Homophones - pitfalls, puns and problems!

A homophone sounds like an innocent linguistic term. Two words which sound the same, but have different meanings entirely. English natives are used to them. “Right” and “Write”. “Hear” and” Here”. “Rough” and “Ruff”.?

Why worry when it’s clear from the context which word is being used? But hang on. Is it so obvious? Could some scenarios cause confusion??

I once remember giving some TEFL students a dictation exercise. “It was a lovely sunny day at the beach. Dozens of buoys were bobbing up and down, tied to colourful boats.” The pupils were baffled. “OK, but why are boys attached to boats while swimming? These English kids are so strange!”

Come to think of it, “Beach” and “Beech” are homophones. But “Beech” is a smooth-barked tree (you’ll see them in all their glory on the Sussex lanes at this very moment).?

And since Say It Global Translations has just completed an epic project involving aviation services, now is a good time to mention how some homophones could have serious repercussions in the aviation industry. Take this potential scenario:

Control Tower: “Sunny Holidays Jet flight number 902, please descend to two eight zero zero.”

Pilot: “This is Sunny Holidays flight 902. Received. Descending, two two eight zero zero.”

And that’s a funny sign to have in a plane: “No smoking aloud!” OK, I’ll smoke quietly, then.

And if you think automated translation software will do the trick, then you might easily be the fall guy. In any translation, always use qualified and native experts.?

Say It Global Translations.?

Perfect translations every time.

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