While it is not often that this blog is used for grammatical lessons, one suspects that the following is employed more as an aide mémoiré than as a method of educating the citizenry in general about matters linguistic. However, the following strip from the pen of Dave Kellett prompted one to ponder the intricacies of this specific concern’s points defining it.

First, behold the strip in question:

CLICK THROUGH to see the newer version of the cartoon

As you’ll note from the caption, there is a ‘newer’ version of the cartoon, because the original version you see here is incorrect, something the highly-educated artist discovered after displaying the work to the world in general. What occurred after this was as much of a surprise to me as it was to him: a homonym is not a word which merely sounds the same as another of a differing meaning! No, no!

What Mr. Kellett was told was that the matter to which he referred was, in point of fact, a homophone as this is something which sounds the same but means something entirely different. This is in direct contrast to – but not in exclusion of – the homograph, which is a word that is spelled the same as another but which has an altogether differing meaning. His reaction to the information and explanation of it CAN BE READ HERE.

Here’s where things get all edumacational, so feel free to either fall asleep or sit on the edge of your chair so as to demonstrate your fanaticism to the teacher all the more. One suspects that the whole matter is being committed to text here solely to remind oneself of the difference, and not for the benefit of the Community at all. You are free to absorb the lesson without even the slightest charge to your pocket, however. That’s just the kind of guy I am.

“Homonym” applies to words that share the same spelling and the same pronunciation but have different meanings, usually as a result of the two words having different origin. Note that both states are required to be achieved, so that the same sound and spelling are present.

I saw the pile of firewood, and therefore didn’t trip over it and split open my fool head on the floor.

Because this firewood is too long to fit in the fireplace, I shall saw it in half.

The first use of “saw” is the act of sight. The second use of “saw” is the act of using a sharpened blade of some sort to create two shortened lengths of wood from one long one.

The label “Homograph” applies to words which are spelled the same, yet are not of the same meaning or pronunciation.

Gracious! Those two are having quite a violent row with each other!

Gracious! He’s so fed-up with her that he’s got in that boat and will row away with all due haste!

The first use of “row” refers to an argument and is pronounced in a way which rhymes with “bow-wow”. The second use of “row” is the verb indication the act of using oars to move a small boat through the water, pronounced in a way to rhyme with the first half of “bow-tie”.

The term “Homophone” applies to two words which mean entirely different things but which sound the same when pronounced. They can also be spelled the same, but a true Homophone wouldn’t be, and then it would fall in to the category of Homonym, and that specific aspect of the word would be termed a Homograph, whereas the examples below have the characteristic of Heterographs because they are of different spellings.

What does a cat weigh when it’s on your chest at 4:30AM?

When a cat sits on your chest at 4:30AM, there’s no way you can move.

The first use of the sound “way” refers to the the magnitude of force that must be applied to an object in order to support it (IE: hold it at rest) in a gravitational field. The second use of the sound “way” refers to the infinite number of methods of movement which might be pointlessly attempted when a feline is at rest upon one’s torso at an un-godly hour of the morning. This particular opposition of both spelling and meaning is the root of nearly all puns. We like those. The Homophone is also exactly what, in the cartoon at the start of this post, is being enjoyed by Arthur, the talking duck with the colander on his head.

Now, for those of you who love the Venn Diagram in all its forms, here is one courtesy of Wikipedia:

CLICK HERE to learn more about that (new tab or window)

So… there we are.

While I am an Editing Publisher, this doesn’t mean that all of the various grammatical terms are known to me, and I frequently fall back on instincts based entirely on ‘what sounds right’. Oddly, that usually is enough for the matter. But this sort of linguistic ephemera is fascinating when taken in small doses (repeat as necessary until symptoms abate).