[General] How to write a title as it sounds keeping the multiple meaning of a homophone latent

[ScottWilmot]

As a visual artist, I often have working titles in my mind that I hear as spoken. I often wish I could write the title and keep the multiple meaning of homophones. Is it possible to write words that sound the same that are spelt differently in such a way that maintains the ambiguity of the audible?

Hope this hasn't been asked before.

I thank you for any help offered.

cheers,

Scott Bennett

 

[emsr2d2]

Do you mean something like calling your medical first aid supplies company "There, they're, their"? I'm not sure I've got the gist of what you're trying to do.

 

[Tdol]

Is it possible to write words that sound the same that are spelt differently in such a way that maintains the ambiguity of the audible?

In most cases, I would say that this is not possible, except for clumsy methods like here/hear.

 

[ScottWilmot]

Thank you for your reply.

I'll give an example. A title as It sounds might be "Bell Weather" but I'm interested
in multiple meanings, such as bellwether, belle or weather or bell whether.
As a landscape in sheep country, the title verbalised, contains several meanings based on language alone.

A wether (A castrated ram), bellwether (A trend) or the sheep with a bell around its neck leading the flock.
Or beautiful (Belle) weather.

If I spell it a particular way it loses the mystery of the spoken word that contains some ambiguity.

Perhaps there needs to be an new punctuation invented that indicates that a word 'marked-up' in this way is just a sound,
not its particular meaning. That is, it can mean any of the words that sound the same!

cheers,

Scott

 

[Barb_D]

Visual puns exist (like a hair salon called "Curl up and Dye") but it's a deliberate pun, not multiple meanings. (Unless you cross Sweeney Todd with a hair stylist, maybe.)

 

[emsr2d2]

It's unfortunate that your example meant absolutely nothing to me (not being from "sheep country"!) If I saw a title which read "Bell Weather", I would be baffled as to its meaning. If it was "Belle Weather" I still wouldn't know what it was about but I would assume there was a reason for combining English and French in the name.

 

[Tdol]

The multiple meanings that you're interested in may not work- I could work out more than one meaning from Bell Weather, but there's no guarantee that all meanings will be readily understood- many will stop at 2 IMO.