From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the general meaning of «synonym». For other uses, see Synonym (disambiguation).
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words begin, start, commence, and initiate are all synonyms of one another: they are synonymous. The standard test for synonymy is substitution: one form can be replaced by another in a sentence without changing its meaning. Words are considered synonymous in only one particular sense: for example, long and extended in the context long time or extended time are synonymous, but long cannot be used in the phrase extended family. Synonyms with exactly the same meaning share a seme or denotational sememe, whereas those with inexactly similar meanings share a broader denotational or connotational sememe and thus overlap within a semantic field. The former are sometimes called cognitive synonyms and the latter, near-synonyms,[2] plesionyms[3] or poecilonyms.[4]
Lexicography[edit]
Some lexicographers claim that no synonyms have exactly the same meaning (in all contexts or social levels of language) because etymology, orthography, phonic qualities, connotations, ambiguous meanings, usage, and so on make them unique. Different words that are similar in meaning usually differ for a reason: feline is more formal than cat; long and extended are only synonyms in one usage and not in others (for example, a long arm is not the same as an extended arm). Synonyms are also a source of euphemisms.
Metonymy can sometimes be a form of synonymy: the White House is used as a synonym of the administration in referring to the U.S. executive branch under a specific president.[5] Thus, a metonym is a type of synonym, and the word metonym is a hyponym of the word synonym.[citation needed]
The analysis of synonymy, polysemy, hyponymy, and hypernymy is inherent to taxonomy and ontology in the information science senses of those terms.[6] It has applications in pedagogy and machine learning, because they rely on word-sense disambiguation.[7]
Etymology[edit]
The word is borrowed from Latin synōnymum, in turn borrowed from Ancient Greek synōnymon (συνώνυμον), composed of sýn (σύν ‘together, similar, alike’) and —ōnym— (-ωνυμ-), a form of onoma (ὄνομα ‘name’).[8]
Sources[edit]
Synonyms are often some from the different strata making up a language. For example, in English, Norman French superstratum words and Old English substratum words continue to coexist.[9] Thus, today we have synonyms like the Norman-derived people, liberty and archer, and the Saxon-derived folk, freedom and bowman. For more examples, see the list of Germanic and Latinate equivalents in English.
Loanwords are another rich source of synonyms, often from the language of the dominant culture of a region. Thus, most European languages have borrowed from Latin and ancient Greek, especially for technical terms, but the native terms continue to be used in non-technical contexts. In East Asia, borrowings from Chinese in Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese often double native terms. In Islamic cultures, Arabic and Persian are large sources of synonymous borrowings.
For example, in Turkish, kara and siyah both mean ‘black’, the former being a native Turkish word, and the latter being a borrowing from Persian. In Ottoman Turkish, there were often three synonyms: water can be su (Turkish), âb (Persian), or mâ (Arabic): «such a triad of synonyms exists in Ottoman for every meaning, without exception». As always with synonyms, there are nuances and shades of meaning or usage.[10]
In English, similarly, we often have Latin (L) and Greek (Gk) terms synonymous with Germanic ones: thought, notion (L), idea (Gk); ring, circle (L), cycle (Gk). English often uses the Germanic term only as a noun, but has Latin and Greek adjectives: hand, manual (L), chiral (Gk); heat, thermal (L), caloric (Gk). Sometimes the Germanic term has become rare, or restricted to special meanings: tide, time/temporal, chronic.[11]
Many bound morphemes in English are borrowed from Latin and Greek and are synonyms for native words or morphemes: fish, pisci- (L), ichthy- (Gk).
Another source of synonyms is coinages, which may be motivated by linguistic purism. Thus, the English word foreword was coined to replace the Romance preface. In Turkish, okul was coined to replace the Arabic-derived mektep and mederese, but those words continue to be used in some contexts.[12]
Uses[edit]
Synonyms often express a nuance of meaning or are used in different registers of speech or writing.
Different technical fields may appropriate synonyms for specific technical meanings.
Some writers avoid repeating the same word in close proximity, and prefer to use synonyms: this is called elegant variation. Many modern style guides criticize this.
Examples[edit]
Synonyms can be any part of speech, as long as both words belong to the same part of speech. Examples:
- noun: drink and beverage
- verb: buy and purchase
- adjective: big and large
- adverb: quickly and speedily
- preposition: on and upon
Synonyms are defined with respect to certain senses of words: pupil as the aperture in the iris of the eye is not synonymous with student. Similarly, he expired means the same as he died, yet my passport has expired cannot be replaced by my passport has died.
