Heteronyms American English Pronunciation

hetero names are something to be careful

of they are words that are spelled the

same but pronounced differently the

difference usually comes in the fact

that it is a different part of speech

and that the emphasis comes on a

different syllable let’s look at some

examples this word as a noun dove is a

kind of bird there’s a dove flying

overhead as a verb douve is the past

tense of dive I dove off the pier dove

dove dove has the UH as in butter

pronunciation douve has the Oh as in no

pronunciation this word close as a verb

it means to shut something as an

adjective it’s the opposite of far close

close the difference is in the consonant

is it voiced or unvoiced in the verb

clothes

it is voiced and the adjective close it

is unvoiced this word as a verb

alternate it means to go back and forth

between two things as a noun it is a

person or a thing that is the second

choice for example if I can’t go onstage

to sing my alternate will verb alternate

noun alternate it can also be an

adjective actually describing a noun the

alternate singer alternate it’s the a as

in say sound alternate it’s the schwa as

in supply alternate this word as a verb

desert it means to leave as a noun

desert it means a dry arid region now

the difference is in which syllable gets

emphasized and what that does is it

changes the vowel sound desert the schwa

dirt desert

as in bed desert this word as the verb

it means to guide lead but it’s also an

element a noun lead lead II as in she

led a as in bed this word as a noun

tear it’s what happens what comes from

your eyes when you cry as a verb tear it

means to rip tear tear the ear as in

here the air as in bear