ENGLISH HOMONYMS AND SOME IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING THEM IN VIETNAMSE HIGH SCHOOLS

HANOI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
DEPARTMENT OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES
***
***

ENGLISH HOMONYMS AND SOME IMPLICATIONS
FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING THEM IN
VIETNAMSE HIGH SCHOOLS
SUBJECT: SEMANTICS
(FINAL ASSIGNMENT)

LECTURER

: Dr. Hà Cẩm Tâm

LEARNER

: Nguyễn Thị Anh Thoa

GROUP

: K18 English C

HANOI – June, 2010


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
PART I : INTRODUCTION

1. Rationale
2. The Scope, Objectives, Significance, Methods and Design of the

1
1
1

Study
2.1. The scope of the study

1

2.2. Objectives of the study

1

2.3 . Significance of the study

1

2.4 . Methods of the study

2

2.5. Design of the study
PART II : DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1 : AN OVERVIEW OF ENGLISH HOMONYMS
1. Definition

2

3
3
3

2. Characteristics of English homonyms

3

3. Classification of English homonyms

4

3.1. Classification1

4

3.2. Classification 2

5

3.3. Classification3

5

3.4. Classification 4

7

4. Sources of English homonyms

7

5. The distinction between Homonymy and Polysemy

10

5.1. Polysemy
5.2. The distinction between Homonymy and Polysemy
CHAPTER 2-Some difficulties perceived by high school students when

10
10
12

studying English homonyms and some implications for teaching and
learning them
PART III : CONCLUSION
REFERENCES

15


PART I: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale:
English has become an international language. It is of great importance to master
English to be more sucessful in our jobs. However, it is not easy to learn English
especially English words. A larger number of words, despite their sameness in spelling
and pronouncing, turn out out to be distintive ones. This causes obstacles to Vietnamese
students of English in comprehending and using English homonyms.
“ Thus homonyms are a source of ambiguity”.

(Nguyen Hoa. An Introduction to Semantics, p.31)
There are some reasons for me to do this study. In the first place, as a teacher of
English at a secondary school, I really want to understand more about English words
especially English homonyms. As a result, I will know more about them and I am able
to explain English homonyms clearly to my students. In addition, from my own
experience, I have found that students find it difficult to understand English homonyms.
For example, some words make them confused such as found (past tense of find) and
found (to establish an organization or institution). Last but not least, I would like to find
some solutions to help my students learn English homonyms better.
2. The Scope, Objectives, Significance, Methods and Design of the Study:
2.1.

The scope of the study

This study focuses on investigating information relating to English homonyms.
2.2.

Objectives of the study

This study is carried out with two main purposes:
• To review the information relating to English homonyms
• To find out some difficulties that students usually make when studying English
homonyms and suggest some solutions to help them learn homonyms better.
2.3.

Significance of the study

This study may be of great importance for many foreign language teachers as
well as learners of English. Its implications and suggestions help students recognize
English homonyms and understand the meaning of the sentence better. Teachers of

Englsih can use these suggestions to make their teaching more effective.
2.4.

Methods of the study

To complete this study, the researcher has carried out a lot of reading and
consulting. Firstly, information relating to English homonyms was collected from books


borrowed from the university library, and from some articles available on the Internet.
In addition, I also asked the students where I have been working about their difficulties
in learning English homonyms. The combination of information obtained from reading
materials and informal interview can help to draw an outline of this study.
2.5.

Design of the study

The study is organized into three parts:
Part I: Introduction: provides the rationale for the study; its scope, objectives,
significance, methods and design.
Part II: Development consists of two chapters:
Chapter 1: An overview of English homonyms
Chapter 2: Some difficulties perceived by high school students when using English
homonyms and some implications for teaching and learning them
Part III: Conclusion: summerizes the key issues in the study, points out the limitations
and offer some suggestions for further study.

PART II: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: AN OVERVIEW OF ENGLISH HOMONYMS
1. Definition:

Homomyms are words identical in pronunciation and (or) spelling but different
in meaning. Most English homonyms are monosyllabic.
( Hoang Tat Truong. Basic English lexicology, p.69).
E.g:
* fast- fast
* here- hear
Afanasyeva ( 1985:128) defines homonyms as words which are edentical in
sound and spelling, or, at least, in one of these aspects, but different in their meaning.


