Tuesday, September 29, 2015

New word?

You may remember that a homograph is a word that looks like another but has a different pronunciation and a different meaning, like wind (when the air moves things) and wind (what you used do to a watch).  A homophone is a word that sounds alike but has a different spelling, like to/too/two.  Where does homonym come in?  Most people use it as a synonym for homograph, and we'll leave it at that for this post.

I couldn't find the work homophene anywhere, but my speechreading teacher (formerly lipreading, but they encourage the person reading the lips to look at the face and gestures, too) says it is a set of words that look alike on the mouth.  Look in the mirror and check out fan and van.  Or mat and bat.  Thank goodness for context!

Yesterday I had my hearing tested and today the NY Times had an article about hearing loss (here).  They say the longer I go without an aid the harder it will be to adjust, so I am thinking about a CROS aid, which takes sound from the deaf side and sends it to the good ear.  A surgically implanted BAHA aid does the same, but I am not ready for more surgery.

In the mean time, I will look at you carefully as you speak!


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