Homographs are words that are spelled the same no matter how they are pronounced. Example: lead. Homophones are words that are pronounced identically, regardless of how they are reproduced in writing. Example: rose(flower) and rose(past tense of verb to rise). If you are interested in the topic of homophones or homographs in the English language, check out the reference books of the same name from the series Collins Cobuild English Guides.
To make the topic of homonyms in English more understandable, I present several examples that will help you quickly master this phenomenon in English:
· can(tin can) – can(modal verb)
· wreak(retribution) – reek(stench, bad smell)
· soul(soul) - sole(the only one)
· route(route) - root(root)
· cent(cent) – sent(past tense of verb to send) – scent(aroma)
· cell(cell) - sell(sell)
· flat(apartment) - flat(flat)
· lie(lie) – lye(alkali)
· lead(lead) - lead(to lead)
· pray(pray) – prey(victim)
· need(need) - knead(knead the dough)
· isle(island) - aisle(aisle between rows)
· foul(dirty, disgusting) – fowl(Domestic bird)
· die(to die) – dye(paint, paint)
Homonymy– (homonyms< Gk homo - same+ onoma - name), т. е. слова, обладающие сходством формы при различном содержании каждого из них. ЛСВ₁, ЛСВ₂ - не имеют связи между собой. Однако все индивидуально.
Polysemantic words are in one dictionary entry, homonyms are in different ones. There are 16-18% homonyms in English. Homonyms complicate life - redundancy, polysemy - simplifies it.
To boast₁ – to brag
To boast₂ - roughly hew a stone
To angle₁ - distort
To angle₂ - fish
· Full homonyms: tip₁ - tip, tip₂ - tip.
· Omoforms. Tent₁ - tent, tent₂ - tampon, turunda. These are complete homonyms. However, find is a find, to find is to find. If you change paradigmatically, then discrepancies will appear: found, found. Coincidence in any grammatical forms is a homoform.
Depending on the belonging of each homonym to any part of speech, lexical, grammatical and lexico-grammatical homonyms are distinguished:
- Lexical homonyms - lexical homonyms belong to the same part of speech, are identical in grammatical characteristics, but are different lexically, i.e. in meaning. Mate (mate) – mate (comrade).
- Lexico-grammatical homonyms - the coincidence is limited to the formal side, and the differences concern both grammatical and lexical characteristics. Examples of such homonymy are red - red, read - read. Coincidences in some grammatical forms.
- Grammatical - homonymous forms in the system of the same word, differ in grammatical meanings. Homonyms brothers - brothers, brother´s - brother.
Lexico-semantic variant is a word in one of the meanings. (The term “lexical-semantic variant” belongs to A.I. Smirnitsky).
If we turn to the semantic analysis of such words as earth, water, sea, go, table, fresh, the following is revealed: what we call a word, in its lexical-semantic terms, is a very complex formation - a set of elementary units.
For example, the word earth has 6 meanings:
1. The third planet from the sun in the solar system, revolving around the sun;
2. Land as opposed to water or air space;
3. Soil, the upper layer of the crust of our planet, etc.
It is known that a polysemantic word is included in the synonymous or antonymic series only with a certain part of its content, for example, thick (forest) - sparse, thick (broth) - liquid; tall (person) – tall, tall (voice) – thin.
Therefore, to describe the basic concepts and categories of lexical semantics, special terms are introduced: word and lexical-semantic variant
The basic unit in lexicology is the word, the elementary unit is the lexical-semantic variant - this is the word in one of the meanings.
Lexico-semantic variants in the overwhelming majority of cases are determined by the position in the system of other words, i.e., the peculiarities of their compatibility with other words.
The presence of lexical-semantic variants in a word explains the possibility of its inclusion in different semantic groups of words.
9. Types of synonyms and mechanisms for the formation of synonymy.
Synonyms are words that belong to the same part of speech, are close or identical in subject-logical meaning in at least one of their lexical-semantic variants, and are such that for them it is possible to indicate contexts in which they are interchangeable
Signs of synonyms.
- Thus, the main sign of synonymy of words can be considered the identity or similarity of their meanings. Identity is the proximity of meanings, the origins of which lie in the identical reference of words, in their designation of the same situations or phenomena. Synonyms name the same object (referent). Hippopotamus and hippopotamus are the same entity.
- Partial interchangeability of synonyms, i.e. their compatibility in some contextual conditions and incompatibility in others. Thus, the adjectives rotten and added are synonymous when combined with the noun egg, but not synonymous when combined with brain or head. Synonyms are also characterized by different compatibility with other words. For example, the noun jail, being a synonym for prison, can be included in combinations different from the latter (be in jail/prison; put in jail/prison; but jail bird).
In speech, synonyms have two main functions -
- the function of substitution, when one unit is replaced by another, semantically adequate to it, in order to avoid repetition when speaking, and the function of clarification. For example, in the statement “Its effect on history is exaggerated. They have been overrating it for years” the words exaggerate and overrate perform the function of substitution to remove the tautology..
- Clarification function. Speech shows that side of the object of reality that seems most important to the speaker. The choice of a synonym may indicate different degrees of manifestation of any characteristic (mistake/blunder: wrong opinion, idea, act/foolish mistake); for the presence of special shades of meaning (mistake/slip (small mistake)/lapse (unexpected mistake), etc., as well as impart emotionality to speech (die/expire/pop off).
Classification of synonyms by J. Lyons
- Complete – absolute equivalence of 2 units
- Total – interchangeability in all contexts
- Full, total greatful – thankful
- Complete, non-total, there are stylistic differences: passing - bookish. death, death - death
- Incomplete, total
- Incomplete, non-total: man - man
Based on prototypical semantics, if 2 lexical units have one common lexical prototype, then they are synonyms.
Types of synonyms
Classification of synonyms V.V. Vinogradov includes:
Ideographic, which he defined as words,
conveying the same concept, but differing in shades
values (to look – to peer); Stylistically homogeneous synonyms are usually called ideographic, or conceptual, since, belonging to the same (usually neutral) stylistic sphere, they are correlated with the same concept, offering different aspects of the view of it (power - force - energy are correlated with a general concept, maximally expressed the word power (power - ability to do or act; force - power of body or mind; energy - force, capacity to do things and get things done; beautiful - handsome - pretty describe the same feature, expressed to varying degrees and characteristic of different denotations).
Stylistic, which differ in stylistic
characteristics (person - buddy); Synonyms that represent the same concept in different stylistic registers are called stylistic, respectively, and, as a rule, can be interchanged (especially in the direction of the neutral register). The differences between them are in the scope of application; The shades of the meaning itself are purely stylistic in nature.
Absolute (values coinciding in shades and
stylistic characteristics: gift - present). If the meanings of conceptual synonyms completely coincide (and in a polysemantic word LSVs enter into synonymy relations), they are called absolute (or complete) synonyms. There are few such words in the language, and there are pairs (or rows) of absolute synonyms for a short time (spirants/fricatives). Subsequently, a redistribution of semes takes place within the members of the series and synonyms either begin to differ in their sphere of use (term, stylistic coloring, etc.), or acquire a new semantic connotation depending on their compatibility with other words.
However, according to some linguists, this classification is controversial. For example, some researchers (G.B. Antrushina, O.V. Afanasyeva, N.N. Morozova) believe that absolute synonyms are rare; in addition, this is a temporary phenomenon in language1. The language system, due to constant development, “removes” absolute synonyms from the language, thus developing the differentiating characteristics of synonyms.
The Russian language is replenished with synonyms due to: a) the formation of new words: restore, reproduce, recreate, revive, resurrect, renew;
b) mastering foreign words: memories, memoirs; c) penetration into the literary language of dialectisms, professionalisms, jargon, colloquial words: stubble, stubble; steering wheel, steering wheel, steering wheel; thief, swindler, mazurik; restore, adjust, incite; d) development of new meanings of the word: suspicious, dubious, dark– cf.: dark, gloomy, unlit; location, location, geography(mineral).
