‘pique’, not ‘peak’!
Tooshay.
Taiwan doesn’t need to be learning either word yet, so I’m good.
Tooshay.
Taiwan doesn’t need to be learning either word yet, so I’m good.[/quote]
Actually with the exception of write/right/rite/wright I wonder if there are other words that can be spelled so many ways? pique/peak/peek can all be verbs eh.
I just edited a paper where Taiwan non-English major first year uni students’ ability to learn and retain:
apprehensive, oration, vexed, spawn, envision, abate, caveat, assiduous, stymie, and divulge
was discussed. Not kidding.
Um. They’re all completely different words, so it follows that they’d be spelled differently.
Um. They’re all completely different words, so it follows that they’d be spelled differently.[/quote]
They are homophones. It had never occurred to me before that “peak” had 2 homophones: I don’t think many words do. OK so maybe it’s not very interesting, sorry.
(It doesn’t actually follow that completely different words be spelt differently, but that’s not important right now)
Weigh whey way (method)
or
Weigh whey way (route)
I don’t know. They both sound funny.
practise/practice I had a couple of students laugh at me because I spelled it Medical Practise. Their book used the ‘c’ version which was embarrassing until I realized I practise what I’ve practiced. Flavour/flavor and such get sniggers too. F’em, I may be a noob but I aint a eejit.
I think way and way are not really different words; unlike bank and bank or can and can which of course are.
The noun is always practice. Yanks use practice as a verb too.
Blue Jay Way. Method or route? Road by analogy from way (route). Lay lady lay, on my big brass bed. Way over yonder. Across the ocean and far away.
Piquing Duck.
I won’t tolerate them. People are people and they should just learn to live and let live, IMHO. :fume:
Pique-gwen = anti-tangoist named Gwen.
Homophones-a, have not have sell?
A whole conga line of em.
Ta da da da da da, HA!
I do apologise, thought we were discussing homophobes.
pause, pours, pores, paws, puss (last one spoken by my nephew who is afflicted with a speech defect)
Don’t forget the simple ‘pick’.
It may be that the ‘pique’ is purely a French affectation to make the greengrocer class feel more bourgeois when they pique their noses.
The picts obviously couldn’t spell it at all, but were sure to have used a version of it when speeking, or ‘spicking’ as some non-English-speakers say.
Oh, now I get it!! Homophones, not Homophobes!
[quote=“mups”]No, you’re basically right. English here is so bad because basic, daily conversational english is not the top priority.
I usually spend 15-20 mins at the beginning of each class letting my students speak…talking about their weekend, or a movie they saw, or whatever, and just try to pick up on what’s peaking their interest from there. Because if they’re not speaking conversational english everyday, the whole exercise is futile.[/quote]
Peaked? Or piqued?
Doesn’t matter with spoken English. Glad that isn’t a writing class you are teaching.
It reflects a lot on a teachers skills when they write a word that has the nearly same spoken sound but it is spelt differently.
Even the spoken sound is different for piqued. Elocution lessons for you my friend. 
Hi there English teacher with headband… 
If you say so but I was taught differently.
I do beg to differ that the intonation is different. But hey what do I know.
Perhaps it comes from my private boarding school education. Life was made miserable if you made a mess of your elocution.
Especially as pique is a French word and we all know the French have their own unique sounds.
Just my humble opinion. 
Maybe peak and peek sound the same eh?