As a writer, I love words, but I have to admit that the English language isn’t always straight forward and I feel that I’m constantly learning new things. Talking to fellow writers, it seems I’m not alone. So in this new series, I’m going to take a look at the often weird and wonderful world of words.
Q. Is it blond or blonde to describe a person’s hair?
A. In the UK, for men, it’s blond. For women, you need an ‘e’ on the end so it’s blonde. In the US, the spelling tends to be blond for both males and females.
Interesting word of the week:
DIPHTHONG
Meaning: A union of two vowels pronounced in one syllable e.g. boil, out and fine.
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Photo Credit: quotesgram.com
Thanks for this writing tip, Esther. As someone once said: “Not a lot of people know that!” I still have serious concerns about the correct use of “THE APOSTROPHE” in spite of reading ‘Eat, Shoots and Leaves.’ I’m sure that some future guidance on this one would be much appreciated by your readers!!!
Thanks, Murray. Hope it helps!
Can’t reply above the line.
That’s interesting about blond as the French put an e on the end of all female words.
Looking forward to the English language posts. I teach French children and I always include a tricky in each lesson. Something qwerky or unusual. Looking forward to picking up a few new ones.
I’ve got a blog now laplumedebelinda.com. Not posting as much as I’d like to but I’m getting there.
Kind regards
Belinda Davidson
Sent from my iPad
Great to hear from you, Belinda. It’s difficult to find time to do all the things we want to, isn’t it? Hope you’re keeping well 🙂
You learn something everyday, I didn’t know we differentiated blond/e in the UK between men and women.
You’re not alone – a lot of people aren’t aware that we differentiate 🙂
It makes sense in a funny kind of way…
Reblogged this on Author Don Massenzio and commented:
Check out this interesting post from Esther Chilton’s blog on the topic of the strange working of the English Language – Part 1
Thank you so much 🙂
You’re welcome.
Well I never. As a grammar expert…hang on, did I say expert? I meant idiot.
Pingback: The Strange Workings Of The English Language Part One – Esther Chilton | Sue Vincent's Daily Echo
Thanks, Sue 🙂
I actually use Blond in the USA and Blonde in UK…lol. Mind i tend to stay with British English
That’s interesting. Thanks for your comment, Claire 🙂
🙂
ok, is it me or have I wasted a lot of time trying to link blond/blonde with diphthong? Any way I always thought a diphthong was a South African sandal with hearing difficulties…
I’m sure there’s a link in there somewhere, Geoff… And I love your take on a diphthong – far more interesting than the reality!
American English has been dumping its feminine spelling for a long time. Almost none are left.
Thanks, Marilyn. That’s really interesting to know 🙂
Blonde – ‘Erin’ will be pleased with ‘E’. As for diphthong my first thought tea!
Glad Erin is happy! 🙂
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