E.g.:
* bank, n. – a shore
* bank, n. – an institution for receiving, lending, exchanging and safeguarding money.
Mednikova ( 1987: 76) introduces a definition of English homonyms. They are
two (or more) different linguistic units within one sound and orthographic complex, i.e.
displaying diversity on the content plane and identity on the expression plane.
2. Characteristics of English homonyms:
The first characteristic of English homonyms is the accidentality of their
identical formation. Despite the fact that English vocabulary is enriched with the
attendance of pairs and groups of homonymous words, their identical forms are mostly
accidental. The majority of homonyms coincided due to phonetic changes which they
suffered during their development.
If synonyms and antonyms can be regarded as the treasury of the language’s
expressive resources, homonyms are of no interest in this respect. In terms of
metaphoric, groups of synonyms and pairs of antonyms are created with particular
purposes whereas homonyms are purposeless because of accidental creation. ( O.V.
Afanasyeva. English Lexicology, p. 128).
Homonymy is a source of ambiguity. This third characteristic leads to confusion
and misunderstanding when learning and using English language. An illustration for
this is the case of full homonyms, which can cause problems for students due to the

sameness in spelling and sound. For instance, one may come across such a sentence as
“ After a whole morning’s effort, we only found out one pen”. It is doubtful whether the
word “pen” refers to a writing device or an area for keeping farm animals. Apart from
this, homophones, such as pair and pear, can cause problems for students of English
language when they are writing English as they might not know which spelling is
correct. In addition to the matter of confusion and misunderstanding, their characteristic
of ambiguity makes them them important resources for popular humour. If we take the
pun ( a joke based on homonyms), it will become clearer. Let us look at one example as
follows:
“Waiter!”
“Yes, sir”
“What’s this?”
“It’s bean soup, sir.”
“ Never mind what it has been. I want to know what it is now.”
The key to this joke belongs to the pairs of homophones bean ( a kind of seed growing
in long pods, eaten as vegetables) and been ( past participle of to be).
3. Classification of English homonyms:


3.1. Classification 1: According to Understanding English Semantics by Nguyen Hoa,
depending on the notion, homonyms can be classified into absolute homonyms and
partial homonyms.
3.1.1. Absolute homonyms:
Absolute homonyms should satisfy the following three conditions:
(i). they will be unrelated in meaning;
(ii). all their forms will be identical;
(iii). the identical forms will be grammatically equilvalent.
E.g.:
* sole (n): a kind of fish
sole (n): bottom of foot or shoe

• bank (n): a financial institution
bank (n): the bank of the river
3.1.2. Partial homonyms:
Partial homonyms are common.
E.g.:
* rose (n): a type of flower
rose (Ved): past tense form of rise
*found (v): set up, establish
found (Ved): past tense form of to find
3.2. Classification 2: According to Understanding English Semantics by Nguyen Hoa,
depending on the samesness of sound and spelling forms, homonyms may be classified
into three types as follows.
3.2.1. Full homonyms:
Full homonyms are words which are identical in both pronunciation and spelling.
E.g.:
* bark: outer covering of a tree
bark: noise made by a dog
3.2.2. Homophones:
Homophones are words which are identical in pronunciation only: air vs. heir
3.2.3. Homographs:
Homographs are words which are identical in spelling only.
E.g.:
* wind (n): a current of air
wind (v): to empower a clock
3.3. Classification 3: It has been observed that paradigms of some homonyms coincide
completely and of other only partially. Professor A.L.Smirnitsky classified homonyms
into two large classes: full homonyms and partial homonyms. (O.V. Afanasyeva.
English Lexicology, p. 134-135).
3.3.1.Full lexical homonyms: Full lexical homonyms are words which represent the
same category of parts of speech and have the same paradigm.

E.g.:
* match,n.- a game, a contest.
match, n. – a short piece of wood used for producing fire.
3.3.2. Partial homonyms: Partial homonyms are subdivided into three sub-groups:


3.3.2.1

Simple lexico- grammatical partial homonyms are words which belong to
the same category of parts of speech. Their paradigms have one identical
form, but it is not the same from.

