New week, new question:

工場 can be read as こうば and こうじょう. My dictionary defines them similarly (factory, plant, workshop vs. factory, plant, mill).

Is there any subtle difference between these readings? Does こうば have more to do with building machines and such while こうじょう is something different? Or is it just aesthetic preference?

For reference, I'm reading http://sankei.jp.msn.com/world/ameri...1018004-n1.htm this week. I pull unknown vocabulary from one reading each week and use the 暗記 flashcard program.

It isn't weird. There is a valid reason for reading the 元 not as げん. The term for "the current president" is 現大統領 and the 現 is read げん. It avoids confusion to use the kun for one and the on for the other.

Yes, there is.

When we hear こうば, we tend to think of a smaller factory run by Mom and Dad or two brothers with no more than a dozen employees.

こうじょう is used for larger ones.
__________

That said, we need to discuss an exception, which incidentally has to do with aesthetics that you mentioned.

Older "real craftsman" types do tend to prefer using こうば to refer to their workplace even if it is a huge Toyota plant with 4,000 employees that they are referring to. They are the proud blue-collar workman types.