The English Major: the Apostasy in Apostrophanity

I cannot do this topic justice in light of http://apostrophe.me/

The English Major: Discretionthe better part of valour since 1598

Time to put my tuition fees to good use. In a spate of nerdery, I rebranded an old post with a new Pocketfish category. Without further ado, may I present the inaugural post of The English Major, where I get militantly uptight and anal retentive about literary things that matter very little. I also get to use big words!

What has become a severe point of consternation to me in recent years is the disregard for the subtle discrepancies between the words discrete and discreet. The blithe denial of any difference between the two in some writers (accomplished ones at that) is symptomatic of our socio-cultural climate of writin' the way I talk (not to be confused with the satire that is LolSpeak).

The misguided lexical belief is that if two words look the same and sound the same, they must be the same. This is most prevalent in Canadian schools due to the fact that Canadian English has no identity; is it British or American? is it -our or -or? English itself is but a pastiche of neighbouring tongues. While some nationalities command an iron-cld control over what makes it into their lexicon, it has been said that English is the language that mugs other languages in dark alleys for their words. Small wonder that the swapping of two letters in words so similar can cause such confusion unbeknowst to the hapless writer.

The goal of the English Major, then, is to cast light upon such errors (and allow me to be, momentarily, a self-righteous pissant like a Pharisee of phonology).

Discrete and discreet are discreetly discrete words.
Discrete and discreet are homophones. They both sound ('phone') the same ('homo-') when spoken outloud. As these are not words commonly employed in colloquial communication, when one chooses to do so, one gets confused because both are accepted by spell checkers.

From Dictionary.com
discrete: adj.
1. apart or detached from others; separate; distinct: six discrete parts.
2. consisting of or characterized by distinct or individual parts; discontinuous.

discreet: adj.
1. judicious in one's conduct or speech, esp. with regard to respecting privacy or maintaining silence about something of a delicate nature; prudent; circumspect.
2. showing prudence and circumspection; decorous: a discreet silence.
3. modestly unobtrusive; unostentatious: a discreet, finely wrought gold necklace.

The English Major salutes all those that now understand the distinction between discrete and discreet. If you see such error in your future travels, discreetly make the correction.