The Project Gutenberg EBook of Society for Pure English, Tract 2, on
English Homophones, by Robert Bridges

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Title: Society for Pure English, Tract 2, on English Homophones

Author: Robert Bridges

Release Date: December 1, 2004 [EBook #14227]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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Transcriber's Note: Phonetic characters are represented by the
following symbols:
[e] = upside-down "e" = schwa
[er] = italicized inverted "e" = r-colored schwa
[a] = lower-case alpha
[o] = open "o" (appears as upside-down "c") = open-mid back
rounded vowel
[ng] = "eng" character = velar nasal
[n.] = "n" with inferior dot = devoiced "n"
[=u] = "u" with macron
[s] = "esh" (or long "s") character = voiceless palatoalveolar
(or postalveolar) fricative
[z] = "ezh" (or "yogh") character = voiced palatoalveolar (or
postalveolar) fricative
[ts] = t + "esh" = voiceless palatoalveolar (or postalveolar)
affricate
[dz] = d + "ezh" = voiced palatoalveolar (or postalveolar)
affricate

_S.P.E._

_TRACT NO. II_

ON

ENGLISH HOMOPHONES

BY

ROBERT BRIDGES

MDCCCCXIX

* * * * *

ENGLISH HOMOPHONES

[Sidenote: Definition of homophone.]

When two or more words different in origin and signification are
pronounced alike, whether they are alike or not in their spelling,
they are said to be homophonous, or homophones of each other. Such
words if spoken without context are of ambiguous signification.
Homophone is strictly a relative term, but it is convenient to use it
absolutely, and to call any word of this kind a homophone.[1]

[Footnote 1: Homophone is a Greek word meaning 'same-sounding', and
before using the relative word in this double way I have preferred
to make what may seem a needless explanation. It is convenient, for
instance, to say that _son_ and _heir_ are both homophones, meaning
that each belongs to that particular class of words which without
context are of ambiguous significati