“GH” WORDS WITH HOMONYMS, OR NOT

Those pesky “gh” words (ought, caught, etc.) don’t just cause us spelling problems or pronunciation problems. They often rhyme with words that do not use “gh” to add to our confusion.

One “gh” word with a homonym is “through” (ooh sound). It rhymes with the verb “threw”. A person unfamiliar with English can be forgiven for using “threw” as in “I went threw the door”. Many a young native speaker has probably made the same mistake.

But our British friends do not make things easy. Rhyming words “draft” and “draught” (British form) are actually the same thing. While “draft” looks like it sounds, “draught” may sound closer to the word’s origin as in to draw (pull) from which we get the term “draft horse”.

But we have yet still another blip on the horizon, “draftsman” refers to the act of sketching another interpretation of the word “draw”. When creating an illustration, you may “draw” or pull a pen, pencil, piece of charcoal or chalk across a page, hence the connection with the origin “draught”.

The “draft” in sailing is concerned with the keel’s pull, its depth below water level which affects how much water resistance you need to power against (pull) to move.  A draft of air is when cooler air is drawn into a warmer space. Again the origin is with “draw” as in to pull.

The same is true for draft beer or ale. The server pulls down on the tap to release the liquid into glass or mug. When you pour it down your throat, you also get a draft. That is you pull it into your mouth and down your throat.  All of the above are drafts and can be spelled “draughts”.

Don’t you just love the English language? You can play all day with puzzle after puzzle and never run out of questions to explore.

#EnglishLanguage #ESL