What does polyphony mean?
Polyphony is the existence of multiple pronunciations associated with a single word or other linguistic item. These pronunciations may distinguish meanings, as with "lead," which is pronounced differently in "lead singer" and "lead metal." They may also reflect regional, social, or historical variation, so a word can be pronounced differently by speakers from different communities without those differences necessarily indicating separate meanings. Lexicographers examine such variation when recording acceptable pronunciations in dictionaries, while phonologists study the patterns that condition it. Polyphony should not be confused with polysemy, which concerns a word having several meanings, or homophony, which concerns different words sharing the same sound. In everyday discussion, the term is specialized and is more common in linguistics, language teaching, and lexicography than in general conversation.
nounThe existence of more than one pronunciation for a single word. The variants may correspond to different meanings, regional accents, social varieties, or other contextual differences.
- The phenomenon of a word having more than one established pronunciation, whether because of differences in meaning, dialect, region, or social background.
"The word "lead" displays polyphony, with the vowel changing according to its meaning."
"The pronunciation of "record" illustrates meaning-based polyphony in modern English."
"Researchers studying the word's regional polyphony recorded several distinct vowel pronunciations."
The plural is uncommon because polyphony is usually treated as an uncountable phenomenon.
"Several of these polyphonies reflect regional differences rather than differences in meaning."
One spelling can have one meaning and several voices.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does polyphony come from?
Polyphony comes from Greek polu-, meaning "many," and phōnē, meaning "sound" or "voice." The Greek elements were combined to convey the idea of multiple sounds. Its Latin-derived relatives include phonetic, phonic, and symphonic, while telephone also reflects the same Greek word for sound.
Related word forms
How polyphony is actually used
The term is primarily used in phonology, phonetics, and lexicography. Meaning-based variation, as with "lead" or "record," is usually distinguished from ordinary accent variation; the word is not normally used merely to describe a mispronunciation.
Easily confused with polyphony
Polyphony concerns multiple pronunciations of one word, whereas homophony concerns different words that sound alike.