Specially vs. Especially 1

[AnotherHiggins]

In thread1256-1140110, a discussion came up about the use of Specially vs. Especially.

The context in which it came up was a post by tgreer that read as follows:

…. More recently, a letter from my son's High School arrived, informing us of an optional PSAT test he could take:

Q. Should I take the test?

A. Yes, specially if your college bound!

I kid you not.

That was followed by:

TGreer,
Was the point of humor regarding the PSAT letter, the word "Specially"? If so, I'm not sure it is flat out wrong, however grating to the ears. I am open to being corrected if I am wrong about this.

And then:

Thadeus it should be:
"Yes, specially if you are college bound!"

Then I said:

->Was the point of humor regarding the PSAT letter, the word "Specially"?

I believe there were two points of humor: "Specially" and "your".

In the context of the letter, the former should read "especially" and the latter "you're". "Especially" in this context means "particularly". "You're" is a contraction for "you are", whereas "your" is possessive.

The letter might as well have read, A. Yes, specially if yourself can tells these here letters ain't writtten two good!

Then Thadeus says:

[Thadeus bangs head off various hard objects]
Sorry. I knew I was opening myself up on that one, but what the heck. As was displayed in the "Cambridge test", we compensate for such things. I never use the wrong "your/you're" when writing, because I am sensitive to the context... but when reading, I compensated. Especially when I was concentrating my ears on "Specially".

A note regarding "Specially". Merriam-Webster has the primary definition of Especially as 1. Specially which seems to my reading to mean that either word would be just as correct in the above sentence.

You'res truly,
Thadeus

And lastly:

dictionary.com also gives them as synonyms. Can anybody point to an authoritative explanation of any difference?

Whew! Ok, GO!

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[CajunCenturion]

Both are right, but the difference is really a matter of where you want to place emphasis. If you want to emphasize the "specialness" of something, then 'especially' tends to work better. If you want to acknowledge that some is special, but not bring attention to the "speciallness", in other words, keep the focus on the thing despite it being special, then specially is probably a better choice.

I use the 'e' to help remember the difference - 'e' for emphasis on special - for especial.

I prefer 'specially' in that context because it helps keep the focus on the matter of going to college.

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[tgreer]

In the original letter, those who were college-bound were the ones who, in particular, should take the test. Thus the sense is "particularly", which makes "especially" the proper adverb.

American Heritage Dictionary:

Usage: Special and specially have wider application than especial and especially. In the senses that it shares especial, the adjective special is now much more commonly used. Especial is increasingly rare and is used chiefly to stress pre-eminence or outstanding quality: a work of especial ingenuity. The adverb especially, on the other hand, has not been similarly displaced by specially. Specially is used with reference to a particular purpose: specially trained; specially arranged. Especially is used in the sense of "particularly" or "pre-eminently": He's especially talented. Jones especially is implicated. Prudence is the best policy, especially now.

Thomas D. Greer

http://www.tgreer.com

 

[NewToCR]

Isn't 'Especially' used when you emphasizing on 'specially'?

 

[elanor]

I now believe you all have ESP...especially since "especially" was one of my son's specially-selected spelling words this week!
Thanks!
Elanor

 

[tgreer]

Yes, "especially" is an emphatic "specially", synonymous with "particulary", as has been pointed out.

I imagine it this, way, by combining the question and answer:

You should take the test if you're college-bound.

Now, if you wanted to insert an adverb showing that the college-bound in particular should take the test, as opposed to the non-college-bound, which adverbs could you use? "Particularly" is a good candidate. "Especially", being a synonym for "particularly", is an especially good candidate (sorry, couldn't resist). "Specially" fails, in this instance.

You should take the test specially if you're college-bound.

In this construction, "specially" appears to modify the verb "take", meaning that the college-bound should take the test in a "special" way. Perhaps while standing on their head?

I'm also interested in a discussion about hyphenation: should "college bound" be hyphenated? I always thought that two words used as an object should be hyphenated. We're speaking of the "college-bound" group of students.

My opinion is that the sentence should have been:

Yes, especially if you're college-bound.

Thomas D. Greer

http://www.tgreer.com

 

[Stella740pl]

I agree with tgreer that

..."specially" appears to modify the verb "take", meaning that the college-bound should take the test in a "special" way.

while "especially" means "particularly", and emphasizes the "college bound" part,

so "especially" is the word of choice for this case.

Not quite sure about the hyphen, but I would guess it works both ways.

 

[CajunCenturion]

There are a number of posts which I think correctly differentiate between specially and especially. Either is correct. However, I don't think any of us can say which is preferable in this case, because that is based on the intention of the author.

I can say which one I would use because I know where I want to put the emphasis. You can say which one you would use because you know where you want to put the emphasis. But unless any of knows the intention of the author, we cannot pass judgment on the author's word choice.

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[Stella740pl]

I don't think any of us can say which is preferable in this case, because that is based on the intention of the author.

Most of us can tell what was the intention of the author, based on the original question and our knowledge of what PSAT tests are.

Again,

Q. Should I take the test?

So the intended detailed answer would be:

A. Yes, it is recommended; but it would especially benefit you if you are college bound.

If we didn’t know what was it about, then we could speculate on the topic,
and the intended detailed answer might then be also this:

A. Yes, you must take it anyway; but if you are college bound, you should take it in a special way which will be described later.

