TPS News

Answer: “holy” should be “wholly”

“The two authors from quite different centuries are mirror images, with one irrational but brimful of emotion, and the other wholly unfeeling and full of calculation.”

Error: The writer made a spelling mistake, falling victim to sound-alike words. The word “holy” should have been “wholly.” The former refers to the divine, to matters of holiness and subjects of reverential value, whereas “wholly” refers to the entirety of a matter, to a complete, whole subject. That is, the author was “wholly,” or entirely, unfeeling. The writer might have errantly used yet another homophone—holey. Something described as “holey” has holes in it. Obviously, academic writers need to become as familiar as possible with language—by reading and listening critically—so that homophones and homonyms don’t slip into their papers in embarrassing ways.
作者混淆了同音字 “holy” 與 “wholly”，“holy” 意指與神有關、神聖、值得虔敬的事物，而 “wholly” 就是事物的整體，表示全體、完整的事物，作者應該是要形容文中的作家「完全」(“wholly”) 欠缺感覺。另外，作者可能也要小心另一個同音字 “holey”，意為「有洞的」。由此可知，寫作學術必須認真練習閱讀與聽力，努力熟悉語言，才不會在寫作論文時不小心用錯同音異字，貽笑大方。