Homophones in English
The first words I learned to write in English were “A, I, be, see, oh, pee, are.” Do you remember the ones you learned first-----?
“ Okay, grandma but if “a” is spelled only A and “I” is spelled only I, why isn’t “be” spelled B, “oh” spelled O, “See” spelled C…?” I asked my grandma while she was teaching me to read before entering school.
She’s a big woman and her laugh is just as strong, “HAHAHA, Morgan, that’s just the way it is.”
I hated that answer and I still do. Even though English is my native language, I have to admit there are some really frustrating aspects of it. Like the fact that the spelling can be so different from the way the words are pronounced. Or when there is one pronunciation, but multiple ways to spell a word.
These are called homophones. Many of my students struggle with these since most of you learned to read and write English rather than the pronunciation. Remember that you cannot trust English spelling.
What do you call a naked Grizzly? A bare bear.
Other examples:
Stair, stare
there, they’re, their
bawl, ball
wear, where
by/bye
sight/cite/site
What’s the good news? If you learn to pronounce one of the homophones, then you can pronounce it’s pair. Your vocabulary will increase and you only have to focus on one pronunciation. Great!
Practice the prononunciaiton of the flour/flower homephone with the video below.