Same meaning, different spelling. Homonyms and their varieties

Homonyms are words that sound and are spelled the same, but have nothing in common in meaning. The term comes from the Greek language: homos - "same", onima - "name". Let's say onion- plant and onion- weapons for throwing arrows, drown stove and sink ships.

Consider types of homonyms.

1. Some words are spelled the same but pronounced differently: lock and lock, p'arit(linen, vegetables) and steam(in the clouds), st`oit(bread in the store) and worth it(car, tree). Such words are called homographs , which in Greek means "spelling the same way."

2. There are words that are pronounced the same way, but they need to be written differently. For example, pond and rod, metal and metal, five and span. This is homophones , translated from Greek - "the same sounding".

Among the homophones there are many such pairs that do not coincide in all their forms, but in some or even one. If you start changing words by cases and numbers, then you immediately find a difference in their sound. Let's say by the pond, to the pond – two rods, hit with a rod. Word " three" can also be a numeral ( three apples, three things) and verb ( three strong!). But not all forms of these words will match: rub, ter – three, three. The same forms of different words are called homoforms .

Homonyms can be a hindrance in linguistic communication, they are especially difficult for a translator. In this case, the context helps, because in natural conversation, words are rarely used in isolation. From the context, it is easy enough to guess what meaning is meant: This is a very simple example. - Simple equipment is quite expensive.

§ 51. Homonymy and its types

The polysemy of words is a large and multifaceted problem, various issues of lexicology are associated with it, in particular, the problem of homonymy. Homonyms – words that sound the same but have different meanings. The relationship between polysemy and homonymy is historically conditioned. With the development of the language, “the same inner shell of the word is overgrown with shoots of new meanings and meanings” [Vinogradov V. V. 1947: 14]. Homonyms in a number of cases arise from a polysemy that has undergone a process of destruction: fist- hand with clenched fingers and fist- a wealthy peasant, a good strong owner, and then fist - peasant exploiter (class definition). The problem of distinguishing between polysemy and homonymy is complex; linguists offer various criteria for breeding these phenomena. There are several approaches.

    O.S. Akhmanova built the distinction between polysemy and homonymy, first of all, taking into account the nature of the relationship of the word with objective reality. If each of the meanings is an independent name of a certain object of the surrounding world and is independent of any other object, then these meanings belong to different homonymous words. For example: hail (city) and hail (precipitation); scythe (hairstyle), scythe (shallow) and scythe (tool).

    E. M. Galkina-Fedoruk was of the opinion that the distinction between polysemy and homonymy should be carried out by selecting synonyms. If the synonyms have nothing in common, then these are homonyms: boron (drill) - boron (coniferous forest) - boron (chemical element).

    A number of scientists, without rejecting the named criteria, also suggested taking into account derivational features: for example, reaction as a term of different sciences has different derivational rows: reaction (biol., chem.) reagent, reactive, reactivity; reaction(polit.) - reactionary, reactionary, reactionary.

Homonyms often have different syntactic compatibility, different forms of control: care from work and care for a child, for flowers; change plan, but change homeland. However, these delimitation criteria are not universal, so sometimes there are discrepancies in dictionaries. The sources of homonymy are as follows:

    Homonyms are a product of the breakdown of polysemy: drying - drying and drying - type of product (steering wheel).

    Derivative homonyms: to buy (from the verb "buy") and (from the verb "to bathe").

    The consequence of the historical change in the sound image of different words: IS (available) and ЂST (to eat) coincided in sound by the middle of the 18th century: the sound “ê” (closed) or the Old Russian diphthong “ye” (transmitted in writing by the letter Ђ “yat”) became pronounced like [e], so the pronunciation of words ceased to differ. In 1918, a spelling reform was carried out, some letters were abolished, including the letter Ђ, and the above words coincided not only in sound, but also in spelling. Let's take another example. Word lynx(animal) in ancient times it sounded “ryd” and was the same root with the words blush, red; then "ds" was simplified into "s". Word lynx how the running of a horse goes back to the Old Russian “rist” (cf. the lists), later the final “t” “disappeared, and the “r” hardened.