What do you think?

 

[AnotherHiggins]

I'm on board with tgreer and Stella740pl.

I think you both have expressed my thoughts better than I could have.

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[gmmastros]

I don't know much about the PSAT test. If my assumption is correct, then it is similar to the SAT's, which help a student get admitted to college.

If this assumption is true, then I think the correct wording should be...

Q. Should I take the test?
A. Yes, if you are college bound.

In my opinion, taking the test is not necessary if you are not college bound. Specially (or especially) would imply that there is a valid reason for taking the test even if you are not college bound.

-George

Strong and bitter words indicate a weak cause. - Fortune cookie wisdom

 

[AnotherHiggins]

George,

PSAT stands for Pre-SAT (or Pre Scholastic Aptitude Test for those non-Americans among us).

If memory serves, 10th and 11th graders commonly take it (along with selected middle school children). So I think it is important for everyone to take the PSAT since you might change your mind over the next year or two.

[tt]_____
[blue]-John[/blue][/tt]

"Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it."
[tab]-George Bernard Shaw

Help us help you. Please read FAQ181-2886 before posting.

 

[Stella740pl]

Well, PSAT test is is similar to the SAT test, but taking PSAT test is not necessary even if you are college bound.

PSAT is Preliminary SAT, or, in a way, Preparatory SAT.

Taking it is recommended to all high school students - to test one's knowledge, aptitude, and test-taking skills; but, of course, it has special value, and, therefore, especially recommended to those college bound.

 

[gmmastros]

Thanks for that clarification. Original I thought that 'specially' was superfluous.

-George

Strong and bitter words indicate a weak cause. - Fortune cookie wisdom

 

[tgreer]

Strong and bitter words make for a weak cause" - but good beer!

Thomas D. Greer

http://www.tgreer.com

 

[SilentAiche]

Especially" seems a much more useful word to me.

[purple]"Sweep the driveway, kid, especially if you want to borrow the car for the dance on Saturday night."[/purple]

as opposed to:

[purple]"We always welcome Hobbit/Martians, therefore we've created a specially prepared meal of Orcs and, well, more Martians."[/purple]

Tim

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[NewToCR]

therefore we've created a specially prepared meal of Orcs"

While reading it 'a specialy' sounded 'especialy' if reading emphatically.
So I suspect at one point those two just merged into 'especially'.

 

[SantaMufasa]

Whoa, folks, regardless of possible (mis)information to the contrary in some dictionaries, "Especially" and "Specially" are not synonymous. Although there may be certain circumstances where they can approximate the same meaning, they typically have significantly different meanings and applications. Let's examine the nuances of difference between the two in the context of the original (paraphrased) example:

Usage 1: "You should take the test especially if (you're) college bound."

Interpretation 1: "You should take the test particularly if (you're) college bound."

Usage 2: "You should take the test specially if (you're) college bound."

Interpretation 2: "You should take the test under non-standard circumstances if (you're) college bound."

Next, on to the issue of hyphenating a multiple-word adjective that you use as a single adjective:

...should "college bound" be hyphenated? I always thought that two words used as an object should be hyphenated. We're speaking of the "college-bound" group of students.

Your assessment, above, Thomas is partially correct and partially incorrect. (Note: "an object" should more correctly read "a multiple-word adjective" in the excerpt, above.)


Here are the rules with hyphenating a multiple-word adjective that you use as a single adjective:

Rule 1: Hyphenate two or more otherwise-independent words a) if, together, they form a single adjective and b) if they appear prior to the noun that they modify. Example: "You should take the test, especially if you are a college-bound student."

Corollary to Rule 1: Do not hyphenate words that are otherwise independent (even when together they modify a single noun), if they follow the noun that they modify. (In such a case, the pair typically participate in a predicate-adjective situation, with the first word acting as an adverb to the truly adjectival second word. Example: "You should take the test, especially if you are a student that is college bound."

Rule 2: Do not hyphenate a multiple-word adjective (as in the previously mentioned "Rule 1", even when, together, they form a single adjective and when they appear prior to the noun that they modify, when the first word is an adverb that ends in "-ly". Example: "Do not hyphenate a multiple-word adjective (as in the previously mentioned Rule 1...".

I hope that this easy-to-follow set of rules is easy to follow.




Mufasa
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[ChrisHunt]

I don't think we'd regard "specially" and "especially" as synonyms in British english usage - above posts have pretty much covered which means what. However, FAQs are often set up to be like natural speech, and some people would drop the initial syllable of "especially" when talking. That maybe opens a third possibility for how they could/should have written it:

Yes, 'specially if you're college bound!

PS. All this talk of people being somewhere-bound makes me think of that line from The Road to Morocco...

Like Webster's Dictionary we're Morocco bound!

-- Chris Hunt
Webmaster & Tragedian
Extra Connections Ltd

 

[Thadeus]

Whoa, folks, regardless of possible (mis)information to the contrary in some dictionaries, "Especially" and "Specially" are not synonymous.

Can you provide a reference, more than your authoritative assurance?

What is interesting about internet references on the topic is that they all seem to claim that the two are often used synonomously and then go on to offer two or three examples of how they can be used differently... thus blowing off any discussion or examples of synonomous use.

So it's not that I disagree SantaMufasa, I'm just curious if you can cite reputable sources for the claim that they "are not synonomous".

~Thadeus