E. g.:
* to bound (v)
bound (v): past tense, past participle of to bind
*to lay(v):
lay (v): past tense of to lie
3.3.2.2. Complex lexico grammatical partial homonyms are words of different
categories of parts of speech which have one identical form in their
paradigms.
E. g:
*rose(n): a kind of flower
rose (v): past tense of to rise
3.3.2.3. Partial lexical homonyms: are words of the same category of parts of speech
which are identical only in their corresponding forms.
E.g:
* to hang ( hung, hung), v.
to hang (hanged, hanged),v.
*to can (canned, cannes)
can (could)

3.4.
Classification 4: Homonyms can be approached from a different point of view
and classified into lexical and grammatical homonyms.
3.4.1. Lexical homonyms: are words of the same part of speech but of quite different
meanings so that there is no semantic relation between then.
E.g.:
* match (n) – match (n)
* peace (n)- piece (n)
3.4.2. Grammatical homonyms: are words of different parts of speech.
E.g.:
* work (n) - to work (n)
* love (n) – to love (n)
Each of the classification come froms a starting point of view .Though they tried
to arranged homonyms into specific and sufficient groups, I am of the opinion that the
classifying English homonyms into such three types as homoyms proper, homophones
and homographs is widely shared by scholars. The classification by Professor A.I.
4.

Smirnishy comes into details in accord with the paradigms of words.
Sources of English homonyms:
The issue of the formation of the Englishhomonyms has been resolved in some ways. In
a quantity of larger dictionaries published both in Britain and the U. S.A. such as The
Oxford English Dictionary ( Oxford University Press, 1933) and Webster’s Third New
International Dictionary ( Merriam- Webster Inc, 1981), the matter was more or less


mentioned. As part of my study, I followed the standpoint as given by Afanasyeva
(1985: 130-133). According to him, English homonymous words are formed from four
sources: phonetic changes, borrowing, word- building and split of polysemy.
4.1. Phonetic changes:

This is one source of homonyms in which words undergo in the course of their
historical development. As a result of such changes, two or more words formerly
pronounced differently may develop identical sound forms and thus become
homonyms.
For instance, in Old English the verb to knead had the form cnedan, and the verb to
need had the form neodan. The noun work and the verb to work also had different forms
in Old English wyrkean and weork respectively.
4.2. Borrowing:
A borrowed word may, in the final stage of its phonetic adaptation, duplicate in form
either a native word or another borrowing. Adaptation is essentially a learned or literary
process; it consists in adapting a foreign word to the analogies of the language.
In the group of homonyms rite (n), to write (v)and right (adj), the second and third
words are of native origin where as rite is borrowed from Latin ritus. In the pair peace
(n) and piece (n), the first originates from Old French ( from Gaulish) pettia, and the
second from Old French pais.
4.3. Word- building:
Word- building also contributes significantly to the growth of English homonyms.
The most important type in this respect is conversion. It consists in making a new
word from existing word by changing the category of a part of speech, the morphemic
shape of the original word remaining unchanged. The new word has a meaning which
differs from that of the original one despite some association with it. It has also a new
paradigm peculiar to its new category as a part of speech. Homonyms of this type,
which are the same in sound and spelling but refer to different categories of parts of
speech, are termed lexico- grammatical homonyms. For example, comb (n) and to
comb (v), pale(adj) and pale (v), love and to love (v), etc. were formed in terms of
conversion.
Shortening is a further type of word- building which increase the number of
homonyms. Shortenings (or contracted or curtailed words) are produced in two
different ways. The first way is to make a new word from a syllable of the original
word. The second one is to make a new word from the initial letters of a word group.