    The richest source of homonymy are borrowed words, for example: tour (bull - Old Russian) and tour (from French): waltz tour, beam (ravine - from Turkic languages) and beam (log - from German), marriage (marriage - Russian) and marriage (flaw - from German) and others.

Homonyms are divided into full, or proper lexical homonyms, and incomplete homonyms, among which, in turn, several types are distinguished. To proper lexical homonyms include, for example: English: flaw1 – crack; flaw2 – gust of wind; Russian: light1 - energy; light2 - the world, the universe. These words have the same sound, spelling and refer to the same part of speech. The types of incomplete homonyms are as follows:

1. Homophones - words and forms of different meanings, coinciding in sound, but differing in spelling:

meadow (field) - bow (shooting tool), ball (dance party) - score (score).

2. homographs - words that are different in meaning and sound, but the same in spelling:

atlas (fabric) - atlas (a collection of geographical maps), castle - castle.

3. homoforms (morphological homonyms) - words that coincide in sound and spelling in one or more grammatical forms:

swarm (n.) of bees - swarm (vb.) pit, expensive (n.) - expensive (adj.), new saw (n.) - drank (vb.) coffee, tourniquet (v.) grass - medical tourniquet ( n.).

Adjacent to homonyms paronyms – words that are similar in sound and spelling, but different in meaning. They are sometimes mistakenly used one instead of the other: a subscription (the right to use something) and a subscriber (a person who has a subscription); effective (productive) and spectacular (conspicuous); a secretive (closed) person and a hidden (invisible) mechanism and many others.

Homonyms are words that are different in meaning but have the same sound and spelling.

Word homonym came from the Greek homos - identical + onima - name.

Most homonyms are among nouns and verbs.

Example:

1. DEFEND - protect (defend a friend).

2. DEFEND - to stand (to stand in line).

3. DEFEND - to be at some distance from someone, something. (the airport is five kilometers away from the city).

Reasons for the appearance of homonyms in the language

    random word match:

Example:

1. ONION - loans. Garden plant with a spicy taste.

2. ONION - claim.-rus. A hand-held weapon for throwing arrows, made from a flexible, resilient rod (usually wooden) tied into an arc with a bowstring.

    coincidence in the formation of new words:

Example:

SEND - send with an order. The person doing the task 1. AMBASSADOR .

SALT - preserve something in a salt solution. Method of salting products - 2. AMBASSADOR .

    loss of semantic connection between the meanings of a polysemantic word.

Example:

This happened in ancient times with the word LIGHT :

LIGHT - 1) lighting, 2) earth, world, universe.

These meanings have become so distant that they have lost their semantic connection. Now they are two different words.

1. LIGHT - radiant energy that makes the world around us visible.

2. LIGHT - Earth, world, universe.

Homonyms must be distinguished from polysemantic words. The meanings of homonyms are clear only in phrases and sentences. A single word GENUS unclear. But, if you introduce it into a phrase, it becomes clear what is at stake:

Example:

ancient genus , male genus .

Types of homonyms

Often homonyms, homoforms, homophones and homographs are used in puns - witty expressions, jokes.

Example:

You are NOT MINE this umbrella, because it is NOT MINE, you lost it MUMB.

Use homonyms, homoforms, homophones and homographs in your speech should be very careful. Sometimes they lead to unwanted ambiguity.

Example:

Yesterday I visited the Poetry DAY. Day poetry? Or bottom poetry?


S.I. Ozhegov. Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language S.I. Ozhegov. Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language VAL-1, -a, pl. -s, -ov, m. 1. A long earthen embankment. Fortress c. 2. Very high wave. Shafts foam. ninth c. (the strongest and stormiest wave, according to ancient ideas, fatal for sailors). VAL-2, -a, mm. -s, -ov, m. In mechanisms: a rod rotating on supports and transmitting movement to other parts of the mechanism. VAL-3, -a, m. In the economy: the total volume of production in value terms, produced for a certain. certain period. Execute the plan for the shaft.






