In last month's Yabla English lesson, we discussed heterographs. Today, we'll be taking a look at homographs. These are homophonic words that sound the same and are spelled the same but have different meanings. Homographs can be quite confusing in spoken language, because the only way to know the meanings of the words that sound the same is by the context in which they are used. The word "homograph" comes from Ancient Greek and literally means "written the same."

A female brown bear has shown up in the delta with her cub.

Caption 10, Nature & Wildlife - Search for the Ghost Bear

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OK, sure, it looks complicated, but bear with us.

Caption 3, Brexit - What Happens When the UK Leaves the EU?

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The noun "bear" is a large and sometimes dangerous land mammal. The verb "to bear" means to carry something or to go along with something. Thus, somebody who "bears arms" is carrying weapons, and "to bear with somebody" is literally to follow them or figuratively to follow a concept they are explaining. The verb "to bear" can also mean to have children or offspring. Here is an example of a homophone pair in a single sentence: "The mother bear was ready to bear her cubs."

There was a mother duck sitting on her seven eggs.

Caption 6, Fairy Tales - The Ugly Duckling

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I've also always believed that we have to confront big decisions, not duck them.

Caption 36, Brexit - David Cameron Resigns as UK Votes to Leave

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The noun "duck" is a flat-billed water fowl or bird, whereas the verb "to duck" means literally to lower your head for safety, or figuratively to avoid something. Thus the question "Can a duck duck?" is asking if this species of bird is capable of lowering its head for safety. It sounds pretty funny too, right?

Why, she wouldn't even harm a fly.

Caption 23, Alice Cooper - Along Came a Spider

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Airplanes fly there every day.

Caption 41, Motorcycle Masters - Birmingham Alabama

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This one is quite easy. The noun "fly" is an insect, and the verb "to fly" is to move through the air. Unless it's in pretty bad health, your average housefly should be able to fly!

We can go by train, by plane, or by bus.

Caption 5, A Weekend in Amsterdam - Planning the Trip

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We don't train them, we don't do anything like that.

Caption 28, Animal Planet - Lions Treat Woman like the Leader of Their Pride

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The noun "train" is the way to travel on railways, and the verb "to train" is to teach or learn by instruction or drill. Since trains are mechanical machines, they can be engineered, but I don't think they can really be "trained" to behave!

Further Learning
Take a look at this list of 299 English homographs and make yourself familiar with some of the words that are new to you. Once you have looked up the definitions to learn what the different meanings are, find some videos on Yabla English that use the words in different contexts.

Don't be afraid of the difficult-looking words above! It's really quite simple: Homophones are all words that sound the same, but have different meanings. Heterographs are simply homophones that have different spellings. They can be quite confusing in spoken language, because the only way to tell homophones and heterographs apart is by the context in which they are used. The word "homophone" literally means "sounds the same," whereas the word heterograph means "written differently."

English has a large number of heterographs, and this probably has a lot to do with the history of the language. English is a Germanic language, meaning that it has its basic roots in the languages that were spoken in Scandinavia more than a thousand years ago. These peoples, called the Saxons, occupied much of Britain for centuries. But in the 1100s, the Normans, from what is now in France, invaded much of Britain and brought with them influences from the French language. This is also why English spelling can seem so difficult. The mix of languages in its development made for a mix of influences that also changed over time. For example, the word "rough" is pronounced RUFF, but the word "through," with the same -ough letter combination, is pronounced THROO. Let's take a look today at some heterographs in English.

Oh no. It's going to rain all week.

Caption 20, Sigrid explains - The Weather

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There have been ravens here since the reign of Charles the Second.

Caption 9, The London Story - Tower of London

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The words "rain" and "reign" sound the same. But if somebody is talking about weather, you'll know they are probably talking about rain. On the other hand, if the talk is about a king or a queen, they are likely discussing reigns.

I can hear about what they've been up to since they've been here.

Caption 48, The Apartment - Maggie's Visit

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In the example above, the heterographs "hear" and "here" both appear in the same sentence. Again, in most cases you can tell the difference in their meanings by the contexts in which the words are spoken.

OK, sure, it looks complicated, but bear with us.

Caption 3, Brexit - What Happens When the UK Leaves the EU?

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The koala bear is not a bear. It's a marsupial.

Caption 38, English with Lauren - Contradictions

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And our nightgowns are trailing and our feet are bare.

Caption 10, Katie Melua - Moonshine

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In the first example above, we see the verb "to bear," which figuratively means "to have patience" or literally "to carry" something. The noun "bear," which refers to a large mammal, is a homophone of the verb "to bear." They are spelled the same but mean different things. The last example, "bare," sounds the same as the verb "to bear" and the noun "bear," but is spelled differently. "Bare" can mean "uncovered," as in "bare feet," or "empty," as in "a bare cupboard." So a silly sentence like "Bear with the bare bear" means "Have patience with the uncovered large animal."

Pollination happens when insects, such as bees, or wind, or other forces of nature transport pollen from one flower to another.

Captions 31-32, Luana explains - Plants

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Mix the baking powder well into the flour before adding it to the other ingredients.

Caption 14, English Afternoon Tea - Victoria Sponge - The Royal Connection

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Again, the context in which the word is spoken will help you to know if the speaker is talking about flowers or an ingredient in a recipe!

Further Learning
Take a look at this list of 335 English heterographs and make yourself familiar with some of the words that are new to you. Then choose a pair of words that are pronounced the same, but spelled differently, and find some videos on Yabla English that use the words. Listen to the videos with the captions turned off so you can practice listening to the two words in the context of the videos. In most cases, you will probably know which word is meant! You can also watch the 10-Part Yabla series "The History of the English Language."