Abstract

Languages comprise countless words, out of which many words are different from one another, but some words are similar in way of writing, pronunciation, or both, called homonyms. The phenomenon of homonymy creates difficulties and confusion in the learning process of a language and in communication. In order to understand homonyms, it is important to know their features, formations, and different classifications. Therefore, the present study aims to identify the features of homonyms, explore different sources of formation, introduce different classification methods, and uncover different linguistic approaches used to avoid conflict. This study is descriptive and contrastive in nature and it takes only two unrelated languages—English and Urdu—into account and identifies the similarities and differences in their homonyms. Hence, the method employed in this study is qualitative. Accordingly, 130 homonyms of English and Urdu languages were selected for the analysis. In the English language, 90 percent of the homonyms are monosyllabic and monomorphic, whereas in the Urdu language, almost all homonyms are monosyllabic and monomorphic. Yet, both languages’ homonyms are context sensitive in verbal and written discourse. The results unveil important differences and similarities in both languages.