How to Make Your Own Homonym Dictionary

In all probability, no one will ever beat Alan Cooper's homonym dictionary, but that shouldn't stop you from having your own fun. Cooper's fascination with homonyms started when he was very young, and he's been collecting words that sound alike ever since, creating a script that allows him to automatically format and post his homonyms online as he finds them. You and your friends might not want to go that far, but creating your own homonym list can be valuable and fun.

How to Make Your Own Dictionary of Homonyms

  1. Work alone or get a couple friends to see who can make the best homonymic lexicon.
  2. Listen to what people are saying and how certain words can be understood other than how they were meant to be.
  3. Consult rhyming dictionaries and other reference material.
  4. Compile your findings online or in a bound edition.
  5. Make jokes out of your homonyms and share them in online forums or with friends and/or colleagues around proverbial water-coolers.

Why Make a Homonym Dictionary

  • Have FunThe simple answer to the question "why would you ever want to make a dictionary like that?" is that it's fun. Hunting for homonyms often has very humorous results. The brain relishes its ability to leap from one idea to another, especially when those ideas seems at first have nothing to do with one another. Homonyms are two words that look and sound alike but have entirely different meanings; thus, the laughable results are limited only to your own imagination. Language, when you're paying attention, is extremely entertaining, and when you're hunting for funny combinations of homonyms everything anyone says is enthralling.
  • Keeping It All StraightConstructing your own dictionary of homonyms also helps you keep them straight so that you don't stumble on the same pitfalls that everyone else does. They're, there, and their will become very easy to distinguish. Its and It's will be clear as an Egyptian sky. Two, to, and too will be as simple as the Three Stooges.
  • Freeing up some Creative EnergyCreating a homonym dictionary will help foster literary creativity. Many people sit down at their computers and can't figure out what to write. It's hard to get the creative juices flowing. A homonym dictionary will free your mind from the lineal constructs inherent to coherent writing that sometimes stifle creativity. Homonyms are lateral movements through vocabulary that stretch the imagination. Think of it as yoga for lexicographers, wordsmiths, and writers at all stages.
  • Overcoming FearMany writers at all levels are overcome by a sense of fear. Some think they won't be good enough while others think they won't be understood, and some just aren't convinced that they have anything worth committing to the written word. Homonyms are toys seemingly left out for everyone to play with. No one's afraid of playtime, so get dirty in the sandbox with the other kids. Once you've learned to play with language, it's easier to write, and you're writing will probably improve with your new outlook.
  • All Is Full of LoveA love of language is necessary to all successful human beings. Sure, the occasional semi-illiterate president is elected, but for the most part, successful men and women share an adoration of the written word and speech act. Numberless studies have shown how vocabulary and articulation of speech separate the rich and poor, or the successful and the stagnant. Articulate people will perform better in job interviews and give better impressions on their employers and colleagues, garnishing them higher wages and promotions. When you love language, you're more likely to have a command of it. Having fun with homonyms will encourage that loving relationship.

The Future of Dictionaries in General and Homonym Ones in Particular

Since words and their meanings are in a constant state of flux, homonyms are always appearing from the ether. When neologisms enter English, the most dynamic language in the world, some are bound to sound and look like the tried and true in order to mock the establishment and provide your homonym dictionary and all other dictionaries a never-ending deluge of material.

Personalized homonym dictionaries will always be popular because people love word games. Homonyms are particularly entertaining because depending on what profession a person has, different homonyms will be more prevalent or at least funnier. Also, as you learn other languages, you'll find that English words often sound almost exactly like words in foreign languages. They're usually called "false friends," but there's nothing false about how amusing they are.

Author: