Like every other linguistic word which sounds the same but different in spelling and/ or meaning grouped under homophone, the confusion between the words “faithful” and “fateful” persists. It is not uncommon for writers and users of the language of mass communication, English to settle for anyone of the two to express their thoughts and opinions without minding that they serve different purposes. This is the crux of the matter, just like every other family of homophone such as bear and bare, piece and peace, been and being, and so on. It takes diligence and knowledge of the issue at stake for one to choose and use them appropriately without breaking the rules. It is easy to overlook them, especially for the carefree and unschooled individual who relies hundred percent on his or her limited knowledge to push through any form of idea, the written words most time, without consulting the relevant reference books such as the dictionary, encyclopaedia, the English thesaurus, to mention a few, to stay out of trouble. That is where some writers, including columnists of high reputation at times get it wrong. When in doubt, as we were taught in basic journalism, leave out and go after familiar or simple words that the audience can easily comprehend without cracking their brain, to use the market place English, or colloquialism.
That takes us away, once more, from our countdown to the 50 most maligned clichés in the language. We have listed and explained about 14 of them before the deviation to satisfy those yearning to know the difference between the noun and two syllable words “faithful” and “fateful”. For them, they get confused on their usage. Can one use them interchangeably jettisoning the rules of engagement in the process? The expected answer, is ‘no’. The command and demand of the language must be strictly followed, the purists and masters of the widely spoken word maintain. No shifting of grounds to suit or massage the ego of one person, not even the inventor of the language, the English man. The spoken or written English is the collective effort of language experts, call them linguists, if you like, drawn from different countries of the world to carefully put together the accepted standard of the language, the scope and limit, and of course, ground rule that must not be tampered with. In summary, the Queen’s English subsists and remains the Standard English; no more, no less. Take it, or one would continue to swim in ignorance. Back to our lesson for the week. And to understand it better, we need to define the seemingly conflicting, sound-alike, but different in meaning, the words “faithful” and “fateful”. In other words, without knowing the meaning of the word and what it stands for or represents, it would be difficult to use it correctly.
The noun, “faith” is to trust or have confidence on someone or thing, strong belief, for example, on God for the Christians, Chambers 21st Century dictionary explains. The adjective form of it, “faithful”, according to the dictionary, is to have or show faith, to be loyal and true, accurate. For instance, to be loyal to your partner, or spouse, in this case married couple. To be reliable, constant and loyal supporter of a course or religion. Above all, the expression “yours faithfully” we are at home with, is a formal wording of ending a letter- the adverb “faithfully.” On the other hand, the noun “fate” is interpreted by the dictionary as the apparent power that determines the course of events, over which humans have no control. It stretches it further to mean the individual destiny or fortune of a person or thing, among others. The adjective of it, “fateful” is said of a remark, prophetic, decisive, critical, having significant results or bringing calamity or disaster, and so forth. The adverb, “faithfully” and “fatefulness”, noun; should therefore, not to be confused with “faithfully” which connotes something different. Now that you have the facts at the back of your hands, use them to fit and stop the habit swinging between the two similar words so close in pronunciation (sound), “faithful” and “fateful”, like any other in the same group. The one syllable word, “faith” is pronounced with the tongue thrusting out in between the upper and lower palate, the teeth. The reverse is the case when pronouncing the one syllable word “fate”, placing emphasis and adding value to the letter ‘t’.
