Editing Homograph (section)

==In Chinese==
Many Chinese [[Variety (linguistics)|varieties]] have homographs, called {{Linktext|多音字}} ({{lang-zh|p=duōyīnzì}}) or {{Linktext|重形字}} ({{lang-zh|p=chóngxíngzì}}), {{Linktext|破音字}} ({{lang-zh|p=pòyīnzì}}).

===Old Chinese===
Modern study of [[Old Chinese]] has found patterns that suggest a system of [[affix]]es.<ref>{{cite book |title=Chinese|last=Norman|first=Jerry|author-link=Jerry Norman (sinologist)|year=1988|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0-521-22809-1|page=84}}</ref> One pattern is the addition of the [[prefix]] {{IPA|/*ɦ/}}, which turns [[transitive verbs]] into [[intransitive verb|intransitive]] or [[passive voice|passives]] in some cases:<ref name=baxterhandbook>{{cite book |title=A Handbook of Old Chinese Phonology (Trends in Linguistics. Studies and Monographs)|last=Baxter|first=William H.|year=1992|publisher=de Gruyter Mouton|location=Berlin and New York|isbn=978-3-11-012324-1|pages=218–220}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Word !! Pronunciation<sub>a</sub> !! Meaning<sub>a</sub> !! Pronunciation<sub>b</sub> !! Meaning<sub>b</sub>
|-
| 見<ref>The two meanings were later distinguished through the means of radicals, so that 見 ('to see', Std. Mand. jiàn) was unchanged, while 見 ('to appear', Std. Mand. xiàn) came to be written as 現.</ref>||{{IPA|*kens}} || see || {{IPA|*ɦkens}} || appear
|-
| 敗<ref>This distinction was preserved in Middle Chinese using voiced and unvoiced initials.  Thus, 敗 (transitive, 'to defeat') was read as 北邁切 (Baxter, paejH), while 敗 (intransitive, 'to collapse; be defeated') was read as 薄邁切 (Baxter, baejH).  《增韻》：凡物不自敗而敗之，則北邁切。物自毀壞，則薄邁切。Modern Wu dialects (e.g., Shanghainese, Suzhounese), which preserve the three-way Middle Chinese contrast between voiced/aspirated/unaspirated initials, do not appear to preserve this distinction.</ref>||{{IPA|*prats}} || defeat || {{IPA|*ɦprats}} || be defeated
|-
|colspan="5"|All data from Baxter, 1992.<ref name=baxterhandbook/>
|}

Another pattern is the use of a {{IPA|/*s/}} [[suffix]], which seems to create nouns from verbs or verbs from [[noun]]s:<ref name=baxterhandbook/>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Word !! Pronunciation<sub>a</sub> !! Meaning<sub>a</sub> !! Pronunciation<sub>b</sub> !! Meaning<sub>b</sub>
|-
| 傳 || {{IPA|*dron}} || transmit || {{IPA|*drons}} || (n.) record
|-
| 磨 || {{IPA|*maj}} || grind || {{IPA|*majs}} || grindstone
|-
| 塞 || {{IPA|*sɨk}} || (v.) block || {{IPA|*sɨks}} ||border, frontier
|-
| 衣 || {{IPA|*ʔjɨj}} || clothing || {{IPA|*ʔjɨjs}} || wear, clothe
|-
| 王 || {{IPA|*wjaŋ}} || king || {{IPA|*wjaŋs}}|| be king
|-
|colspan="5"|All data from Baxter, 1992.<ref name=baxterhandbook/>
|}

===Middle Chinese===
Many homographs in Old Chinese also exist in [[Middle Chinese]]. Examples of homographs in Middle Chinese are:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Word !! Pronunciation<sub>a</sub> !! Meaning<sub>a</sub> !! Pronunciation<sub>b</sub> !! Meaning<sub>b</sub>
|-
| 易 || {{IPA|/jĭe꜄/}} || easy || {{IPA|/jĭɛk꜆/}} || (v.) change
|-
| 別 || {{IPA|/bĭɛt꜆/}} || (v.) part || {{IPA|/pĭɛt꜆/}} || differentiate, other
|-
| 上 || {{IPA|/꜂ʑĭaŋ/}} || rise, give || {{IPA|/ʑĭaŋ꜄/}} || above, top, emperor
|-
| 長 || {{IPA|/꜀dʲʱĭaŋ/}} || long || {{IPA|/꜂tʲĭaŋ/}} || lengthen, elder
|-
|colspan="5"|Reconstructed phonology from [[Wang Li (linguist)|Wang Li]] on the tables in the article [[Middle Chinese]]. [[Tone name]]s in terms of ''level'' (꜀平), ''rising'' (꜂上), ''departing'' (去꜄), and ''entering'' (入꜆) are given. All meanings and their respective pronunciations from Wang et al., 2000.<ref>{{cite book |title=王力古漢語字典|author=Wang Li |year=2000|publisher=中華書局|location=Beijing|isbn=7-101-01219-1|display-authors=etal}}</ref>
|}

===Modern Chinese===
Many homographs in Old Chinese and Middle Chinese also exist in modern [[Chinese language|Chinese]] varieties. Homographs which did not exist in Old Chinese or Middle Chinese often come into existence due to differences between [[literary and colloquial readings of Chinese characters]]. Other homographs may have been created due to merging two different characters into the same glyph during script reform (See [[Simplified Chinese characters]] and [[Shinjitai]]).

Some examples of homographs in [[Cantonese]] from Middle Chinese are:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Word !! Pronunciation<sub>a</sub> !! Meaning<sub>a</sub> !! Pronunciation<sub>b</sub> !! Meaning<sub>b</sub>
|-
| 易 || {{IPA|[jiː˨]}} || easy || {{IPA|[jɪk˨]}} || (v.) change
|-
| 上 || {{IPA|[ɕœːŋ˩˧]}} || rise, give || {{IPA|[ɕœːŋ˨]}} || above, top, emperor
|-
| 長 || {{IPA|[tɕʰœːŋ˨˩]}} || long || {{IPA|[tɕœːŋ˧˥]}} || lengthen, elder
|}