Versus

“pixilation” vs. “pixelation”

Nouns, Versus

I saw a technical document refer to “pixilation” when it should have referred to “pixelation” instead.

Problem:
The nouns “pixilation” and “pixelation” are not synonyms.

Explanation:
I was reviewing some technical documents about a month ago.

They referred to “picture pixilation” in the television signals coming from various set-top boxes.

They should have used “pixelation” — spelled P-I-X-E-L-A-T-I-O-N — instead of “pixilation” — spelled P-I-X-I-L-A-T-I-O-N.

The noun “pixie” — spelled P-I-X-I-E — was coined in the early 1600s to refer to a sprite or fairy, especially a mischievous one.

So the primary meaning of the noun “pixilation” is the state or quality of being pixilated — spelled P-I-X-I-L-A-T-E-D — which is an Americanism from the mid-1800s that combines the word “pixie” with the word “titillated” to mean amusingly silly, prankish, or whimsical.

The noun “pixel” — spelled P-I-X-E-L — was coined in the late 1960s as something of a contraction of “picture element” to refer to the smallest element of an image that can be managed and presented by a video display system.

And the primary meaning of the noun “pixelation” is the display of a digitized image such that the pattern of pixels is obvious to the naked eye.

Solution:
Think “pixie” when using “pixilation”. Think “pixel” when using “pixelation”.

More about “Nauseous” vs. “Nauseated”

Adjectives, Common English Blunders, Devolution toward Simpler, Versus

I wrote a blog post in November 2007 about “Nauseous” vs. “Nauseated”.

I recently heard an actress on a TV drama say that she felt nauseous when she should have said that she felt nauseated.

She made me think again about the two words.

And I realized something: Saying “nauseous” when one should say “nauseated” instead is consistent with my “Devolution toward Simpler” linguistic hypothesis.

Many Americans say “nauseous” as if it had only two syllables, as in NAW-SHUHS, instead of pronouncing all three syllables, as in NAW-ZEE-UHS.

Either way, it is simpler to say the two- or three-syllable “nauseous” than it is to say the four-syllable “nauseated”.

“hospital” vs. “church” or “school” or “town”

Nouns, Versus

Americans would say any of these statements:

* “Are you going to church?”

* “He went to school.”

* “They drove to town.”

But nearly no American would say, “She went to hospital.”

Nearly all Americans would say instead, “She went to the hospital.”

In contrast, probably everyone from Great Britain would say, “She went to hospital.”

What fascinates me is that Americans use “the hospital” — with the definite article “the” — to refer vaguely to any hospital, just as they use “church” or “school” or “town” without the definite article “the” to refer vaguely to any church, school, or town, respectively.