Nouns

“baklava” vs. “baklawa” vs. “balaclava” vs. “Balaclava” vs. “Balaklava”

Nouns, Versus

A personal confusion the other day about some of these words prompted this blog post.

Problem:
These nouns sound similar but are not all synonyms.

Explanation:
My wife bought a “balaclava” — with a “c” in the middle — to stay warm for her half-marathon last Sunday.

I have lived in the southwest U.S. my entire life and am not fluent in the names for cold-weather clothing.

So I thought that my wife said “baklava”, which is a word that she and I heard during our visit to Turkey two summers ago.

I researched both words and learned the following:

  • A “baklava” — spelled B-A-K-L-A-V-A — is a sweet pastry that is popular in Turkey and is made from filo dough, nuts, and honey or syrup.
  • A “baklawa” — spelled B-A-K-L-A-W-A — is the same sweet pastry, simply spelled with a “w” instead of a “v”.
  • A “balaclava” — spelled B-A-L-A-C-L-A-V-A — is a knitted cap that fits closely around the head and neck and sometimes shoulders in order to keep the wearer warm.
  • “Balaklava” — spelled CAPITAL-B-A-L-A-K-L-A-V-A — is a seaport on the Black Sea in the Ukrainian city of Sevastopol.
  • “Balaclava” — spelled CAPITAL-B-A-L-A-C-L-A-V-A — is the same seaport, simply spelled with a “c” instead of a “k”.

The lowercase-“b” “balaclava” garment dates back to the 1880s and is named after the capital-“B” “Balaklava” seaport.

If you have eaten both a “bear claw” and a “baklawa” or “baklava”, then you know that these two pastries do not even look alike, let alone have the same ingredients or taste alike.

However, in case you are wondering, the name “bear claw” is not related to “baklawa” (or “baklava”), even though they sound similar.

Instead, the name “bear claw” refers to a yeast-raised, almond-paste-flavored pastry that is prepared such that its shape evokes the image of a bear’s claw.

Wikipedia says that a “bear claw” is chiefly popular in the western states of the USA.

Adding to possible linguistic confusion, the U.S.-based “bear claw” is different than the Dutch “berenklauw”, which means “bear’s claw” — with a possessive apostrophe-“s” — in English.

Wikipedia says that a “berenklauw” — spelled B-E-R-E-N-K-L-A-U-W — is a Dutch snack on a wooden skewer and made with meatballs, fried onion rings, and peanut sauce.

To summarize, one conceivably could wear a balaclava in Balaclava while consuming a baklawa, a bear claw, and a berenklauw.

Solution:
Remember that the capital-“B” word for the Ukrainian seaport can be spelled with a “k” or a “c”, that the seaport is cold, and that the small-“b” “balaclava” is named after the seaport and is for keeping warm. Remember that the shorter “baklava” is the pastry and can be spelled with a “w” instead of a “v”.

“layed 3 pallets of sawd”

Misspellings, Nouns, Verbs

I saw this yesterday on an invoice.

Problems:
1. The verb is misspelled.
2. The number could have been expressed in a word.
3. The word following “of” is misspelled.

Explanation:
The invoice related to some landscape work that we had contracted for our home.

Granted, landscapers do not have to be good spellers, especially if they are good landscapers.

But bad spelling does not help one’s image with consumers.

The first problem was that the landscaper thought that the preterite of the verb “lay” should be spelled L-A-Y-E-D.

That is a good guess by a kindergartner, but it is a bit embarrassing to come from a forty-something-year-old adult.

Some might say that the second problem is not truly a problem, especially when it comes to invoices and accounting.

I would counter-argue that it is helpful to follow the general rule for a small number — that it should be written as a word, perhaps followed by the number in parentheses.

The third problem — the misspelling of the word after the preposition “of” — was severe enough that it confused my wife.

She told me that she kept wondering what was meant by S-A-W-D. After I pronounced this made-up word, it became clear what the landscaper was trying to say.

Solution:
“laid three (3) pallets of sod”

“Calorie” vs. “calorie”

Common English Blunders, Nouns, Versus

I often see these two words used interchangeably.

Problem:
These two nouns are not synonyms.

Explanation:
Identical pronunciation of these two nouns makes them homophones, as noted at Wikipedia.

The word “calorie” — with a lowercase “c” — means an amount of heat equal to 4.184 joules.

In case you do not remember your basic physics, one “joule” refers to the work done by a force of one newton acts through a distance of one meter or to the current of one ampere passed for one second through a resistance of one ohm.

The word “Calorie” — with a capital “C” — means 1000 calories (with a lowercase “c”), also known as a “kilocalorie” (also with a lowercase “c”).

The common English blunder is to write “Calorie” — with a capital “C” — as “calorie” — with a lowercase “c” — when referring to the energy value of a food item.

For example, a “2000-calories-per-day diet” — with a lowercase “c” — would provide almost no energy and might have been suitable for Mahatma Gandhi when he was on a hunger strike.

Aside: I recently saw a beautifully shot movie titled “Water” that weaves Gandhi into a story set in India. The story was fascinating and touching, and the acting was excellent. I highly recommend it!

In contrast, a “2000-Calories-per-day diet” — with a capital “C” — would be on the order of magnitude of what many adults require to maintain their body weights.

Solution:
Remember that capital “C” is larger than lowercase “c”, just as “Calorie” with a capital “C” is larger — in fact, one thousand times larger — than “calorie” with a lowercase or small “c”. When referring to the energy value of food, use “Calorie” with a capital “C”.