Written by Jennie Cole
Flo: Jennie / Elsie: Hilary / Party Host: Ahmed
With special thanks to Azmera, Pricila, Nelson, Marinela and Gheorghina
PART 1:
(a car can be heard driving; there is the sound of a horn)
Flo: Come on Elsie, hurry up!
(a car door opens then closes and the car sets off)
Elsie (breathless): I’m sorry I’m late, Flo!
Flo: Why are you so late? What have you been doing?
Elsie: I’ve been reading about homophones all afternoon.
Flo: Homo what? Is that a word that is spelt the same, but has a different meaning?
Elsie: No, Flo, that’s a homonym. I’ve been reading about homophones.
Flo: Tell me more, Elsie!
Elsie: Well, the word ‘homo’ comes from the Greek word ‘homos’ meaning ‘same.’ The word ‘phone’ means sound.
Flo: So that must mean homophones are words which have the same sound?
Elsie: Yes, that’s right, Flo.
Flo: Like the word stairs and stares?
Elsie: Yes! The word stairs can be spelt s-t-a-i-r-s, meaning a flight of steps, like the ones you would walk up to get to the top of a house. It can also be spelt s-t-a-r-e-s, meaning gazing very openly, which is what some of the people did to me that day I dyed my hair pink! I certainly got a lot of stares that day!
Flo: Ahh, the day you dyed your hair. So the word ‘dyed’ is also a homophone then, isn’t it? It can be spelt d-y-e-d, meaning ‘to colour something,’ or d-i-e-d, meaning to stop living. But why are these homo whatsits…
Elsie: Homophones, Flo.
Flo: Those are the ones. Thanks, Elsie. Why are they so important?
Elsie: It’s important to know the difference in homophones words. Though the sound is the same, the meaning is very different.
Flo: Very interesting! So let me see if I’ve understood this. Homophones are pronounced in the same way, but are spelt differently?
Elsie: That’s right.
Flo: Before I ask you anymore, I’ll just stop here for some petrol, Elsie…
(car indicator can be heard)