For instance, fan (n) in sense of “ an enthusiastic admirer of some kind of sport or of an


actor, singer, etc.” is shortening from fanatic. Its homonym is a latin- borrowing fan (an
implement for waving lightly to produce a cool current of air).
Sound- imitation (onomatopocia) is the third type of word- formation in which word are
made by imitating different kinds of sounds produced by animals, birds, insects, human
beings and inanimate objects. Word made by sound imitation can form pairs of
homonyms with other words. An example of this is bang(n) meaning “ a loud, sudden,
explosive noise” and bang (n) meaning “ a fringe of hair combed over the forehead”.
4.4. Split polysemy:
The above- described sources of homonyms share one important feature in which
homonyms from two or more different words and their similarity is purely accidental.
The fourth one differs from them. Two or more homonyms can originate from diferrent
meanings of the same word when, for some reasons, the semantic structure of the word
breaks into several parts.
The below group of words is taken as an example.
board, n.- a long and thin piece of timber.
board, n. – daily meals, especially as provided for pay, e.g. room amd board,n. – an
official group of persons who direct or supervise some activity,
e.g. a board of directors
Although their meanings are not associated with one another, most larger dictionaries
still enter a meaning of board ( a table) that once held them together. It developed from
the meaning “ a piece of timber” by transference based on contiguity ( association of an
object and the material from which it is made). The meanings “meals” and ‘an official
group of persons” developed from the meaning “table”, also by transference based on
contiguity .Meals are easily associated with a table on which they are served, and an
official group of people in authority are also likely to discuss their business round a
table.
5.

The distinction between Homonymy and Polysemy
5.1.

Polysemy

5.1.1. Definition:
Polysemy refers to a word that has two or more similar or related meanings.
5.1.2. Examples :
Example 1:
+ The house is at the foot of the mountain.
+ One of his shoes felt too tight for his foot.
→ Here there is some kind of conceptual connection: “ foot” here refers to the bottom
part of the mountains in the first sentence and the bottom part of the leg in the second.
Example 2:
+ I put the strawberry in my mouth.


+ They sailed for weeks until they reached the mouth of the river.
+ The mouth of the bottle was dirty.
Although a human mouth , the mouth of a river and the mouth of a bottle are different
objects, there is a clear sense that they are somehow conceptually related: they all refer
to openings from the interior of something to the outside ( and usually the opening is at
the end of a long narrow channel).
5.2. The distinction between Homonymy and Polysemy
Lexicographers face the problem of differentiating between senses of words when
compiling dictionaries.
The problem of ambiguity of meaning is known as homonymy and polysemy.
Here are the criteria used to distinguish between polysemy and hymonymy:

Criteria
Relatedness

Polysemes
of Meanings are related

meaning
Entry for words in
a standard
dictionary

Are organized under one entry
E.g.:
FOOT (n): 1. lowest part of the
leg, below the ankle 2. lowest
part of something: at the foot of
the mountain

Homonyms
Meanings are unrelated
Are organized under different
entries
E.g.:
FILE:
File1 n. collection of papers
arranged for reference
File2 n. instrument with
sharp-edged furrows for
smoothing metals

CHAPTER 2: SOME DIFFICULTIES PERCEIVED BY HIGH SCHOOL
STUDENTS WHEN STUDYING ENGLISH HOMONYMS AND
IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING THEM
1. Some difficulties perceived by high school students when learning English
homonyms.
I have been teaching English at a upper secondary school for 7 years. From my first
hand experiences, I have found that my students have a number of difficulties when
they learn English vocabulary especially English homonyms.


The first problem is that many English words have the same spelling form, same
sound but their meanings are different. For example, the word “ found” is a typical
example. The verb “found” means to set up or establish an institution or an
organization.In addition, “found” also is the past and past particple form of the verb “
find”. As a result, when students meet this word, they cannot understand the meaning of
it in each situation.
The second proplem is relating to homophones. Homophones are words with identical
pronunciation but with different meaning. For instance, the word “ knight” and “night”,
the word “ peace” and “piece” , when students hear these words, they often get
confused about their spelling. Consequently, in speaking and listening lessons, my
students sometimes do not catch the right words that the teacher or the speaker says and
misunderstand the words.
The last problem is that many students mispronounce homographs. For example, the
word “lead” is pronounced /li:d/ when it is a verb, but it is pronounced /led/ when it is a
noun. Therefore, my sudents find it difficult to pronounce the homographs.
2. Some implications for teaching and learning English homonyms.
2.1. Adding phrase to a homonyms:
When we make an oral or written speech with a homonym, we should add a phrase to
it. A phrase can be a noun phrase, an adjective phrase, a verb phrase or an adverb
phrase. This phrase might help the hearer or the reader realise the correct homonyms

