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المشاركة الأصلية كتبت بواسطة H0riz0n

Dear Colleagues

Do you know the difference in pronunciation of the word "minute" in the following two sentences

Wait a minute, please
I don't care about minute things

Of course you know that "minute" in the first sentence is a noun, but in the second is an adjective

The two words are identical in litters, but differently pronounced

minute (n) /ˈmɪnɪt/

minute (adj.) /maɪˈnju:t/

You're right. They spell the same,but they are different in meaning and pronunciation. There are many words which are composed of the same letters but their pronunciation is different. We call them hytronyms What is a heteronym? A pair (or group) of heteronyms are words that have the same spelling (they are homographs) but different pronunciation (they are heterophones) and also different meanings.

It's much easier to grasp this idea with a few examples:

• Excuse; Please excuse me while I think of an excuse.
• Polish; Tell the Polish cleaners to polish the floor.
• Minute; The button was so minute that it was a minute before I found it.
• Wind; Hopefully the wind will be strong enough to wind the windmill.
• Record; It's the referee's job to record the new world record.