Thread: Fun with language

Yea, I'm pretty sure dove and dove are not homonyms, since they are not pronounced the same way. I pronounce number and number differently as well, but maybe that's just me ("soft" b vs "hard" b).

"They're there; their car is too."

I just looked up homonym on wikipedia:
In linguistics, a homonym is, in the strict sense, one of a group of words that share the same spelling and the same pronunciation but have different meanings (in other words, are both homographs and homophones)

So I was wrong.

OK, I know this is slightly off topic but I can't resist sharing.

A few months ago my 6 year old daughter told me she wanted to go to the neighbors to see their "tamales". Upon further questioning I realized that she had misunderstood me the week before when I said they had "two Collies".

Y'all hurt my head with this brainy stuff which I fear is going to head into yet more of the same.But full spead ahead I suppose. Just watch ahead as you go with this silliness or it may come to a head of no good I tell you. And HNSB is freakin me out with his morphing head ,Yeeeeshh ! I got nuthin!!

I twisted my heal when my dog wouldn't heel and it just won't heal but he'll get what's comming to him.

The easiest one in the book is the orange orange.

I'm going to fire you if you light that fire!

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

Yea, I'm pretty sure dove and dove are not homonyms, since they are not pronounced the same way. I pronounce number and number differently as well, but maybe that's just me ("soft" b vs "hard" b).

"They're there; their car is too."

I just looked up homonym on wikipedia:
In linguistics, a homonym is, in the strict sense, one of a group of words that share the same spelling and the same pronunciation but have different meanings (in other words, are both homographs and homophones)

So I was wrong.

No, I think you're correct with your post. After doing a little more research, I have amended the original thread starting post. Thanks for clearing that up.

Okay, to clear this all up in laymans terms....

Homonyms are very special; to be a true homonym they must both be spelled the same AND pronounced the same. (Homographic and homophonic)

Colloquially many people call homophones or homographs homonyms but this is a much more relaxed interpretation of the rules-- one which lends itself better to forwarded emails in the inboxes of corporate cube-farm america.

Homographs, popularly used as 'homonyms' are, unless also homophones, heteronyms.


Homophones: bred and bread.

Homographs: dove (n) and dove (v).

Homonyms: bow (v) and bow (n)

So could we use 'bow' as an example of a homonym? I'm thinking the noun 'bow' as in the bow of a boat (which is different in meaning and pronuciation to bow and arrow).

So the bow of the small boat in the third row was going underwater after being hit by the arrow from that bow hunter over there because the guy inside was doing a hard row.