Task 2. Write down the sentences. Determine if they have homonyms. Orange is the fruit of a citrus tree. A raft floated along the river. I love baking pies. The stove was being changed in the house. You don't need to sink the ship. The stove needs to be fired up. I treat my throat. I'm on an airplane.


Test task 2 test task 2 Orange is the fruit of a citrus tree. A raft floated along the river. I love baking pies. The stove was being changed in the house. You don't need to sink the ship. The stove needs to be fired up. I treat my throat. I'm on an airplane. Conclusion: In Russian there are full homonyms and partial ones (homophones, homoforms, homographs)


TYPES OF HOMONYMS Complete homonyms are words of the same part of speech that are identical in spelling and pronunciation, but completely different in lexical meaning. Partial homonyms: - HOMOPHONES - words that sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings. - HOMOGRAPHS - words that coincide in spelling, but differ in pronunciation (in Russian, most often due to differences in stress). - Homoforms - words that sound the same only in some grammatical forms and at the same time most often belong to different parts of speech.







In many languages ​​of the planet there is such a thing as homonymy. It is based on the fact that words and morphemes that are the same in sound and spelling have different meanings. They are called "homonyms". Examples of them are found all over the place. We use them very often in ordinary speech.

Homonyms

Examples confirming this phenomenon are known to many. These are common words:

  • "bow" in the meanings of plant and weapon;
  • "escape", in one case denoting a young branch, and in another - unauthorized hasty departure.

Out of context, it is difficult to determine exactly what meaning these homonyms are used in. Example sentences with words will demonstrate this phenomenon clearly.

  • Green onions are especially good in vegetable salads.
  • The boy was given a toy bow and arrow for his birthday.
  • The apple tree gave a young shoot, but the gardener pruned it in the fall.
  • The Count of Monte Cristo escaped from prison in a creative way, replacing the prisoner's corpse with himself.

Examples of phrases will help to understand what homonyms mean:

  • "green onions" and "accurate onions";
  • "maiden spit" and "river spit";
  • "three apples" and "three rag stain".

This phenomenon is quite entertaining, therefore it is often used by Russian language teachers as an entertaining technique in studying the subject, a way to expand the vocabulary and horizons of students.

Games with homonyms in the classroom and extracurricular activities

To conduct this competition, you should prepare pairs of words that have the same pronunciation and spelling, but completely different meanings. Only meanings are offered to players, and the words themselves (you can use one spelling for both) are hidden under a cardboard picture that will serve as a point token, for example, a tree leaf template, an apple, a gold ingot. The participant who correctly named the homonyms receives this emblem after the correct answer as a point. At the end of the game, token points are counted up and a winner is chosen.

Homonyms are suitable for the competition, examples of which may be as follows (it should be recalled that only pictures are presented to participants and viewers, the words themselves are closed):

  • "shop" as a piece of furniture and a medium-sized outlet;
  • the word "lama", acting in one sense as an animal, and in another - as a Tibetan monk.

At the lesson, you can offer students one or two pairs of words. This task will take only a few minutes, and the benefits will be enormous. Indeed, in addition to the above, this type of activity generates and strengthens interest in the study of the Russian language.

Homonymy and polysemy

Many words have more than one meaning. Coinciding in spelling, they differ lexically. It is necessary to distinguish between homonyms and polysemantic words. Examples of polysemy are also quite common. For example, two words pronounced as "key" can act as homonyms in the following way:

  • spring and device for opening.

But in the meanings of “violin”, “wrench”, “from the door lock”, “device for rolling cans”, “key” is one word. This is an amazing linguistic feature, which should already be considered as a phenomenon of polysemy. Indeed, in each of the listed options, the ability of the key to open something appears: a musical string or some object. It is one word with different meanings, not different homonyms.

There are a great many examples of such polysemantic words in Russian speech. Sometimes it is quite difficult to separate them from homonyms.

Polysemy sometimes comes from the transition of the name by external resemblance. This is

  • "sleeve" - ​​a separate riverbed and part of the shirt;
  • "tape" - a device for a girl's hairstyle and a long road, a moving part of the conveyor.

