send it to Jim and myself.”

Solution:
“Malaria has touched their lives.”