10. Conversion and methods for its identification.
Conversion(lat. conversiō“reversal”, “transformation”) - a method of word formation, the formation of a new word by transferring the base to another paradigm of inflection. Usually the resulting lexeme belongs to a different part of speech. Conversion is the most common method of word formation in languages where many morphemes are null, such as English or Chinese. For example, from English. bet“to bet” (with a typically verb paradigm in English. bet, bets, bet (last tense), betting...) turns out English. bet“rate” (with a typical nominal paradigm in English. bet, bets). This understanding of conversion (as an exclusively word-formation process) was proposed, for example, by A. I. Smirnitsky. According to the theory of Smirnitsky and Yartseva, this phenomenon is an act of word formation, during which words of a common root are formed, homonymous to the original words and differing from the latter in their paradigms.
This method of word formation is called conversion. Also, some linguists call this method zero word formation ( using a zero morpheme).
Smirnitsky: conversion is a type of word formation in which only the paradigm of the word serves as a word-formation device.
1) In modern English, conversion is the main way of forming verbs, the model N→V. Conversion-derived verbs and original nouns develop the following types of meanings:
· Carry out an action using what is denoted by the original noun (to hammer - to hit with a hammer; to rifle - to shoot from a rifle; to eye - to look at, examine; to shoulder - to push / touch with your shoulder, to push through).
· Perform an action characteristic of what is indicated by the original noun (to father - to take care of a father) or to act like an animal called by the original noun (to dog - to follow on the heels, to track down; to fox - to be cunning).
· To supply what is indicated by the original noun (fish – to fish – to catch fish) or, conversely, to deprive of what is indicated by the original noun (skin – to skin – to rip off the skin / skin).
· To be or move to the place indicated by the original noun (to garage - put a car in the garage; to pocket - put in your pocket).
· Spend a period of time named by a noun (to winter - spend the winter; to weekend - spend (somewhere) weekends).
This list can be supplemented with many more examples of words known to you.
· drum (drum) – to drum (play the drum)
· elbow (elbow) – to elbow (push with elbow)
· flower (flower) – to flower (bloom, blossom)
· iron (iron) – to iron (iron, iron)
· queue (queue) – to queue (stand in line)
· ticket (ticket) – to ticket (supply with tickets, issue tickets)
Thus, conversion helps to replenish your vocabulary: having memorized one noun, you will also learn its related verb. But conversion should not be confused with another minor method of word formation - a change in stress. The forms of many nouns coincide with the forms of verbs, but differ from them in stress - nouns are stressed on the first syllable, and their corresponding verbs are stressed on the second:
· export /ˈɛkˌspoɚt/ (export) – to export /ɛkˈspoɚt/ (export)
· import /ˈɪmˌpoɚt/ (import) – to import /ɪmˈpoɚt/ (import)
· increase /ˈɪnˌkri:s/ (increase) – to increase /ɪnˈkri:s/ (increase(s))
· insult /ˈɪnˌsʌlt/ (insult) – to insult /ɪnˈsʌlt/ (offend)
· suspect /ˈsʌˌspɛkt/ (suspected person) – to suspect /səˈspɛkt/ (to suspect)
2) During conversion, not only the transition of a noun into a verb is possible, but also the formation of verbal nouns. In the case of semantic relations with the model V → N, i.e. when converting a verb into a noun, the latter acquires the following meanings:
· One-time action (a cry - cry, exclamation; a glance - quick glance, flash).
· The result of an action transmitted by the producing basis (a purchase - a purchase; a find - a find).
· State or process (a sleep - sleep; a walk - walking, walking).
· Agentive, when a noun names the producer of an action (a tramp - a tramp).
· Locative, when a noun names the place where an action takes place (a stand - a stand; a stop - a stop (bus, etc.).
3) However, the phenomenon of conversion is characteristic not only of verbs and nouns, adjectives can also be converted into nouns and even verbs. In modern English there are many adjectival nouns, that is, those that are formed according to the model A →N. As a rule, such nouns are formed not by conversion, but with the participation of an ellipse (“omission”, “omission”), i.e. a substantivized adjective is used instead of a phrase consisting of an adjective and the noun it defines. The following two types of partially substantivized adjectives are distinguished:
1. Those that can only be used in the singular form with the definite article. They have the meaning of collective nouns that define a class, nationality or a separate group of people. For example, when the phrase rich people breaks down, the adjective rich not only receives the definite article (the), but also acquires the semantic meaning of the entire previous phrase: the rich – rich people; the English – English people.
2. Those that are used only in the plural and also have the meaning of collective nouns, for example sweets - sweets, candies; greens – greens, vegetables; I like musicals (musical comedies).
4) Adjectives can also become verbs, model A → V. The exception is suffixal adjectives. Root adjectives form verbs with the meaning of change of state, for example:
· clean (clean) – to clean (clean)
· slim (thin, slender) – to slim (lose weight)
· brown (brown) – to brown (sunbathe)
As a rule, determining the direction of conversion is difficult, and sometimes simply impossible. The usual criteria used to determine the direction of the conversion process are as follows:
a. The semantics of the original stem is wider than the semantics of the derived word (to laugh → a laugh; hammer → to hammer).
b. The original member of the pair has a more extensive word-formation nest (a grade – gradual, graduation, gradient, etc. → to grade).
It should, however, be taken into account that these criteria are not absolute and may be violated.
Thus, conversion is an extremely productive way of replenishing the lexical composition with new words. There are different models of conversion: nouns, verbs and adjectives can be converted into other parts of speech, acquiring new meanings. Different models develop certain semantic relationships between members of a convertible pair, but the most diverse relationships are found in the N → V model (formation of new verbs from nouns), therefore it is considered the most productive. The concept of conversion turns out to be very useful for students of the English language: having memorized one word, for example, a noun, you will thereby learn its related verb. And to understand what part of speech a particular word in a text is, even if they are absolutely identical in spelling and pronunciation, is always easy in context due to the strict word order of an English sentence.
11. Compound words and their classification.
There are many compound (complex) words in English - Compound Words, especially among nouns and adjectives. In some cases, small words in a compound compound are joined by a hyphen - hyphen form(hyphenated form), sometimes written together - closed form(closed form).
Examples of the hyphen form: fire-resistant( fire resistant), high-speed ( high speed),light-green(light green), world-famous ( well-known), red-haired(ginger)
Examples of a closed form: salesman ( salesman), flashlight (flashlight), blacklist (black list), railroad (Railway), moonlight (Moonlight)
This way of forming new words can be expressed by the formula “stem + stem”, resulting in the formation of a compound word. The following may be subject to addition:
- simple basics (cowboy, blackboard, spaceship, etc.),
- simple base and derivative base (pen-holder, match-maker, baby-sitter).
- One of the components is an abbreviation: V-day - victory day, a-bomb - atomic bomb.
- One of the components is a complex basis: postmaster-general - postmaster.
The method of connecting the bases can be neutral, when both bases are connected end-to-end (eye-brow, sunrise, schoolgirl), and using a connecting element (handicraft, tradesman, mother-of-pearl).
A compound word is usually formed entirely and its grammatical characteristics depend on the second component. For example, while the structure of the words whitewash and blackboard are similar, they belong to different parts of speech, since their second components are a verb and a noun, respectively. However, there are also complex words, at first glance formed according to the same model, in which the grammatical characteristic of the second component does not correspond to the general one. For example, in barefoot the second component is clearly a noun, but the word as a whole is an adverb. There is obviously a desemantization of the second stem to the extent that it is perceived as a suffix. Probably, such cases should be considered as intermediate between affixation and composition.
Very often, compounding acts as a means of creating a productive basis for the further process of word formation. The stem obtained in this way is subject to conversion, reversion or affixation, resulting in a new, derivative word (blacklist - to blacklist; daydream - to daydream; stagemanager - to stagemanage; babysitter - to babysit; honeymoon - to honeymoon - honeymooner; etc.) . This is the so-called compound words.
12. Phraseologisms, their relationship with words and free phrases. Structural and semantic classifications of phraseological units.