The ambiguity of these words arose from the outward similarity of some features. For example, a sleeve in clothing is separated from a common large object. And the branching of the channel resembles the same phenomenon. Actually, the word “trouser leg” could have appeared in this version, but for some reason the Russian people chose the “sleeve”.

The tape is a narrow long object. Apparently, the person who invented the conveyor saw the similarity of its moving part with a device for a girl's hairstyle. This is how the name transition, the phenomenon of polysemy, took place.

Etymological homonymy

A group of words refers to homonyms unambiguously, since their very origin is already different. Therefore, in the task “Give examples of homonyms that differ etymologically”, you need to pick up such words that came into Russian speech from different languages. To do this, look into the etymological dictionary.

These are the word "boron", denoting a chemical element, and its homonym - a pine forest. The first noun came into Russian speech from the Persian language, where it sounded like "borax", that is, a compound of boron. The name of the pine forest is of Slavic origin.

Some linguists believe that the existence of the phenomenon of homonymy should be recognized only where the very etymology of words differs.

The same linguists do not see homonymy in the noun "ether" as an organic substance and in the meaning of "broadcasting and television". After all, historically both words have a common etymology. They came from the ancient Greek root αἰθήρ, which means "mountain air". And if the task says: “Give examples of homonyms,” and the respondent uses the word “ether” in two meanings, then these scientists will consider the answer incorrect.

Disputes of linguists about polysemy and homonymy

However, not everyone can offhand determine the historical origin of words. Often this requires special dictionaries. Therefore, most people see that the meanings of the word "ether" are completely different and classify them as homonyms. Therefore, some linguists also do not see ambiguity here. The explanatory dictionary also refers them to different words with different meanings.

Examples of homonyms that cause controversy among linguists are as follows:

  • “braid” in the meaning of a hairstyle and a mowing tool, since some argue that there is a transition of the name according to external similarity (thin and long);
  • "pen" as a tool for writing, a device for opening, turning on, since some people determine polysemy by the fact that they have something in common in the mode of action (they write and open with their hands);
  • "feather" in the sense of "pen" and as a skin horn formation of birds and some dinosaurs, considering that the first meaning came to the word from the historical way of writing with bird feathers.

Some linguists refer to homonymy all words in which polysemy can be traced. They consider polysemy only a special case.

Full homonyms

Linguists divide words that have the same pronunciation and spelling and have different meanings into two groups. Full lexical homonyms belonging to the same grammatical category are allocated to one category. Examples of these: "scythe", "tongue", "escape", "key" and others. In all their forms, these words coincide both in spelling and in pronunciation.

Incomplete or partial homonyms

There are also words that coincide only in some forms. These are grammatical homonyms. Examples of this phenomenon often refer to different parts of speech:

  • “three” is a verb of the 2nd person singular imperative with the initial form “rub” and “three” is a cardinal number;
  • “oven” is a verb in an indefinite form and “oven” is a feminine singular noun;
  • "saw" is a feminine singular past tense verb and "saw" is a feminine singular noun.

Grammatical homonymy is also observed in words belonging to the same part of speech. For example, the verbs of the 1st person singular of the present tense "fly". The first word is defined as an action related to medicine. Already the infinitive will sound like "treat". And the second verb has the initial form "to fly" and denotes the action of making a flight.

Partial homonymy is observed in words of the same grammatical category. This happens when words differ in only one form. For example, two nouns "weasel" - an animal and a manifestation of tenderness - do not coincide only in the genitive plural. These homonyms will look like “weasels” and “weasels” in this form.

Homonyms and homophones

Some confuse the phenomenon of homonymy with others. For example, homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings but are spelled differently. These are not homonyms! Examples of words that are homophones show this feature.

  • “Cat” is a pet, and “code” is most often a certain set of characters or sounds.

Everyone will notice that these words should be written in different ways. But by ear to catch the difference is almost impossible. The word "code" must be pronounced with a stunning final consonant. This is where the sound similarity comes from.

