2020-11-27
ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด P – personal & personnel
แนะนำการใช้ ตามที่ส่วนใหญ่ใช้ แต่ละท้องถิ่น
ความหมาย อาจผันแปร ตาม ตำแหน่ง/หน้าที่ ในประโยค
Dictionary.com
ออกเสียง personal = ‘PUR-suh-nl’
ออกเสียง Personnel = ‘pur-suh-NEL’
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree
Personal =
relating to a particular person;
private: a personal matter
Not to be confused with:
personnel – body of persons employed in an organization or business: personnel department
Dictionary.com
USAGE NOTE FOR PERSONNEL
Some usage guides object to the use of personnel asa plural.
However, this use is well established
and standard in all varieties of speech and writing.
The use of personnel with a preceding number
is largely restricted to business and government communications:
Six personnel were transferred.
Collins COBUILD English Usage
Personal – personnel
1. 'personal'
Personal (/pɜːsənəl/) is an adjective.
You use it to say that something belongs
or relates to a particular person.
This is my personal opinion.
...books, furniture, and other personal belongings.
2. 'personnel'
Personnel (/pɜːsənel/) is a noun.
The personnel of a company or organization
are the people who work for it.
We've advertised for extra security personnel.
There has been very little renewal of personnel in higher education.
Personnel is a plural noun.
You do not talk about 'personnels' or 'a personnel'.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Usage Notes
'Personal' vs 'Personnel':
A Matter for You and Everyone Else
Keep this in your personal file.
What to Know
Personal is an adjective meaning "of, relating to, or affecting, the person."
Personnel is a noun referring to people themselves or a collection of people.
A company's "personnel" would be all the people employed,
an army unit's personnel would be the people in that unit.
Confusion can occur in instances of "personal file" vs "personnel file"
where the former is a file of one person,
and the latter is a file of all of the people in a group.
Although they look similar,
the words personal and personnel arepronounced differently
and function as different parts of speech.
The first is chiefly used as an adjective with many meanings,
including “of, relating to, or affecting a particular person”
(as in “good for one’s personal growth”)
or “carried on directly between individuals”
(as in “a personal interview”).
Personnel has a narrower application.
Often found in business contexts,
the noun refers to the people employed by an organization
or the department in charge of concerns involvingemployees and related matters.
Most confusion arises in situations
where the reader could interpret either as correct,
such as "personal matter" vs. "personnel matter"
and "personal file" vs. "personnel file."
Origins of 'Personal' and 'Personnel'
Both derive from the Late Latin personalis,
though personal took a tour through Middle English and Anglo-French, while personnel traces back through modern French, German, and Medieval Latin.
In French, personnel was an adjective frequently used in contrast with matériel, the equipment used (as by a military unit).
Some English usage commentators observed a rise in use of personnel
as a mid-20th-century gender-neutral replacement for the phrase men and material, which turned up in some wartime writing.
Despite their distinctions,
it’s not unusual to find personal and personnel inthe same sentence:
Secretary of Defense James Mattis is actively considering banning US military and civilian personnel from bringing their personal cell phones into the Pentagon, the world's largest office building, according to three US defense officials familiar with an ongoing review of the issue. — Ryan Browne, CNN.com, 31 Jan. 2018
Pruitt is the gift that keeps on giving in terms of examples of how senior government officials, particularly in this administration, abuse their power and their position … and really treat the government’s resources — of which the most valuable are personnel — as personal servants.” — Don Fox, quoted in The Washington Post, 2 July 2018
Usage guides traditionally warn against confusing personal and personnel, even thoughtheir roles are rather cut and dry.
You almost never see references to
a company bringing in “new personal” or a person discussing their “personnel information” with their lawyer.
Possible Confusion Between 'Personal' and 'Personnel'
Where a problem might arise
is not in usage by the writer
but interpretation by the reader,
as instances
where one word can be swapped out for the other
and both make sense can create ambiguity.
A dispute between two employees,
for example, might be described as both a “personal matter,”
as it concerns a relationship between two people,
and a “personnel matter,” as it relates to staff.
Or a memorandum might belong in both your “personal file” (kept by you) and your “personnel file” (kept by your employer).
That kind of overlap between personal and personnel
tends to occur only in unique circumstances,
but now that you've read this,
with any luck you'll remember to keep it in mind.
Common Errors In English Usage Dictionary
personal & personnel
Employees are personnel,
but private individuals considered separately
from their jobs have personal lives.
Dictionary of Problem Words and Expression
personal & personnel
Personnel means “a group of persons.”
Personal involves a particular person, an individual.
“This is a personal matter involving Judy and me.”
“The personnel in this office is very friendly.”
Personal is pronounced “PUHR-suhn-uhl”
Personnel is pronounced “puhr-suh-NEL”
The expression “personal friend” isusually wordy;
it is possible to have as a business friend someone
who is not necessarily a personal friend,
but such instances are rare.
How many friend can one have who are not personal?
