Thank the nice people in supportlounge

[conuly]

I'd like this link very much, except for one small problem...

Those aren't homonyms. They're homophones. Get it right!

Comments

[rachelkachel]

What's a homonym, then?

[conuly]

The opposite. Two words spelled/said alike but with different meanings, like cleave and cleave (to bring together and to split apart, respectively).

[interactiveleaf.livejournal.com]

I think that there ought to be a separate category for those (admittedly few) fascinating words like cleave which are their own antonyms!!

It just blows me away that these words can exist. Sanction is another.

[allophone.livejournal.com]

There is a name for those kind of words. They're called auto-antonyms.

[conuly]

I knew there had to be a name for them.

Wait.

There's a name for them?

How many words like cleave can there be?

[interactiveleaf.livejournal.com]

Thank you veddy much. :-)

[eofs.livejournal.com]

Excellent idea. But:

Learn it right!

That really grated.

[conuly]

Why? *starts thinking*

Get it right is accepted, and do it right is fine, and I guess say it right works... so why doesn't learn it right? Does teach it right work? What about play it right?

Why is that, do you think?

[eofs.livejournal.com]

I would say "learn it correctly" personally.

Get it right sounds fine, the others don't. The only thing that I can think is that get it right talks of the result (the result is right) whilst teach/play/learn and do are all about the process. Say I'm kind of grey on - it doesn't sound right (haha) but it's not quite so processy *ponders*

Maybe one of the reasons "learn it right" grated so much is my utter abhorence of the expression "I'm gonna learn him a lesson" or whatever.

[dkmnow.livejournal.com]

I'd like to ad some homonyms here too, but I forgot my calculator.

:-D

[conuly]

*winces*

[dkmnow.livejournal.com]

Dang. I thought the implicit joke was pretty good. But I guess the slapstick ending is too distracting. Or something...

Oh, well.

[rachelkachel]

What's a homonym, then?

[conuly]

The opposite. Two words spelled/said alike but with different meanings, like cleave and cleave (to bring together and to split apart, respectively).

[interactiveleaf.livejournal.com]

I think that there ought to be a separate category for those (admittedly few) fascinating words like cleave which are their own antonyms!!

It just blows me away that these words can exist. Sanction is another.

[allophone.livejournal.com]

There is a name for those kind of words. They're called auto-antonyms.

[conuly]

I knew there had to be a name for them.

Wait.

There's a name for them?

How many words like cleave can there be?

[interactiveleaf.livejournal.com]

Thank you veddy much. :-)

[eofs.livejournal.com]

Excellent idea. But:

Learn it right!

That really grated.

[conuly]

Why? *starts thinking*

Get it right is accepted, and do it right is fine, and I guess say it right works... so why doesn't learn it right? Does teach it right work? What about play it right?

Why is that, do you think?

[eofs.livejournal.com]

I would say "learn it correctly" personally.

Get it right sounds fine, the others don't. The only thing that I can think is that get it right talks of the result (the result is right) whilst teach/play/learn and do are all about the process. Say I'm kind of grey on - it doesn't sound right (haha) but it's not quite so processy *ponders*

Maybe one of the reasons "learn it right" grated so much is my utter abhorence of the expression "I'm gonna learn him a lesson" or whatever.

[dkmnow.livejournal.com]

I'd like to ad some homonyms here too, but I forgot my calculator.

:-D

[conuly]

*winces*

[dkmnow.livejournal.com]

Dang. I thought the implicit joke was pretty good. But I guess the slapstick ending is too distracting. Or something...

Oh, well.