Homographs, homonyms and cultural practices in relation to Tamil-English thesaurus

This paper briefly discusses homonym and homograph problems encountered in developing a Tamil-English bi-lingual thesaurus, and the reasons for the occurrence of certain types of homographs in classical Tamil (cankam and pre-cankam period – 3^rd century BCE and earlier). The latter appears to be the manifestation of a cultural/linguistic behavioural pattern of Tamil people of those times. Similar naming practices among certain North American indigenous people are also noted.