Biblical Hebrew Forum

[c stirling bartholomew <cc.constantine AT worldnet.att.net>]

Peter,

on 1/23/03 3:32 AM, Peter Kirk wrote:

> Does it actually make a practical difference whether we have
> polysemy or homonymy?

Difference to whom?

It would not make a difference if you were engaged in speaking or writing
the language. If one word sounds the same as another word of different
origin, the origin issue would have little or no semantic impact on how the
word was employed. 

If brkh came to be used of a pool since one kneels at pools, that does not
mean that the semantic value of kneel is functioning when brkh is used with
a pool as a referent.

On the other hand, if an author were intentionally playing word games with
the different meanings of brkh, the identity of sound would be all that was
required to play such games. The fact that the words were homonyms would
place no obstacle in the way.

Furthermore, the author would most likely be unaware of the history of the
word. 

 
greetings, clay


--  
Clayton Stirling Bartholomew
Three Tree Point
P.O. Box 255 Seahurst WA 98062