A thesaurus or synonym dictionary lists similar or related words; these are often, but not always, synonyms.[13]
- The word poecilonym is a rare synonym of the word synonym. It is not entered in most major dictionaries and is a curiosity or piece of trivia for being an autological word because of its meta quality as a synonym of synonym.
- Antonyms are words with opposite or nearly opposite meanings. For example: hot ↔ cold, large ↔ small, thick ↔ thin, synonym ↔ antonym
- Hypernyms and hyponyms are words that refer to, respectively, a general category and a specific instance of that category. For example, vehicle is a hypernym of car, and car is a hyponym of vehicle.
- Homophones are words that have the same pronunciation but different meanings. For example, witch and which are homophones in most accents (because they are pronounced the same).
- Homographs are words that have the same spelling but different meanings. For example, one can record a song or keep a record of documents.
- Homonyms are words that have the same pronunciation and spelling but different meanings. For example, rose (a type of flower) and rose (past tense of rise) are homonyms.
See also[edit]
- -onym
- Synonym (taxonomy)
- Cognitive synonymy
- Elegant variation, the gratuitous use of a synonym in prose
- Synonym ring
- Synonymy in Japanese
- Thesauri and synonym dictionaries – Reference work for synonyms
References[edit]
- ^ K.4375
- ^ Stanojević, Maja (2009), «Cognitive synonymy: a general overview» (PDF), Facta Universitatis, Linguistics and Literature Series, 7 (2): 193–200.
- ^ DiMarco, Chrysanne, and Graeme Hirst. «Usage notes as the basis for a representation of near-synonymy for lexical choice.» Proceedings of 9th annual conference of the University of Waterloo Centre for the New Oxford English Dictionary and Text Research. 1993.
- ^ Grambs, David. The Endangered English Dictionary: Bodacious Words Your Dictionary Forgot. WW Norton & Company, 1997.
- ^ «World Architecture Images- The White House». www.essential-architecture.com. Retrieved 2019-12-09.
- ^ Hirst, Graeme. «Ontology and the lexicon.» Handbook on ontologies. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2009. 269-292.
- ^ Turney, Peter D. (2008). «A Uniform Approach to Analogies, Synonyms, Antonyms, and Associations». Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Computational Linguistics — Volume 1. COLING ’08. Stroudsburg, PA, USA: Association for Computational Linguistics: 905–912. arXiv:0809.0124. ISBN 978-1-905593-44-6.
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary, 1st edition, 1919, s.v.
- ^ Bradley, Henry (1922). The Making of English. Macmillan and Company, Limited.
- ^ Ziya Gökalp, The Principles of Turkism, 1968, p. 78
- ^ Carl Darling Buck, A Dictionary of Selected Synonyms in the Principal Indo-European Languages, 1949, reprinted as ISBN 0226079376
- ^ Geoffrey Lewis, The Turkish Language Reform: A Catastrophic Success, 1999, ISBN 0198238568, p. 44, 70, 117
- ^ «Synonym dictionary words and phrases». www.allacronyms.com. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
External links[edit]
Look up synonym in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
I. Synonyms and
synonymic sets
Synonyms are usually defined as words similar in meaning; as words
that express the same idea but it is wrong to say that synonyms are
identical in meaning since the range of the idea they express may be
very wide. In comparing synonyms we are mostly interested in their
difference than in their similarity, although the latter is also of
importance.
English is very rich in synonyms. There are about
8000 synonymic groups in English. A group of synonyms is called a
synonymic set, e.g. famous, celebrated,
renowned, illustrious may make a
synonymic set.
A polysemantic word may enter as many synonymic groups as it has
lexical semantic variants, e.g. the word “fresh” goes into 5
synonymic sets:
Fresh – original – novel – striking – up-to-date
Fresh – another – different – new
Fresh – invigorating – pure
Fresh – inexperienced – green- raw
Fresh – impertinent – rude
Each synonymic set has a word, which expresses the
most general idea and holds a commanding position over other words –
it is called the synonymic dominant. For instance in the series to
leave – to depart – to quit – to retire – to clear out
the word “to leave” is general and neutral and can stand for each
of the other four terms being the synonymic dominant of this group.
Thus the synonymic dominant is the most general word belonging to the
general stock of words stylistically neutral, of greater frequency
and of widest colloqability.
