Top | Newest First | Oldest First
View 4 more replies »
This comment is hidden.
Show Comment
Subsumedpat · 36-40, M
This message was deleted by the author of the main post.
HeadGirl · 41-45, F
@SW-User You are just a nasty little troll and I refuse to interact with you any longer.
SW-User
@HeadGirl She speaks the truth. So have I and honestly if they don’t know slang, they’ve never made anything out of it! Now do we out of theirs...
SW-User
@HeadGirl And we don’t need a grammar Nazi to correct us!
This comment is hidden.
Show Comment
luv2fish · 61-69, M
How about parking stall bandits????
This comment is hidden.
Show Comment
SW-User
@HeadGirl you guys across the pond ever heard of slang!? I guess not aye.... ☺️
This comment is hidden.
Show Comment
bijouxbroussard · F
As the others have said, context. Same way one knows the difference between tree bark vs. a dog’s bark. A wound (injury) vs. the past participle of wind—and for that matter, to wind one’s watch, vs. the wind blowing outside, to blow one’s horn vs, the “low blow”. And so on. 🙂
bijouxbroussard · F
@HeadGirl You were the one who mentioned the way the words [b]sound[/b] being a factor. Those two words sound the same, yet we know the difference, because of context. And that’s the answer overall. We know because of [b]context[/b].
HeadGirl · 41-45, F
@bijouxbroussard No, we know the difference between those two because of the spelling. That is the first thing we notice.
Strictsinger · 61-69, M
@HeadGirl
Unless, of course, our conversation is spoken.
Interesting how complex it all gets, isn’t it?
Unless, of course, our conversation is spoken.
Interesting how complex it all gets, isn’t it?
This message was deleted by its author.
This message was deleted by its author.
HeadGirl · 41-45, F
@SW-User Insulting? I was merely being sarcastic in response to him after he missed the entire point of my question. If you think that's insulting, you are the one who needs help.
This message was deleted by the author of the main post.
SW-User
Yes we are all just wrong because we were here years ago to create the language.
ArishMell · 70-79, M
They can only go by context, but respecting other country's languages - such as French - and understanding etymology are not their strong points!
I have a book on the basics of "CAD" (Computer-Aided Draughting - of technical drawings) and was annoyed to find it spells "metre" as "meter" despite being by a British author and publisher, albeit printed in Malaysia.
I have a book on the basics of "CAD" (Computer-Aided Draughting - of technical drawings) and was annoyed to find it spells "metre" as "meter" despite being by a British author and publisher, albeit printed in Malaysia.
This comment is hidden.
Show Comment
HeadGirl · 41-45, F
@Colormegone I've a pretty good idea. Lol :)
Strictsinger · 61-69, M
Your premise is inaccurate - they aren’t “the same thing.” They are the same WORD, but that’s not “the same thing.” (One is a device to collect coins as a fee to park your vehicle, the other is a form of measurement.)
As someone mentioned, they are homonyms - two words that sound the same, but which have different meanings. (Homonyms may be spelled differently: e.g., “Pair” and “Pear”)
In addition, they are homographs, meaning that they are spelled the same but have different meanings. (Homographs may be pronounced differently: e.g., “ADDress” meaning a location, and “adDRESS” meaning to speak to a person or topic)
Other examples of homographic homonyms include:
Air - oxygen / a lilting tune.
Arm - body part / division of a company.
Band - a musical group / a ring.
Bark - a tree's out layer / the sound a dog makes.
Bat - an implement used to hit a ball / a nocturnal flying mammal
Thanks for asking!
As someone mentioned, they are homonyms - two words that sound the same, but which have different meanings. (Homonyms may be spelled differently: e.g., “Pair” and “Pear”)
In addition, they are homographs, meaning that they are spelled the same but have different meanings. (Homographs may be pronounced differently: e.g., “ADDress” meaning a location, and “adDRESS” meaning to speak to a person or topic)
Other examples of homographic homonyms include:
Air - oxygen / a lilting tune.
Arm - body part / division of a company.
Band - a musical group / a ring.
Bark - a tree's out layer / the sound a dog makes.
Bat - an implement used to hit a ball / a nocturnal flying mammal
Thanks for asking!
HeadGirl · 41-45, F
@Strictsinger They shouldn't be spelled the same, because as you say they are not the same thing.
Strictsinger · 61-69, M
@HeadGirl
So there should be a different word for everything? That’s a lovely idea - totally impossible, given the limited number of sounds and the incredible number of nouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, etc. in the language - but it’s a cute thought.
So far as I can find, there is no language which does NOT have homonyms.
So there should be a different word for everything? That’s a lovely idea - totally impossible, given the limited number of sounds and the incredible number of nouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, etc. in the language - but it’s a cute thought.
So far as I can find, there is no language which does NOT have homonyms.
HeadGirl · 41-45, F
@Strictsinger Yes, but does that make it acceptable to mix them up? I don't think so.