a lesson on homonyms

By Josephine Yip

“you” pronounced /ju:/ rounded in the mouth is a polite address even though second-person is always rude yuu pronounced “yoo” is an example of the elite language— articulated in a flat tone, like land discounted then re-owned as shopping rewards for the loyal

魚 pronounced yú is the same in mandarin textbooks and at home when mama dishes out soy sauce steamed garoupa

瘀 pronounced jyu2 is an embarrassing stain on the face that hurts more than a bruise to your own soul

如 pronounced jyu4 not rú nor jyu(1 ≤ x ≤ 9 | x ≠ 4) is the conditional if— if only true trilingualism was attainable pronounced jyu5 and yǔ the same way as yú and jyu4 speech 言 and the self 吾 make up 語 that is, the character for language