Homonymy and homography

There are other linguistic phenomena similar to the one we are considering. For example, homographs are interesting because they are the same in spelling, but are pronounced differently, most often due to stress. They are also not homonyms. Examples of homograph words are as follows:

  • gate - gate;
  • castle - castle;
  • smell - smell.

Homographs are also interesting for composing tasks for contests and games. With the help of picture riddles in which homographs are encrypted, linguistic activities can be diversified.

  • Full (absolute) homonyms are homonyms that have the same entire system of forms. For example, key (for a lock) - key (spring), forge (forge) - bugle (wind instrument).
  • Partial homonyms - homonyms in which not all forms coincide in sound. For example, weasel (animal) and affection (show of affection) diverge in the genitive plural form ( weasels - caresses).
  • Graphic homonyms. Cm. homographs. (Graphic homonyms in the Wikipedia project are presented in the category of polysemantic terms)
  • phonetic homonyms. Cm. homophones.
  • Homonymous morphemes. Cm. homomorphemes.
  • grammatical homonyms. Cm. homoforms.

Examples

The words

  • A scythe is on a girl’s head, a scythe is a mowing tool, a scythe is a geographical name ( curonian spit)
  • The key is a musical sign, the key is from the door, the key is a natural source of water.
  • Onion is a plant, onion is a weapon.
  • Pen - writing (gel, ballpoint, etc.), pen - human hand.

Phrases from homonyms

  • Mowed with an oblique oblique oblique (a well-known problematic phrase for foreigners):

see also

Homonymy in taxonomy

Links

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

See what "Homonyms" are in other dictionaries:

    - (Greek) words that coincide with each other in their sound with a complete mismatch of meanings. Example "bow" (weapon) "bow" (plant). Usually, the appearance in the language of O. is explained by an accidental coincidence of once different stems as a result of a series ... ... Literary Encyclopedia

    - (Greek homonymos, similar from homos, and onoma name). Words that have the same pronunciation but different meanings or are spelled differently but pronounced the same. For example, a stove pipe and a musical trumpet, flour, like suffering, and ground flour ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

    Homonyms Homonyms are words that sound the same but have different meanings. For example, "swords" (from the word "sword") and "swords" (from the word "to throw"); “three” (number) and “three” (from the word “rub”), etc. A punning game is built on homonyms (see Pun), and already with ... Dictionary of literary terms

    - (from the Greek homos the same and onyma name), different in meaning, but the same sounding and spelling units of the language (words, morphemes, etc.), for example, lynx running and lynx animal ... Modern Encyclopedia

    - (from the Greek homos the same and onyma name) different, but the same sounding and spelling units of the language (words, morphemes, etc.), for example. lynx running and lynx animal ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

    HOMONYMS- (from the Greek homos - the same + onima - name). Words that belong to the same part of speech and sound the same but have different meanings. Distinguish O. full (in which the whole system of forms coincides), partial (in which they coincide in sound ... ... A new dictionary of methodological terms and concepts (theory and practice of teaching languages)

    HOMONYMS- (from Greek homos identical + onoma, onoma name) words with different meanings, which, however, are spelled and pronounced the same way. For example, in English the language of O. are the words pupil (student and pupil), as well as iris (iris and rainbow); in Russian language ... ... Great Psychological Encyclopedia

    homonyms- Identical terms denoting different entities. [GOST 34.320 96] Database topics EN homonyms … Technical Translator's Handbook

    Homonyms- (from the Greek homos the same and onyma name), different in meaning, but the same sounding and spelling units of the language (words, morphemes, etc.), for example, “lynx” running and “lynx” animal. … Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

    homonyms- (other Greek ομος homos the same + onyma, ονυμά name) Words that have the same sound, but different meanings: braid1 (girl's hairstyle), braid2 (tool), braid3 (river spit, peninsula in the form of a narrow shallow). Interlingual homonyms are found ... ... Dictionary of linguistic terms T.V. Foal

Books

  • Homonyms of Russian dialect speech, M. Alekseenko, O. Litvinnikova. This is the first attempt at a dictionary of homonyms in Russian dialectal speech. Includes words of different grammatical classes. It belongs to the part-speech explanatory type of dictionaries. Called up…
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