In his work “Phraseology of the modern Russian language” Shansky Nikolay Maksimovich gives the following definition: “A phraseological unit is a linguistic unit reproduced in finished form, consisting of two or more stressed components of a verbal nature, fixed (i.e. constant) in its meaning, composition and structure.” The linguist believes that the main property of a phraseological turn is its reproducibility, since
“phraseologisms are not created in the process of communication, but are reproduced as ready-made integral units.” Thus, phraseological units “far away lands”,
“the trail has gone cold”, “there is nothing to cover”, etc. are extracted from memory entirely. Phraseological units are characterized by their reproducibility in finished form with a fixed and strictly fixed integral meaning, composition and structure. Phraseologisms are significant linguistic units that are characterized by their own meaning, independent of the meanings of their constituent components.
N.M. Shansky examined the differences between phraseological units and free phrases. Phraseological units are distinguished by reproducibility, integrity of meaning, stability of composition and structure, and, as a rule, impenetrability of the structure. The differences between phraseological units and words, as the scientist believed, are as follows: words consist of elementary significant units of language, morphemes, and phraseological units - from components of a verbal nature, words act as grammatically uniform formations, and phraseological units are grammatically separate formations. Thus, phraseological units have
“a characteristic set of differential features: 1) these are ready-made language units that are not created in the process of communication, but are extracted from memory entirely; 2) these are linguistic units that are characterized by constancy in meaning, composition and structure (similar to individual words); 3) in accentological terms, these are sound complexes in which their constituent components have two (or more) main stresses; 4) these are articulated formations, the components of which are recognized by speakers as words
. Phraseologisms must have the entire set of specified features that distinguish them from free combinations and words.
Have you ever, even after studying English for a long time, encountered the problem of complete or partial misunderstanding of spoken language? So you listen and listen, but you just don’t understand what we’re talking about. Or, for example, do you experience difficulty writing dictations or any other work that requires written reproduction of the speech you hear? Have you wondered what's the matter? The supply seems to be good, you know, but something doesn’t stick. I offer you one more nuance, which may be the source of this problem. And the name for this phenomenon is homonyms in English ( homonyms), namely homophones ( homophones) and homographs ( homographs). What it is and what it is eaten with, we will now figure it out.
What words are called homonyms in English?
The word “homonym” itself comes from the Greek words homos, that is, “the same”, and onyma- Name. In other words, homonyms in English- these are words that are the same in spelling or sound, but different in meaning (meaning). So it turns out that sometimes we hear a word, but we cannot determine its meaning, since several words may correspond to it by sound. In addition to this, homonymy presents another difficulty - after hearing a word, you may not be able to determine what it is about, and, therefore, it will be more problematic for you to look for this word in.
It is possible and necessary to combat homonyms in English. As a “way to fight”, I would suggest increasing your vocabulary, memorizing in pairs or groups the most common homonyms in the English language , practice of writing with homonyms. When working on the system of homonyms in English, you can use an interesting book called “ How much can a bare bear bear?» by Brian P. CLeary, which includes funny rhymes and comic illustrations about homonyms and homophones. What are homophones?
Homophones and homographs in English
Homographs are words that are spelled the same no matter how they are pronounced. Example: lead . Homophones are words that are pronounced identically, regardless of how they are reproduced in writing. Example: rose (flower) and rose (past tense to rise). If you are interested in the topic of homophones or homographs in the English language, check out the reference books of the same name from the series Collins Cobuild English Guides.
To make the topic of homonyms in English more understandable, I present several examples that will help you quickly master this phenomenon in English:
- can(tin can) –
- wreak(retribution) – reek(stench, bad smell)
- soul(soul) - sole(the only one)
- route(route) - root(root)
- cent(cent) – sent(past tense of verb to send) – scent(aroma)
- cell(cell) - sell(sell)
- flat(apartment) - flat(flat)
- lie(lie) – lye(alkali)
- lead(lead) - lead(to lead)
- pray(pray) – prey(victim)
- need(need) - knead(knead the dough)
- isle(island) - aisle(aisle between rows)
- foul(dirty, disgusting) – fowl(Domestic bird)
- die(to die) – dye(paint, paint)
There may be many more examples, but I think you understand the meaning of homonyms in English. That is why it is necessary to have such a large vocabulary in order to easily identify the word you hear, checking it with the context. As you learn the language, you will come across homographs or homophones, pay special attention to them and try to remember them, because in the future they will help you more accurately recognize spoken and written speech.
One of the difficulties of the English language is that it contains many identical words. Not just the same root or similar, but exactly the same! Of course, there are polysemic words, but the main difficulties are caused by another category of words, these are homographs - words that are written the same, but read differently, have different meanings and are often different parts of speech.
Many students, even with a high level of knowledge, make mistakes when using homographs in speech. Not knowing the difference in pronunciation (or being unaware of the difference) is a common mistake because we tend to remember only one word image for one word.
Having memorized one image of a word, it is extremely difficult to “relearn” and remember the second one. Even knowing that a word has two pronunciations, we still manage to use only one.
How can the pronunciation of the same word change, although the letters remain the same? Let's look at typical changes.
Firstly, stress transfer: if the first syllable is stressed, the word is a noun, the second is a verb. And, although it seems to us that it is not so important where to place the emphasis, a noun in the place of a verb in a sentence is not a plus in your speech.
Secondly, changes in vowel sounds And diphthongs: [ə] -, [e] -[ɪ], [ɪ]-, [e] -, -, [ɛə]- and others. This occurs due to the fact that in English vowels and vowel combinations have several reading options.
Besides, final sound deafening: [z] -[s] indicates a change in the meaning of the word.
You can distinguish which word is in front of you by the place of the word in the sentence and by the context.
In this article you will find the most frequently used homographs in the English language, or simply words that are spelled the same, but are pronounced differently and have different meanings. For each word, two transcription options are provided with translations and examples of use in a sentence. Even if you have recently started learning English and have not yet encountered these words, it will be useful for you to become familiar with this category of words in order to pay attention to them in the future.
Bend, bend, tilt, bend, bend; tilt; bow, nod.
Arc (or any curved object), bow (weapon).
Close.
Close (about time and place), nearby, close (about a friend).
She felt cold and closed the window
Her house is close to the lake
William is mine closest friend
["kɔntent] content, essence, essence, essence; meaning, meaning.
Satisfaction, pleasure; satisfied, pleased.
CONTRACT
["kɔntrækt] contract, agreement, agreement.
Conclude a contract, agreement, assume obligations, enter into any legal relationship.
CONTRARY
["kɔntr(ə)rɪ] something inverse, opposite, opposite, inverse; on the contrary.
Stubborn, unpersuasible, intractable, self-willed.
I thought he was arrogant but on the contrary he appeared to be a very pleasant person. “I thought he was arrogant, but it turned out that he is a very pleasant person to talk to.”
CONVERSE
Talk, have a conversation.
["kɔnvɜːs] inverse statement, inverse relation, opposite; rotated, inverted; opposite; located opposite.
We were walking in the park conversing about
The two sisters were converses of each other
["diːfekt]or lack, defect, shortcoming, flaw, defect.
Abandon, change, desert, go over to the enemy’s side.
The dress has a defec t so I’m going to exchange it in the shop. – The dress has a defect, so I’m going to exchange it in the store.
Many famous writers and artists defected to the USA. - Manysome famouswriters and cultural figures left for America.
DELEGATE
["delɪgət] delegate; deputy, envoy, representative, authorized.
["delɪgeɪt] delegate, authorize, transfer powers.
We sent seven delegates
The Chief executive delegated powers
["dezərt] desert, abandoned, abandoned, uninhabited, deserted.
Leave, leave; abandon (family); hand over, leave (territory).
I have always dreamed of living on on a desert island
He
DELIBERATE
Non-random, carefully planned, balanced; deliberate, deliberate.
To ponder, reflect, leave time for (deep) reflection.
You should consider all the likely consequences and make a deliberate choice
Don't buy any old car. You should
[ɪk"spɔːt], export, take out (goods).
