Heteronyms in use - or misuse.

topic posted Mon, April 21, 2008 - 9:24 PM by  Edward
A heteronym is, of course a word which has two separate meanings, different pronunciation, but only one spelling.
Using both meanings in the same sentence is fun, but not that difficult once you've got a list - Googled - of hetronyms.

Example: "I have secret fears I would only intimate to my most intimate friends."
(Both words should be in the same language. "The clumsy waiter dropped the pate' on the customers pate." is a stretch.)

How many can be captured in a single sentence? Could be a lot; here's two in one sentence:
"I'd pay a buck or two to see the odd things a buck does when does are in heat."

Obviously there are more pairs to be discovered - how about triplets?
Could a paragraph (making reasonable sense) be written with every sentence containing heteronyms?

posted by:
Edward
West Virginia
  • Re: Heteronyms in use - or misuse.

    Tue, April 22, 2008 - 3:33 PM
    Homophonically and heteronymically:

    I will lead you to the bear but I can't bear to dig the lead out of him.

    Heteronymically:

    Can you console the man with the Bass Ale near the bass console?
    • Re: Heteronyms in use - or misuse.

      Tue, April 22, 2008 - 7:24 PM
      I will not live until I see KISS live. I get so wound up it's like a wound in my belly.

      (I don't really want to see KISS. Really. It's just an example.)

      I also love 15-year-old girls saying, "Oooh, the bass player is so cute!" saying it like the bass fish.
  • Re: Heteronyms in use - or misuse.

    Thu, April 24, 2008 - 5:08 AM
    How many can be captured in a single sentence? Could be a lot; here's two in one sentence:
    "I'd pay a buck or two to see the odd things a buck does when does are in heat."

    Both of the"buck"s are pronunced the same, but the "does"s are pronunced differently.

    Karl
    • Re: Heteronyms in use - or misuse.

      Thu, April 24, 2008 - 6:24 AM
      You are a better man than I.
      The sentence given is not my creation, but I missed the pronunciation error.

      Read about this odd game in a Scientific American article.
      THEY used a similar sentence - and missed it as well. (!)

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