Synonyms are grouped according to their similarity
in their meaning and are contrasted within a group on a principle of
dissimilation, e.g. weak, feeble,
powerless.
In traditional linguistics synonyms are defined on basis of the
notional criteria; according to it synonyms are words of the same
category of parts of speech conveying the same notion but differing
either in shades of meaning or in stylistic characteristics. This
definition was given by Russian academician Vinogradov.
The definition of synonyms based on the semantic criteria runs as
follows: “Lexical synonyms are different words of the same part of
speech (having the same grammatical distribution) which have some
common denotational components in their semantic structure but differ
either in some denotational components and/or in some connotational
components and thus usually have different lexical colloqability.”
This definition was given by Pr. Elena Borisovna Cherkasskaya.
In modern research of synonyms the criteria of interchangeability is
sometimes applied. According to this, synonyms are defined as words,
which are interchangeable at least in some context without any
considerable alteration in denotational meaning. The application of
these criteria is limited due to the differences in the semantic
components of meanings of synonyms leading to the differences in
their colloqability.
In fact all the definitions of synonyms are opened criticism and
further perfection.
-
Functions of synonyms in speech
Synonyms have 3 main functions in speech:
-
The function of substitution in order to avoid repetition and
monotony -
The function of précising in meaning in order to reach a greater
accuracy and avoid vagueness. -
The expressive stylistic function, e.g.
clean (free from dirt) – neat (clean and tidy) – trim (in good
order, neat and spruce) – spruce (neat, trim and smart)
-
Types of synonyms
According to the classification of synonyms developed by academician
Vinogradov, there are 3 types of synonyms:
-
Idiographic synonyms. He describes idiographic
synonyms as words conveying the same notion but differing in
meaning. Idiographic synonyms refer to the same general concept but
they differ sometimes in the denotational meaning, e.g.
a look (a conscious and direct in devour to see) – a glance (a
look, which is quick and sudden) – a glimpse (a look implying
only momentary sights). These
idiographic synonyms differ in quickness of the action and the time
of duration. -
Stylistic synonyms are words of the same
denotational meaning used in different speech styles. They have the
same denotational components but differ in stylistic components of
their semantic structure, e.g.
enemy/farter (neutral) – foe/sire (poetical) – adversary/parent
(bookish) – opponent (official) / Dad (coloq.). -
Absolute synonyms in English are words of
exactly the same meaning, words identical in meanings, e.g.
fricatives and spirants; fatherland and motherland.
Absolute synonyms are very rare. According to F.R. Palmer it would
seem unlikely, “that two words with exactly the same meaning
would both survive in a language”.
-
Sources of synonyms in English
The following points are usually considered as sources of synonyms:
-
Borrowings.
Borrowings from French, Latin and Greek are the
most numerous ones in English. They often express an idea or name a
thing for which they already exist in a native word. That’s how
synonyms appear in the vocabulary. In most cases the native word is
more ordinary tan its foreign counterpart, e.g.
to buy – to purchase, brotherly – fraternal, world – universe.
But there exit plenty of cases of all borrowings
having become thoroughly assimilated. Some of them even express the
most general idea in synonymic sets and serve as synonymic dominants:
valley – dale, piece – lump/cake, to
decide – to settle, action – did…
There are examples of triplets: one native – one
from French – one directly from Latin, e.g.
ask–question-interrogate; teaching-guidance-instruction; to
gather-to assemble-to collect; kingly-royal-regal.
-
Dialectisms.
Dialectisms are words from local dialects, which
have entered the English vocabulary as regular words creating
synonyms to the words of Standard English, e.g. Scotch
synonyms: lass – girl, bonny – pretty, daft –
crazy/foolish/wild.
-
Word-building processes.
Word-building processes, which are at work in the English Language,
create synonyms to words already in use. The following cases are to
be considered here:
-
composite or phrasal verbs (составные
глаголы), e.g.
to choose – to pick out; to abandon – to give up; to enter –
to come in; to descend – to go down; to ascend – to go up; -
compounding which comprises composition and
conversion working simultaneously,
e.g. fight-back – resistance; precipitation – fall-out;
conscription – a call up; -
conversion, e.g.
to verbalize – to word; laughter – a laugh; to moisten – to
wet; -
shortening, e.g.
microphone – mike; popular – pop; examinations – exams; -
affixation or loss of affixes, e.g.
anxiety – anxiousness; affectivity – affectiveness; amongst –
among; await – wait; -
set expressions,
e.g.
to laugh – to give a laugh; to walk – to take a walk;
In this connection the problem of synonyms and lexical variants
arises: should these cases be regarded as synonyms or lexical
variants.