["ekspɔːt] export, export.
Wheat is the main export
GRAVE grave, burial. , solemn, gloomy (about tone).
One can sometimes come across unmarked graves
["ɪmpɔːt] import, importation (bringing goods into the country from abroad).
[ɪm"pɔːt] import (bring goods into the country from abroad).
Last year we imported cotton
The import of cocoa beans
INСENSE
["ɪnsen(t)s] incense, incense.
[ɪn"sen(t)s] to enrage, to infuriate.
Burning incense
He wasn't incensed by
INCREASE
["ɪnkriːs] increase, growth, addition, increase, reproduction, proliferation, expansion, increase.
[ɪn"kriːz] to increase, increase; grow; intensify.
Statistics shows a significant increase
The research shows that
INTIMATE
["ɪntɪmət] close friend.
["ɪntɪmeɪt] to announce, to notify, to let know, to notify.
Oliver is my intimate
Customs . – Customsmade new demands.
["ɪnvəlɪd] sick person, disabled; sick, painful, incapacitated.
[ɪn"vælɪd] having no legal force, invalid.
Didn't become an invalid
Your credit card is invalid. – Yoursa credit cardinvalidflax.
Lead.
Leadership, management, initiative; lead, accompany, be a guide.
The bullets are made of lead. - The bullets are made of lead.
We will teach you how to lead a discussion
["mɪnɪt] minute (about time), a short distance (which can be crossed in a few moments), an instant; a moment, a moment.
Small, tiny, tiny.
I will be back in a minute. - I'll be back in a minute.
This house is minute. - This house is tiny.
["ɔbʤɪkt], [-ʤekt] object, thing.
[əb"ʤekt] object, protest, raise objections.
He didn’t object when I suggested going to Spain nobody objected
["pæstɪ] pie with filling.
["peɪstɪ] viscous, pale, unhealthy (about complexion).
These pasties
Your face is pasty
["prez(ə)nt] gift, gift, present.
Present, give.
This ring is great present
I will present
["prɔʤekt] project, idea, plan, program.
To give out, to perform, to design, to develop, to draw up a project.
We are currently working on this project
Our team projected an implementation
RECREATION
[ˌrɪekrɪ"eɪʃ(ə)n] rest, restoration of health, mental and physical strength, recovery; rest, entertainment, pleasant pastime.
[ˌrekrɪ"eɪʃ(ə)n] creation anew, recreation.
Recreation is important in promoting the quality of life. – Rest plays a big role in improving the quality of life.
Reject, refuse; reject.
["refjuːs] garbage, garbage, waste.
He refused to share his profit
We should promote refuse
Row, line.
Violation of peace, quiet, order, fight, scuffle; dispute, quarrel, squabble.
I watched the play from the first row
He is constantly having rows
A swampy, viscous, flooded place (a section on the road that is impossible to drive through).
Shed skin (from snakes and other reptiles); a characteristic feature, a property that is getting rid of, a forgotten habit.
We should detour round the slough
Gambling is my slough
["sʌbʤekt] topic, subject of conversation.
["sʌbʤekt] dependent, subservient, vulnerable, subservient, subordinate; subdue, conquer.
Don't bring the subject of his grades
Children are especially subject to viruses
["sʌspekt] suspect or suspicious person, suspicious.
To suspect, to doubt the truth, not to trust.
The suspect was found guilty
He wasn't suspected in murder
Tear, tear, rip, tear off.
A tear.
She always tears the letters
T ears welled in her eyes
Wind, air flow.
Curl, wriggle, bend, twist, wind up.
The wind
The river winds
Wound, injury.
Past participle (second form) of wind.
His wounds
I wound the clock. - I wound up the watch.
Download:
Preview:
Homographs. Such different identical words.
One of the difficulties of the English language is that it contains many identical words. Not just the same root or similar, but exactly the same! Of course, there are polysemic words, but the main difficulties are caused by another category of words, these are homographs - words that are written the same, but read differently, have different meanings and are often different parts of speech.
Many students, even with a high level of knowledge, make mistakes when using homographs in speech. Not knowing the difference in pronunciation (or being unaware of the difference) is a common mistake because we tend to remember only one word image for one word.
Having memorized one image of a word, it is extremely difficult to “relearn” and remember the second one. Even knowing that a word has two pronunciations, we still manage to use only one.
How can the pronunciation of the same word change, although the letters remain the same? Let's look at typical changes.
Firstly, stress transfer: if the first syllable is stressed, the word is a noun, the second is a verb. And, although it seems to us that it is not so important where to place the emphasis, a noun in the place of a verb in a sentence is not a plus in your speech.
Secondly, changes in vowel sounds and diphthongs : [ə] -, [e] -[ɪ], [ɪ]-, [e] -, -, [ɛə]- and others. This occurs due to the fact that in English vowels and vowel combinations have several reading options.
Besides, final sound deafening: [z] -[s] indicates a change in the meaning of the word.
You can distinguish which word is in front of you by the place of the word in the sentence and by the context.
In this article you will find the most frequently used homographs in the English language, or simply words that are spelled the same, but are pronounced differently and have different meanings. For each word, two transcription options are provided with translations and examples of use in a sentence. Even if you have recently started learning English and have not yet encountered these words, it will be useful for you to become familiar with this category of words in order to pay attention to them in the future.
Bend, bend, tilt, bend, bend; tilt; bow, nod.
Arc (or any curved object), bow (weapon).
He bowed his head in respect. “He bowed his head as a sign of respect.
The actor made a bow after a series of applause. – The actor left the stage after applause.
He drew his bow and was ready to shoot an arrow. “He drew his bow and prepared to shoot an arrow.
CLOSE
Close.
Close (about time and place), nearby, close (about a friend).
She felt cold and closed the window . “She froze and closed the window.
Her house is close to the lake . – Her house is located close to the lake.
William is my closest friend . – William is my closest friend.
CONTENT
["kɔntent] content, essence, essence, essence; meaning, meaning.
Satisfaction, pleasure; satisfied, satisfied.
I believe I got the content of his speech. – I think I understood the essence of his speech.
I am content with our trip. – I am pleased with our trip.
CONTRACT
["kɔntrækt] contract, agreement, agreement.
Conclude a contract, agreement, assume obligations, enter into any legal relationship.
Our lawyer will draw up a contract and send it to you. – Our lawyer will draw up a contract and send it to you.
We will contract with your company to supply the equipment. – We will sign a contract with your company for the supply of equipment.
CONTRARY
["kɔntr(ə)rɪ] something inverse, opposite, opposite, inverse; on the contrary.
Stubborn, unpersuasible, intractable, self-willed.
I thought he was arrogant but on the contrary he appeared to be a very pleasant person. “I thought he was arrogant, but it turned out that he is a very pleasant person to talk to.”
Why are you so contrary? You always decline all my suggestions.- Why are you so stubborn? You always reject all my proposals.
CONVERSE
Talk, have a conversation.
["kɔnvɜːs] inverse statement, inverse relation, opposite; rotated, inverted; opposite; located opposite.
We were walking in the park conversing about all sorts of stuff. – We walked in the park, talking about all sorts of things.
The two sisters were converses of each other despite being similar in appearance. – Despite their external similarity, the sisters were opposites in character.
DEFECT
["diːfekt]or lack, defect, shortcoming, flaw, vice.
Abandon, change, desert, go over to the enemy’s side.
The dress has a defec t so I’m going to exchange it in the shop. – The dress has a defect, so I’m going to exchange it in the store.
Many famous writers and artists defected to the USA . – Many famous writers and cultural figures left for America.
DELEGATE
["delɪgət] delegate; deputy, envoy, representative, authorized.
["delɪgeɪt] delegate, authorize, transfer powers.
We sent seven delegates to the symposium. – We sent seven delegates to the symposium.
The Chief executive delegated powers to his deputy. - The General Director transferred authority to his deputy.
DESERT
["dezərt] desert, abandoned, abandoned, uninhabited, deserted.
Leave, leave; abandon (family); hand over, leave (territory).