with its meaning.
E.g. :
I go to the bank.
I go to the commercial bank.
I go to the river bank.
When teaching a homonym, we rely on this method to compare the word of a pair or a
group of homonyms with its homonyms. By adding a phrase to a homonymous word,
learner can practise the use of a word and its homonyms or homonyms.
E.g.:
I go to the bank.
I go to the bank to catch some fish.
I go to the north bank of Huong River.
I go to the bank to get a bucket of water.
I go to the bank.
I go to the bank to borrow some money.
I go to the bank for some money.
I go to the bank to meet the banker.
2.2. Using dictionaries:
When we come across a word of a homonym’s group or pair, and we cope with
obstacles to realise its meaning, It is advised to look it up in the dictionary. With a clear


definition and proper introduction of its use, a dictionary might help us not only to gain
the exact meaning of the word but also to distinguish between it and its homonyms. For
example, if we come upon the word bail in the sentnece “ Bail water the boat or it will
sink!” we should look it up in the dictionary and fined out its meaning “to throw water
out of a boat with buckets”. We also discover its homonym bail ( to release somebody
on bail).
There are a variety of kinds of dictionaries such as explanatory dictionaries, bilingual
dictionaries, learner’s dictionaries and specialized dictionaries. The third type among

them is specially compiled for learners of English at different stages of advancement
.The Advanced learner’s Dictionary of Current English by AS Horn is one of this type
of dictionaries which meets the needs of advanced foreign learners of English. It
provides meanings and uses of the words including homonyms. To further acquire the
English homonyms, we should also make frequent use of them.
2.3. Practising the use of homonyms:
When learners have known the meaning of a homonym, they should make use of it
regularly to acquire its use .They could make sentences with that word or add a phrase
to it. By practice, learners of English could master the menaing and use of a homonym
in certain situations of word using. Moreover, they might realise a word of the same
homonymous pair or group with the learned word in a message.
E.g.:
When learning the homonym proper tip (the pointed or thin end of something), students
should make sentences with it to acquire the use of it.
He often walks to the northern tip of the island.
We painted a red dot on the tip of the parrot’s left wing.
It’s on the tip of your nose.
When coming across such a sentence as, “ Their house is an absolute tip.” , the learner
will recognize tip in this message as a homonym proper of the above tip (the pointed or
thin end of something). If they continue to study the menaing, ther form and the use of
this new word, they will acquire it.
PART III: CONCLUSION
In summary, this study aims at investigating the information relating to English
homonyms. A comprehensive understanding about the English homonyms and the
origin of the homonyms were presented in the study.


The second target of this study is to name some difficulties that students at upper
secondary schools in Viet Nam often meet when studying English homonyms. Basing
on these difficulties, the researcher also suggested some ways to overcome them.

Although the researcher has made effort to conduct this study, it exists some limitations
such as imperfect organization, and perhaps deficiency in content….Readers’ comments
and contributions would be highly appreciated.


REFERENCES

1. Nguyen Hoa (2001). An Introduction to Semantics. Ha Noi : VNU
Publishing House.
2. Nguyen Hoa (2004). Understanding English Semantics. Ha Noi : VNU
Publishing House.
3. Hoang Tat Truong (1993). Basic English Lexicology .Ha Noi.
4. Antrushina, G.B., Afanassyeva ,O.V. and Morozona ,N. N. (1985). English
lexicology. Moscow: Vyssaja Skola.
5. Mednikova, E.M. (1978). Seminars in English Lexicology .Moscow:
Vyssaja Skola.
6. Cruse, D.A. (1999). Lexical Semantics. Cambridge University Press.
7. Hurford, J.R. & Heasley, B. (1998). Semantics, a course book. Cambridge University
Press.
8. Keidler, C.W. (1998). Introducing English Semantics. Routledge London and New York
.
9. Saeed, J. (1997). Semantics. Oxford: Blackwell.