Query: Homographs

[Laurence Horn]

>  >
>>  > De: "Alan J. Friedman" <AFRIEDMAN at ftc.gov>
>>  > Date: Tue 28 Jan 2003  15:41:23 America/New_York
>>  > Objet: Question for the ADS Webmaster
>>  >
>>  > My son and I have compiled about 90 words  -- words like bow, minute,
>>  > tear, delegate, intimate -- that change meaning depending upon
>>  > pronounciation.  Some people call these words "homographs."  Is there
>>  > an official linguistic category for such words?  If not, should there
>>  > be?  My favorites are "axes" (plural of ax and axis), "entrance," and
>  > > "routed" (past tenses of rout and route).

Note that this last example is a true homonym (as opposed to a
non-homophonic homograph) for those speakers who pronounce "route" to
rhyme with "out" rather than with "boot".  I think I'm using those
homo-terms the way I want to.  (For me, "routed" as the past tense of
"route" can be pronounced either way, while "routed" as the past
tense of "rout" can only be pronounced to rhyme with "outed".  Of
course in the former case, "routed" will be a homophone of "rooted".)

larry