I have always dreamed of living on on a desert island . – I have always dreamed of living on a desert island.
He deserted his company and employeesand escaped with the money. “He abandoned his company and employees and ran away with the money.
DELIBERATE
Non-random, carefully planned, balanced; deliberate, deliberate.
To ponder, reflect, leave time for (deep) reflection.
You should consider all the likely consequences and make a deliberate choice . – You should take into account all possible consequences and make an informed choice.
Don't buy any old car. You shoulddeliberate on all the possible options. – Don’t buy the first car you come across. You should consider all your options.
EXPORT
[ɪk"spɔːt], export, take out (goods).
["ekspɔːt] export, export.
Annual U.S. dairy export gained 8 percent over the previous year. – Annual exports of dairy products from the United States increased by 8%.
Wheat is the main export of this country. – Wheat is the main export product of this country.
GRAVE grave, burial. , solemn, gloomy (about tone).
One can sometimes come across unmarked graves in the cemeteries. – Sometimes you can find unknown graves in cemeteries.
His grave tone suited the occasion. “His solemn tone suited the occasion.
IMPORT
["ɪmpɔːt] import, importation (bringing goods into the country from abroad).
[ɪm"pɔːt] import (bring goods into the country from abroad).
Last year we imported cotton from China. – last year we imported cotton from China.
The import of cocoa beans has increased recently. – Imports of cocoa beans have increased recently.
INСENSE
["ɪnsen(t)s] incense, incense.
[ɪn"sen(t)s] to enrage, to infuriate.
Burning incense helps to relax. – Burning incense helps you relax.
He was incensed by being called a liar. – Behavior He was furious at being called a liar.
INCREASE
["ɪnkriːs] increase, growth, addition, increase, reproduction, proliferation, expansion, increase.
[ɪn"kriːz] to increase, increase; grow; intensify.
Statistics shows a significant increase in sales. – Statistics indicate a significant increase in sales.
The research shows that cancer rates increase annually. – Research data suggests that the incidence of cancer is increasing year by year.
INTIMATE
["ɪntɪmət] close friend.
["ɪntɪmeɪt] to announce, to notify, to let know, to notify.
Oliver is my intimate since very childhood. – Oliver is my close friend since childhood.
Customs intimated the new requirements. – Customs made new demands.
INVALID
["ɪnvəlɪd] sick person, disabled; sick, painful, incapacitated.
[ɪn"vælɪd] having no legal force, invalid.
He became an invalid after a car accident. – He became disabled after a car accident.
Your credit card is invalid . – Your credit card is invalid.
LEAD
Lead.
Leadership, management, initiative; lead, accompany, be a guide.
The bullets are made of lead . - The bullets are made of lead.
We will teach you how to lead a discussion . – We will teach you how to conduct a conversation.
MINUTE
["mɪnɪt] minute (about time), a short distance (which can be crossed in a few moments), an instant; a moment, a moment.
Small, tiny, tiny.
I will be back in a minute . - I'll be back in a minute.
This house is minute . - This house is tiny.
OBJECT
["ɔbʤɪkt], [-ʤekt] object, thing.
[əb"ʤekt] object, protest, raise objections.
A strange object spotted on Mars inspires all sorts of speculations – A strange object spotted on Mars evokes various speculations.
He didn’t object when I suggested going to Spain nobody objected . – He didn’t object when I suggested going to Spain.
PASTY
["pæstɪ] pie with filling.
["peɪstɪ] viscous, pale, unhealthy (about complexion).
These pasties are delicious. – These pies are very tasty.
Your face is pasty . You should see a doctor. -Your complexion is unhealthy. You need to go to the doctor.
PRESENT
["prez(ə)nt] gift, gift, present.
Present, give.
This ring is a great present for her. – This ring is a great gift for her.
I will present him with this sweater. - I'll give him this sweater.
PROJECT
["prɔʤekt] project, idea, plan, program.
To give out, to perform, to design, to develop, to draw up a project.
We are currently working on this project . – We are currently working on this project.
Our team designed an implementation of a new motivational system. – Our team has developed a plan for introducing a new motivation system.
RECREATION
[ˌrɪekrɪ"eɪʃ(ə)n] rest, restoration of health, mental and physical strength, recovery; rest, entertainment, pleasant pastime.
[ˌrekrɪ"eɪʃ(ə)n] creation anew, recreation.
Recreation is important in promoting the quality of life.– Rest plays a big role in improving the quality of life.
Local people gathered money for the recreation of an ancient church. Local residents raised money to restore the ancient church.
REFUSE
Reject, refuse; reject.
["refjuːs] garbage, garbage, waste.
He refused to share his profit . “He refused to share the profits.”
We should promote refuse recycling. – We need to promote waste recycling.
Row, line.
Violation of peace, quiet, order, fight, scuffle; dispute, quarrel, squabble.
I watched the play from the first row . – I watched the play from the first row.
He is constantly having rows with his girlfriend. – He always fights with his girlfriend.
SLOUGH
A swampy, viscous, flooded place (a section on the road that is impossible to drive through).
Shed skin (from snakes and other reptiles); a characteristic feature, a property that is getting rid of, a forgotten habit.
We should detour round the slough . I don't want to be bogged down. “We’d better go around the swamp.” I don't want to get caught up in it.
Gambling is my slough . – Gambling is my forgotten habit.
SUBJECT
["sʌbʤekt] topic, subject of conversation.
["sʌbʤekt] dependent, subservient, vulnerable, subservient, subordinate; subdue, conquer.
Don’t bring the subject of his grades . He gets upset. – Don’t bring up the topic of his grades. He gets upset.
Children are especially subject to viruses . – Children are especially vulnerable to viruses.
SUSPECT
["sʌspekt] suspect or suspicious person, suspicious.
To suspect, to doubt the truth, not to trust.
The suspect was found guilty . – The suspect was found guilty.
He was suspected in murder . - He was suspected of murder.
TEAR
Tear, tear, rip, tear off.
A tear.
She always tears the letters from him without reading them. – She always tears up letters from him without reading them.
T ears welled in her eyes . – Her eyes filled with tears.
WIND
Wind, air flow.
Curl, wriggle, bend, twist, wind up.
The wind almost blew the car over. “The wind almost overturned the car.”
The river winds across the plain. - The river winds through the valley.
WOUND
Wound, injury.
Past participle (second form) of wind.
His wounds are slowly healing. “His wounds are gradually healing.
I wound the clock. - I wound up the watch.
But different in meaning (meaning). So it turns out that sometimes we hear a word, but we cannot determine its meaning, since several words may correspond to its sound. In addition to this, homonymy presents another difficulty - after hearing a word, you may not be able to determine what it is about, and, therefore, it will be more problematic for you to look for this word in dictionary.
It is possible and necessary to combat homonyms in English. As a “way to fight”, I would suggest increasing your vocabulary, memorizing in pairs or groups the most common homonyms in the English language , practice of writing with homonyms. When working on the system of homonyms in English, you can use an interesting book called “How much can a bare bear bear?” by Brian P. CLeary, featuring funny rhymes and comic illustrations about homonyms and homophones. What are homophones?
Homophones and homographs in English
Homographs are words that are spelled the same no matter how they are pronounced. Example: lead. Homophones are words that are pronounced identically, regardless of how they are reproduced in writing. Example: rose (flower) and rose (past tense) verb to rise). If you are interested in the topic of homophones or homographs in English, check out the reference books of the same name from the Collins Cobuild English Guides series.
To make the topic of homonyms in English more understandable, I present several examples that will help you quickly master this phenomenon in English:
can (tin can) – can(modal verb)
wreak (retribution) – reek (stench, bad smell)
soul (soul) – sole (only)
route (route) – root (root)
cent (cent) – sent (past tense of the verb to send) – scent (aroma)
cell (cell) – sell (sell)
flat (apartment) – flat (flat)
lie (lie) – lye (lye)
lead (lead) – lead (lead)
pray (pray) – prey (sacrifice)
need (need) – knead (knead dough)
isle (island) – aisle (aisle)
foul (dirty, disgusting) – fowl (poultry)
die (to die) – dye (paint, paint)
Another source of homonyms in English is historical changes in words. In the course of historical development, some words that were initially different in their pronunciation acquired the same phonetic form.
