Imminent, eminent, or immanent? (What are the differences in meaning between these three words?)

A view from immanence

Commonly Misused Words:

What is the difference between imminent, eminent, and immanent?

I read a blog article on the "eminent" release of the iPad 2. Is there a problem here? While the iPad is an eminent tablet device, no doubt, the correct word choice should have been "imminent."
Differences in Meaning
    The two words are understandably confusing since the difference in meaning relies on the placement of an "e" or an "i."
    Imminent simply means "coming soon," or, "on the way," as in the phrase, "the imminent demise of the laptop in a tablet-crazed world."
    Eminent (one "m") means noteworthy or deserving of esteem, or recognition. Prince Charles has the eminent title of Prince of Wales.
Differences in Pronunciation
    Note there is a slight pronunciation difference. The two words are not homophones, meaning they sound alike but have different meanings. The "em" in eminent is the em sound in M&M (the last "m"). The "im" in imminent is an "im" sound as in the vowel sound in "him."
    Both words, imminent and eminent, also have noun forms, imminence and eminence. So watch out for those too when they pop up. A Cardinal of the Catholic Church is called, "Your Eminence," in a formal address. Not Your Imminence.
    To make it more complicated there's the word "immanent" which sounds like imminent. If something is immanent, however, it means it's "at hand."
    I can say that my existence is immanent, "within reach," and not in a far-away sky out of reach.
Special Meanings, Too
    In philosophy, we use the opposing pairing of immanent, "at hand," with "transcendent," beyond reach.
    Immanent can also have a noun form, "immanence."

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Got that? Eminent, imminent, and immanent. They're different.

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Repost: Why We're All Glad English Carries Gender Type Information

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A repost from NPR by Jessica Love of a story about grammar - when gender sometimes matters in language.

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When gender sometimes matters in grammar (and why grammar examples are fun). This is the funniest grammar story since the panda in the bar.

Last year, arriving late to a departmental Christmas party, I was immediately greeted by a waifish 10-year-old with pale skin, delicate features, neatly braided long brown hair, and a stuffed clown fish.The girl solemnly informed me that her stuffed animal was dying of diphtheria. “Oh no!” I cried in mock horror. “Is your fish contagious?” Perhaps fearing I would launch into a speech about how young ladies should be careful around contagious fish, a fellow graduate student quickly interjected, He’s sure the fish isn’t contagious. I asked him that same question.” And that is how I learned that the strange girl with the delicate features and the long braid was in fact a boy. How deftly pronominal information is delivered, and gleaned, by fluent speakers! How different the entire situation would have been were I a speaker of Hawaiian or Persian, where gender isn’t marked at all!

by Jessica Love, Excerpt from I ♥ Pronouns

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