Homophones

English is a Germanic language but a large proportion of its vocabulary is derived from French and Latin and to a lesser extent from other languages. Being such a melting-pot of tongues has led to a kaleidoscope of idiosyncratic spellings for English words and several hundred homophones, i.e. words having the same sound as other words but with a different spelling. While this is excellent news for newspaper headline writers and those who enjoy puns and wordplay, grappling with the complexities of two/to/too and write/right/rite is not so funny for those who are learning English as a foreign language or those who are not so confident with spelling.

Some homophones in everyday usage are far enough apart in spelling and meaning to rarely cause problems, e.g. through/threw, freeze/frees, but less common words and those that are more similar in spelling, e.g. principal/principle, revue/review, phase/faze, do seem to cause confusion to non-native speakers and native speakers alike. These are the sorts of words that often need to be corrected by Scribendi editors.

Confusingly, some words can be both homophones and homonyms. A homonym has the same spelling as another word but a different meaning. For example, ’might’ [meaning power or strength] and ’might’ [meaning past tense of ’may’] are homonyms, as are ’mite’ [meaning a tiny arachnid] and ’mite’ [meaning a small coin as in the Widow’s mite]. So ’might’ and ’mite’ are both homophones and homonyms.

To add even more confusion, some words can also be homographs as well as homophones and homonyms. A homograph is a word that has the same spelling as another but has a different meaning and pronunciation. For example, ’bough’ [meaning branch of a tree] is a homophone of both ’bow’ [meaning to incline one’s head or body] and ’bow’ [meaning the fore-end of a ship]. These two uses of ’bow’ are pronounced to rhyme with ’cow’ and are therefore homonyms. However, ’bow’ can also be pronounced to rhyme with ’low’, and when pronounced that way can refer to a slip-knot with a double loop, something to play a violin with, or something to shoot an arrow with. Therefore ’bow’ can be a homophone, homonym and homograph.

It’s no wonder Scribendi editors are kept so busy!

The sentences below each contain one wrongly spelt homophone. See if you can pick it out and give the correct homophone instead. (Note: UK spelling is used here.)

1. What we have to do is to move passed the acknowledgement that there is a problem and try to address it.

2. The heir to the thrown showed a regal air as he walked among the throng.

3. At the advice centre, the counsellor was helping to diffuse the tension between the opposing sides.

4. Because the building was in such a derelict state, the surveyor thought that it would have to be raised to the ground.

5. After a long wait, the sniper caught his target in the site of his rifle.

6. When making ice cream, pore the ingredients into a shallow container and freeze until solid around the outside and mushy in the middle.

7. She was looking very glamorous in her cocktail dress, sheer stockings and diamond broach.

8. The bored council official had tried to learn the electoral role by rote.

9. There were plenty of reasons why the new girl was so popular - shear good looks and a wide-open smile for a start.

10. He knew that what he was doing wasn’t right but wanting to do it overpowered the gilt of doing it.

11. The principle of the law school was thinking about making changes to the tort course.

12. The policeman noticed the stationary car and thought, “I wonder if that’s the vehicle that’s being sort in connection with the robbery.”

13. The counsel for the defence wondered whether the jury would be phased by the revelations.

14. “Your surely not going out like that!” exclaimed the mother to her scantily clad daughter.

15. Previous experience in a similar role is essential and the successful candidate needs to have excellent people skills, be self-motivated and be a teem player.

16. “It’s not fair to censor him for such a small mistake,” the politician told Parliament.

17. The boy hatched a plot to fain illness by pretending to faint.

18. The paramedics were expecting to deal with several incidence during their shift.

19. The crew rode the boat past the buoy to the shore.

20. I had to brake suddenly in order to avoid the bridle entourage.

Answers: 1 Past; 2 Throne; 3 Defuse; 4 Razed; 5 Sight; 6 Pour; 7 Brooch; 8 Roll; 9 Sheer; 10 Guilt; 11 Principal; 12 Sought; 13 Fazed; 14 You’re; 15 Team; 16 Censure; 17 Feign; 18 Incidents; 19 Rowed; 20 Bridal.

One last note: Be careful about relying on your spell-checker to help you with these problem words. Not only does it not always catch the problems, but when it does, it sometimes suggests the wrong correction!