Classification of English homonyms
The classification of homonyms is important when studying homonymy in any language. A huge number of works in which linguists offer different classifications is evidence of this. The question regarding the classification of homonyms remains still “open”, since each of the scientists offers his own option.I propose to consider the following classification of English homonyms:
Absolute homonyms are words in a language that are the same in sound and spelling.
Sound - healthy
Sound - sound
Homophones are words that sound the same but have different spellings. Otherwise called phonetic homonyms.
Meat - meat
Meet - meet
Homographs are words that have the same spelling but are pronounced differently. Also called graphic homonyms.
Row (line) – row (out of order)
Paronyms are words that have similar pronunciation, but are not completely identical.
Desert [‘dezət] – desert
Dessert - dessert
In accordance with the parts of speech to which homonyms belong, they can also be divided into several types: grammatical, lexical And lexico-grammatical.
Lexical homonyms– have the same grammatical characteristics and different lexical ones, that is, they belong to the same part of speech, but cannot be reduced to a common semantic meaning
Grammatical homonyms– characterized by some commonality of meaning, but belong to different parts of speech
Lexico-grammatical homonyms– have different grammatical and lexical characteristics, but from the formal side some commonality is found
Homonyms in English are of the following types: absolute homonyms, homophones, homographs, paronyms, lexical, grammatical and lexico-grammatical
Homonymy is a source of language difficulties
Homonyms create an obstacle to understanding English speech. This barrier is especially noticeable when perceiving oral speech.For example, this pair of homophones:
wreak - retribution
reek - stench
Homonyms are also not so easy to deal with. The following pair of homonyms can be confusing for a beginner in English:
flat - apartment
flat - flat
It is a flat
It's flat
This is an apartment
But homographs can lead to erroneous pronunciation of a word. For example, let's take one of the most frequently used verbs to read. As you know, this is an irregular verb that does not form the past tense when adding –ed. All three of its forms are written the same read, but they are read differently.
1st form – read pronounced [ri:d]
2nd and 3rd forms – read pronounced [red]
Examples of the most common homonyms in English
In the following table you will find the pairs homonyms, homographs, homophones And paronyms, which occur most often in English and knowing them will make it easier for you to understand the English language.
Pairs of the most popular English homonyms
| Accept [əkˈsept] Except [ɪkˈsept] | Agree, accept, take Exclude |
| It's It's | It's there His her |
| Loose Lose | Free Lose |
| Envelop [ɪnˈveləp] Envelope [ˈenvələup] | Wrap Envelope |
| Coarse Course | Rude Well |
| Complement [ˈkɔmplɪmənt] Compliment [‘kɔmplɪmənt] | Additional Compliment |
| Creak Сreek | Creak Creek |
| May be Maybe | Maybe (maybe) Maybe |
| Main Mane | Main Mane |
| Maize Maze | Corn Labyrinth |
| Mall Maul | Alley Sledgehammer |
| Mean Mean | To mean Average |
| Meat Meet | Meat Meet |
| Farther [ˈfɑ:ðə] Further [ˈfə:ðə] | Remote Additional |
| Than [ðæn] Then [ðen] | How After |
| Weather [ˈweðə] Whether [ˈweðə] | Weather Lee |
| Air [ɛə] Heir [ɛə] | Air Heir |
| Band Band | Group Unite |
| bank bank | embankment Bank |
| bark bark | Bark Bark |
| Bat Bat bat | Bat Bat Blink |
| Bare Bear | Naked, empty Bear |
| Be Bee | Be Bee |
| Beat Beet | Hit Beet |
| Buy By Bye(!) | Buy Near Bye(!) |
| Cell Sell | Cell, cell Trade |
| Cent Scent | Cent Aroma |
| Cue Queue | Hint, cue Queue |
| Hole Whole | Hole Whole, whole |
| Desert [‘dezət] Dessert | Desert Dessert |
| Die Dye | Die dye, dye |
| Earn [ə:n] Urn [ə:n] | Earn Urn |
| Flea Flee | Flea Run, run away |
| Flour [ˈflauə] Flower [‘flauə] | Flour Flower |
| Hair Hare | Hair Hare |
| Hoarse Horse | Hoarse Horse |
| None Nun | No one Nun |
| Pair Pear Pare | Pair Pear Peel (from peel) |
| Peace Piece | World Piece |
| Right Rite Write | Right, right Ritual Write |
| Sail Sale | Sail Sale |
| Stationary [ˈsteɪʃnərɪ] Stationery [ˈsteɪʃnərɪ] | Fixed Stationery |
| Stalk Stalk | Stem Chase |
| Sound Sound | Sound Healthy |
| Sea See | Sea See |
| Sew So | Sew So, so |
| Some Sum | Some Sum |
| Son Sun | Son Sun |
| Tail Tale | Tail Story |
| Waist Waste | Waist Waste |
| Wait Weight | Wait Weight |
| Weak Week | Weak A week |
| Which Witch | Which Witch |
| Whine Wine | whine Wine Source: http://englishfull.ru/leksika/omonimi.html |
Introduction
Homonymy is a linguistic phenomenon that represents the coincidence of the spelling or sound of linguistic units with different semantic meanings.
The study of homonymy is especially important for understanding a foreign language, since in it different grammatical forms may have the same sound or spelling. In the native language this is usually not paid attention to. Also, knowledge of homonyms is simply necessary in the practice of the English language, in which their number is much higher than in the Russian language. Homonymy represents a certain obstacle in the process of communication when it is necessary to determine which exact meaning of a word corresponds to the context of speech. Also, homonym words are a problem for the speaker, who is forced to select words in order to unambiguously understand his statements. The study of homonyms is extremely interesting from the point of view of tracking the historical meaning of the word and its changes in the process of language development.
The purpose of this work is: to study different views on the essence of homonymy in the English language, to reveal its features. To achieve the goal in the course work, the following tasks are set and solved:
Study the process of the emergence of homonymy in the English language;
To study existing views on the phenomenon of homonymy in lexicology;
Analyze existing classifications of homonyms in the English language.
The research method chosen is the analysis of theoretical sources on the problem of polysemy and homonymy in the English language, analysis of English texts in order to identify examples of homonymy.
1. The essence of homonymy
“Homonymy is the sound coincidence of two or more linguistic units of different meaning.” Homonym translated from Greek means “of the same name” ( homos- identical, onyma- Name). The branch of lexicology that studies homonyms is called homonymy.
Akhmanova O.S. in the “Dictionary of Linguistic Terms” defines homonyms as “equal-sounding words” and, in addition to words, also classifies grammatical affixes that are the same in sound but incompatible in meaning as homonyms. English - t in leapt - - t in shalt. She also identifies a special group of homonyms - historical homonyms. They arose as a result of sound changes that occurred during the development of the sound system of the language. For example, gare "turnip" - gare "violence". Along with complete (absolute) homonyms, homonyms are distinguished in which not all of their constituent elements (morphemes) coincide in sound when the meaning is different, for example, English. likes in likes and dislikes - likes in he likes.
In explanatory dictionaries of the Russian literary language, starting with the academic “Dictionary of the Russian and Church Slavonic Language” of 1847, homonymy is defined ambiguously. Vinogradov V.V. identifies three main positions when defining homonyms in dictionaries.
All words that have the same sound are considered as a single lexical unit (in the Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language by V.I. Dahl, as well as in the academic Dictionary of the Russian Language, compiled by the Second Department of the Academy of Sciences, edited by Academician A.A. Shakhmatov ).
In other dictionaries (such as, for example, in the one-volume “Dictionary of the Russian Language” compiled by S.I. Ozhegov) there is a tendency to split polysemantic words into homonyms, mainly based on the difference between objects, actions, etc., i.e. realities or concepts denoted by a word or words. “Thus, here there is a confusion of the phenomena of historical “reality” in the broad, philosophical understanding of this word with the semantic system of language.”
