In English
Examples:
- (1)
- bear (verb) – to support or carry
- bear (noun) – the animal
In (1) the words are identical in spelling and pronounciation (i.e. they are also homophones), but differ in meaning and grammatical function.
- (2)
- sow (verb) – to plant seed
- sow (noun) – female pig
(2) is an example of two words spelt identically but pronounced differently. Here confusion is not possible in spoken language but can occasionally occur in written language.
Read more about this topic: Homograph
Famous quotes containing the word english:
“So is the English Parliament provincial. Mere country bumpkins, they betray themselves, when any more important question arises for them to settle, the Irish question, for instance,—the English question why did I not say? Their natures are subdued to what they work in. Their “good breeding” respects only secondary objects.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“He had first discovered a propensity for savagery in the acrid lavatories of a minor English public school where he used to press the heads of the new boys into the ceramic bowl and pull the flush upon them to drown their gurgling protests.”
—Angela Carter (1940–1992)