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SLT: Paul Rolly: Blogger fired from language school over ‘homophonia’


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Paul Rolly: Blogger fired from language school over ‘homophonia’

 

Homophones, as any English grammarian can tell you, are words that sound the same but have different meanings and often different spellings — such as be and bee, through and threw, which and witch, their and there.

 

This concept is taught early on to foreign students learning English because it can be confusing to someone whose native language does not have that feature.

 

But when the social-media specialist for a private Provo-based English language learning center wrote a blog explaining homophones, he was let go for creating the perception that the school promoted a gay agenda.

 

Tim Torkildson says after he wrote the blog on the website of his employer, Nomen Global Language Center, his boss and Nomen owner Clarke Woodger, called him into his office and told him he was fired.

 

As Torkildson tells it, Woodger said he could not trust him and that the blog about homophones was the last straw.

 

"Now our school is going to be associated with homosexuality," Woodger complained, according to Torkildson, who posted the exchange on his Facebook page.

 

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I immediately thought of the famed "niggardly" incident too.

I wonder if there is more to this story. Maybe I underestimate people's stupidity, but I doubt anybody is that stupid. The meaning of the Latin prefix "homo" should be familiar to most educated English speakers, it certainly should be to somebody in charge of English teachers.

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Wasnt it one of Barry's aides?

I think so. My memory is that it happened during negotiations with Congress to send more federal funds to keep the district afloat. I think the guy was actually a congressional aide who was the liaison to Barry.

Edit:

Ok I had to know, so it turns out it was an aide to mayor Williams. I miss having a great memory....old age sucks.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/longterm/williams/williams020499.htm

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