The third position is, in a sense, a compromise, when not all words that have the same spelling or sound are classified as homonyms, but only those whose semantic meanings have significant differences.
Homonymy is an example of ambiguity in language, that is, a relationship of form and meaning in which the same forms have different meanings. Unlike polysemy (polysemy), homonymy is an ambiguity in which we are dealing not with one word and its many meanings, but with two different words that only outwardly coincided in form by chance.
This accidental similarity of two homonymous meanings is manifested in the fact that their meanings are in no way related to each other, that is, they do not contain any common semantic feature that would serve as the basis for transfer from one meaning to another. Accordingly, not one of the homonymous meanings can be considered original or derivative.
“There are different definitions of homonymy, based on differences of opinion among linguists on the issue of understanding a linguistic form. A number of researchers limit it to the sound shell of the word, other scientists expand the concept of form, including graphic representation; thus, all possible coincidences of units in terms of expression can be called homonymous.” This explains the existence of various classifications of homonyms, taking into account differences in form, both general and word forms, the degree of coincidence of form, as well as whether homonyms belong to the same or different parts of speech.
The number of homonyms in different languages is directly dependent on the length of the word. The average length of a word in a given language is inversely proportional to the number of homonyms. In synthetic languages, such as the languages of the Slavic group, there are fewer homonyms, since the average length of words in the corresponding languages will be longer. “In analytical languages (some languages of the Germanic group, to which English also belongs), there is a predominance of short word forms; accordingly, the number of homonyms in them will be large. Partial compensation for the influence of homonyms on language (violation of the meaning of the distinctive form of a sign, which does not contribute to mutual understanding) occurs due to the written language form (spelling).”
“In order to understand that homonymy is an absolute linguistic universal, there is no need to consider this phenomenon in all known languages. It is enough to see that the presence of homonyms in a language is due to the very nature of the language and is determined by the conditions of its functioning as a means of communication.”
Homonymy also introduces difficulties into the process of mastering a foreign language, in particular English, when a student is faced with the fact that the same linguistic form can have completely different meanings, a fact that he usually does not pay attention to in his native language. Analysis of such forms significantly complicates the perception of a foreign language text or message.
The need to study homonymy is also caused by the needs of applied linguistics. Homonymy is a certain obstacle in the process of communication. Often the listener finds himself in a quandary: which of the several different meanings expressed by a given linguistic form should be chosen in order to correctly understand the message. Difficulties may arise not only for the listener, as is commonly thought, but also for the speaker, who strives to construct a statement so that it can be understood unambiguously.
Homonymy causes no less difficulties when building systems for automatic text processing, as well as in lexicographic work - when determining the boundaries between individual words, when developing methods for presenting homonyms in a dictionary, etc. Work on compiling explanatory and translation dictionaries, creating effective programs for automatic text processing and improving methods of teaching languages, both foreign and native - all this requires an in-depth study of the problems of homonymy, identifying its internal patterns, determining the place it occupies in general system of language.
Homonymy in English can concern not only words and word forms, but also other units of language, for example morphemes (-s: 3rd person Sg, Present Indefinite form of a verb/Pl of a noun/Possessive marker; -er: Noun suffix/ Comparison form of Adjective suffix).
In addition, the scientific literature has firmly established the concept of quasi-homonymy, which was especially deeply developed in connection with the study of the so-called “minimal pairs”, which received a detailed description based on the material of the English language in the works of representatives of American descriptive linguistics. It is known that they are essential for determining oppositions in the phonological system of a given language (for example, cat - cap, bill - pill, dog - dock, etc.) P.).
2. Sources of homonyms in English
Almost all sources of homonymy have one thing in common - homonyms develop from two or more different words and their sound and/or spelling coincidence is accidental.
“The appearance of such homonyms was led, for example, to phonetic changes that occurred in words throughout historical development. These are the so-called philological changes in diachrony.” As a result of such changes, words that were previously pronounced differently can take on an identical sound form and become homonyms, for example, night and knight were not homonyms (homophones) in Old English because the initial letter k in knight was pronounced. “Phonetic processes recorded in various periods of the history of the English language caused the formation of 19.5% of homonymous units.” Other examples of homophones in English that arose as a result of historically different designations in writing for the same consonant or vowel sound: whole - hole, knew - new; dear - deer, bear - bare.
Another source of homonymy is borrowing. At the last stage of phonetic adaptation, a borrowed word can become identical in pronunciation or spelling to the original word or another borrowing, for example, rite (Latin): to write, right, (native); piece peace (French); bank (a shore - native), bank (financial institution - Italian); fair (just - native), fair (trade gathering - French).
Most borrowings into English come from Latin and French. The phonetic structure of a borrowed word usually undergoes changes in accordance with the pronunciation norms of the borrowing language and the rules for combining sounds existing in this language. The assimilated form may not be identical to any of the existing forms, but may accidentally coincide in sound with some word, as happened, for example, with a word borrowed from French in the 17th century. the word ball a formal social gathering for dancing with the word ball a solid or hollow spherical or egg-shaped object that is kicked, thrown, or hit in a game of Scandinavian origin already existing in the language. As a result of borrowings, 30.7% of homonyms appeared in the English language.
The semantic characteristics of borrowed homonyms can vary significantly and even belong to different parts of speech. For example, bear is an animal and bear means to carry, bore is a boring person and bore is to drill a hole.
In the English language there is a tendency to shorten words and this is another source of the formation of homonyms. For example, fan (from fanatic) and fan (fan, Latin); rep (reps) and rep (reputation). It also happens that two abbreviated words become homonyms (for example, spec (abbreviation of speculation) in the hope of success but without any specific plan or instructions - spec (shortening of specification)). Almost 7% of homonyms in the English language appeared as a result of contraction.
A qualitatively different source of the formation of homonyms is word formation and, in particular, conversion, as a result of which a word that is one part of speech, for example, a noun, begins to denote an action with this object. In English, a noun and a verb are often expressed in one linguistic form: drink - to drink, sup - to sup, dance - to dance, look - to look, clap - to clap. These are lexical and grammatical homonyms, they are typical for languages where all parts of speech lack endings, and the semantic load is carried by the order of words in a sentence. “About 28% of homonyms in English are formed by the conversion method.”
Such word-formation processes as affixation and composition determined the emergence of 4.6% of homonyms. Homonyms can be formed from homonymous stems in a suffixal way, using the same suffix, for example, the adjective rakish having or displaying a dashing, jaunty, or slightly disreputable quality or appearance is formed from the noun stem rake + suffix - ish and the adjective rakish in the meaning (especially of a boat or car) smart and fast-looking, with streamlined angles and curves derived from the stem rake + suffix - ish. However, sometimes a word resulting from word production becomes homonymous to another word with a non-derivative stem, as, for example, in the case of the noun rafter a person who travels on a raft, formed from the stem raft + - er, which became a homonym in relation to a non-derivative noun rafter a beam forming part of the internal framework of a roof.
There is another source of homonymy, which differs significantly from those listed above. This is the development of lexical-semantic variants of one word, when, for various reasons, the semantic structure of the word turns out to be branched. This type of development of homonymy is called “split polysemy.” The occurrence of 6% of homonyms is based on precisely such changes in the semantic structure of the word.
All their forms must be identical;
Identical forms must be grammatically equivalent.
The fulfillment of one or two of the above conditions provides grounds for including these words in the group of partial homonyms.
Separately, it is necessary to say about interlingual homonyms and paronyms. It is a pair of words in two languages, similar in spelling and/or pronunciation, often with a common origin, but different in meaning. For example, Polish. miasto - city, not place; czas - time, not hour, English. angina - angina, not sore throat, genial - kind, not brilliant, magazine - magazine, not a store; English and Spanish mosquito - a mosquito, not a mosquito.
But the most widespread classifications are those of A.I. Smirnitsky and I.V. Arnold, since they discuss in more detail issues related to one or another form of homonyms.
A.I. Smirnitsky divided homonyms into two large classes: complete homonyms and partial homonyms. “Full lexical homonyms are words that belong to the same part of speech and have the same paradigms (match - match).” Partial homonyms according to A.I. Smirnitsky are divided into three subgroups:
a) simple lexico-grammatical (one part of speech, the paradigms of which have one form): to found - found;
b) complex lexical and grammatical (units belonging to different parts of speech and having the same form in their paradigms): maid - made, bean - been;
c) lexical (words of the same part of speech and the same only in the initial form): to can - can.
I.V. Arnold (1986: 210-214) divides all homonyms into homonyms proper, homophones and homographs, but, for a more complete classification of homonyms themselves, he proposes dividing them into the following 12 classes:
Partial homonyms having the same original form, but different paradigms (light, noun, light - light, adj., light);
Partial homonyms in which individual word forms coincide, but not the original ones (might, noun, strength, power - might, v., Past Tense from may);
Words belonging to the same part of speech, different in their original form, but the same in some other form. This case is quite rare. (Ax - axes, axis - axes);
Different lexical meaning with the same initial form, the same grammatical meaning with different paradigms (Not - lay - lain and lie - lied - lied);
Words that differ in lexical and grammatical meaning, but not in paradigm, since they are unchangeable function words (for, preposition, - for, conjunction);
The most typical type of complete homonymy is a different lexical meaning, but the homonyms belong to the same part of speech (spring - jump, spring - spring, spring - beginning of the growing season);
The presence of a common component in the lexical meaning of homonyms (before - preposition, before - adverb, before - conjunction);
Pairs of words with maximum identity. Can be considered as variants of one polysemantic word.
Homonyms obtained by conversion (eye, noun - eye, verb). The meaning of a derived word can be guessed if the meaning of the original word is known.
Words belonging to different parts of speech and coinciding in one of their forms. Their similarity is based on a common root (thought, noun - thought, verb);
Similarity of both lexical and grammatical meaning combined with differences in form.
A small group of words, consisting mainly of double plural nouns, slightly different in meaning (brother - brothers, brother - brethren).
In certain classifications we can see the classification of paronyms as homonyms due to the similarity of these linguistic phenomena. But still, despite the close contact, paronyms differ from homonyms.
The main difference between paronyms and homonyms lies in their phonetic design. If homonyms are completely identical in their sound, then paronyms have only partial sound similarity.
Conclusion
The course work allows us to draw the following conclusions. The phenomenon of homonymy, which is characteristic of all languages, is widespread in English due to the many borrowings and the relatively short average length of words. Thus, modern English is characterized by a high degree of homonymy.
There are various approaches to the classification of homonyms that can be successfully applied to describe homonyms in various languages, in particular English.
In the process of linguistic communication, the phenomenon of homonymy can cause certain difficulties, which, however, are removed when considering the context of communication. In addition, homonyms can be used in a language as a stylistic device.
In the English language, throughout the history of its development, linguistic changes associated with the phenomenon of homonymy have occurred and continue to occur.
Conversion and splitting of polysemy are two ways through which the internal life of a language occurs - the natural emergence of new homonyms.
The main sources of homonymy in English are phonetic changes; borrowing; word formation; reductions; the collapse of polysemy; merging forms of noun and verb.
The most complete classifications of homonyms were proposed by A.I. Smirnitsky. and Arnold I.V. Smirnitsky, dividing homonyms into complete and partial, identifies three subgroups of partial homonyms. In his classification, Arnold considers homonyms, homophones and homographs themselves, but for a more complete classification of homonyms themselves, he proposes dividing them into 12 classes.
The English language continues to delight us with new and interesting grammatical phenomena. Today we will talk about such a concept as “homonyms” in English. “What is this?” you probably ask. Clue! This word is of Greek origin. The word “homonyms” consists of two Greek words homós, that is, “identical” and ónyma – “name”. Haven't guessed it yet? 
Well, we won’t torment you and make you guess. Let's just say: homonyms are words that sound the same, but can have two different meanings. The most obvious example of a homonym is the familiar word WELL in English. It means “GOOD”, RIGHT??? However, this is not its only meaning! Who would have thought that WELL is not only “good”, but also “well”!!! What a discovery! Let's not waste time and find out more similar homonym words.
Homographs in English
Do you know such a word as BACHELOR??? Well, who doesn’t know him! That's right, BACHELOR. However, the second meaning, it would seem, should in no way be associated with education... what does a bachelor and... BACHELOR have to do with it! Yes! EXACTLY! The second meaning is “bachelor”! University degree! Bachelor of Arts - Bachelor of Arts. What do you think, how should the phrase “bachelor’s wife” be translated? Is it really a bachelor’s wife? Nonsense, and nothing more! A bachelor’s wife or what? Almost correct! Bachelor’s wife is a humorous expression “a bachelor’s dream,” that is, ideal woman.
Palm– the familiar PALMA tree. But not only! Also “palm” – palm.
Mean- not only mean something (what does it mean - what does it mean?), but also stingy: are you mean - are you stingy?
Train– TRAIN + TRAIN SOMEONE. For example, Klitschko trains for a boxing match - Klitschko is training before a boxing match.
Fair– FAIR (I like going to fairs – I like going to fairs) + BLIGHT (My hair is fair – My hair is blond).
BALL– ball (kick a ball – kick the ball) + BAL (visit the ball – visit the ball).
COACH- TRAINER. In the middle of the word “OA” is pronounced like the Russian “OU”. The second meaning of this word is BUS, intended for travel. BUT THAT IS NOT ALL. The third meaning is TUTOR = singing coach - singing teacher!
FINE– GOOD (I’m fine – I’m fine) + FINE... I’ve got to pay a fine - I need to pay a fine. Among other things, fine also means “graceful.”
Today I want to talk about words in English that have the same sound, but are spelled differently and have different meanings. Or they have the same pronunciation, but different spellings. A large number of people constantly get lost in them when reading and writing. And it can be very strange to misread a word that seems to you to have a completely different meaning!
But then it turns out that the meaning of what you read never reaches you. Well, or it gets it, but you don’t understand what Bear (Bear) has to do with it when there is Beer (Beer.) They sound differently, but in the text it sometimes crosses the eye.
They are called Homonyms (same spelling and pronunciation, but have different meanings), Homophones (same pronunciation, but different spellings and meanings), Homographs (spelled the same, but have different meanings and pronunciations). In English it all comes down to the word Homonyms, really. The most common Homonyms for your attention.
1) Different meaning and spelling, but the same pronunciation. Homophones.
DEAR (Dear) – DEER (Deer)
AISLE (Passage) – ISLE (Island)
BE (Be) – BEE (Bee)
BEAR (Carry, endure) – BEAR (Bear)
MEAT (Meat) – MEET (Meet)
SAIL (Sail on a ship) – SALE (Sale)
SEA (Sea) – SEE (See)
TAIL (Tail) – TALE (Tale)
WEAK (Weak) – WEEK (Week)
WHICH (Which) – WITCH (Witch)
SON (Son) – SUN (Sun)
WAY (Way) – WEIGH (Weigh)
FLOUR (Flour) – FLOWER (Flower)
HAIR (Hair) – HARE (Hare)
PEACE (PEACE) – PIECE (Piece)
KNEW (KNEW) – NEW (New)
WON (Won) – ONE (ONE)
2) Same spelling, different pronunciation, different meaning. Homographs.
DESERT [‘dezərt](Desert) – DES(S)ERT (Dessert)
TEAR (Tear) – TEAR (Tear)
BOW (Bow) – BOW (Bend, bend)
WIND (Wind) – WIND (Wind)
3) Same spelling and pronunciation, but different meanings. Homonyms.
BAND (Group) – BAND (Tie off)
BANK (Bank) – BANK (Bank)
BARK (Bark) – BARK (Tree bark)
WELL (Good) – WELL (Well)
LEFT (Left) – LEFT (Left)
FLEW (Flying) – FLU (Flu)
Also, I suggest you look at the post about idioms in English.
Have a great day