-
Euphemisms as a specific type of synonyms
Euphemism is a Greek word (EU means “well” and
PHEMOS means “speaking” thus “Euphemism” means speaking
well). A euphemism is a substitution of a harsh, obscene, indelicate
or otherwise unpleasant word by a less offensive word or periphrastic
expression, e.g. quieer
is a euphemism for mad;
intoxicated
is a euphemism for drunk;
in one’s birthday suit = naked.
Euphemisms are divided into 2 main groups according to the character
of words they subdtitute:
-
Religious and superstitious taboos are
words and set phrases which are avoided in speech for religious
reasons or because of superstition,
e.g. God – goodness, gracious, gosh; Devil – deuce, Dickens,
Nicolas, old Nick, Darwin; to die – to pass away, to go to one’s
last home, to go to the way of all flash, to join the majority, to
kick the bucket; -
Social and moral taboos
are words and idioms which are avoided in speech as not acceptable
in the polite conversation, e.g.
trousers – unmentionables; toilet – powder-room, retiring-room,
wash-room, restroom, lady’s room, public comfort station, WC
(Windsor Castle), public conveniences;
pregnant – in an interesting/delicate
condition; in a family way, with the baby coming, pig with child;
drunk – intoxicated, tipsy, under the influence, mellow, fresh,
high, merry, flustered, overcome, full, to be drunk as a lord/owl,
boiled, fried, tanked, tight, stiff, pickled, soaked;
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If antonyms are the words, which express opposite meanings, synonyms are vice versa. They have the same meanings and belong to one part of speech. All the delight of synonymy lies in the fact that, in spite of similar lexical meanings of synonyms, each of them has its special often inimitable, shades of meanings. This diversifies Russian language in great measure, makes it richer, expressive,and of course maximally informative.
The words, which are replaceable in the context, can be called synonyms. For example: «Он не выполнил задание в срок» /He didn’t perform a task in time/ — «Он не сделал задание в срок» /He didn’t do a task in time/.
Usage of synonyms in Russian helps to avoid the sameness and monotony. One word can have some different synonyms with different shades of lexical meanings, that’s why every person phases in a wide range of possibilities to express one and the same notions with the help of different words, nebertheless, similar in meaning. This results in the fact that, choosing different synonyms for some notions, all people speak in different ways, having the ability to show the wholeness of their personality in the speech.
Also, synonyms may take place in different parts of speech, as well as antonyms: verb (делать /to do/ – выполнять /to accomplish/ – реализовывать /to realize/), noun (доброта /kindness/ – великодушие /generosity/ – милосердие /mercy/), adjective (смелый /bold/ – мужественный /corageous/ – храбрый /brave/), and adverb (быстро /quickly/ – шустро /apace/ – оперативно /swiftly/ – живо /jauntily/ – молниеносно /flash-like/).
Whereas synonyms have common lexical meanings and express one and the same notion, they still differ with expressive conotation. Different synonyms can also be affixed to the certain style of speech that results in using some synonyms more often than the others in certain cases. For example, «начитанный» /well-read/ will be used popularly much more often than its synonym «эрудированный» /erudite/, and «умный» /clever/ – more often than «интеллектуальный» /intellectual/.
Complete and Partial Synonyms
According to the degree of synonimity, synonyms can be complete or partial.
Synonyms with identity of lexical meanings and contexts are considered to be complete synonyms. Good examples of complete synonyms are: «помидор» — «томат» /tomato/, «образец» /sample/ — «пример» /example/, «дублеты» /doublets/ — «варианты» /variants/.
Partial synonyms coincide only in part of meanings and differ in their connotation and/or co-occurrence. For example: «мороз» /frost/ — «холод» /cold/, «жара» /heat/ — «зной» /sultriness/, «защита» /maintenance/ — «броня» /armour/, «дождь» /rain/ — «ливень» /downpour/.
Functions of Synonyms
According to the functions, synonyms can be divided into semantic and stylistic, as well as mixed (semantic-stylistic).
Semantic synonyms denominate different sides of designated notion and are different in usage:
- manner of action (отключить /to unplug/ – обесточить /to deenergize/, погасить /to put out/ – задуть /to puff out/);
- characteristic intensity (запах /smell/ – аромат /aroma/, новый /new/ – современный /modern/, старый /old/ – древний /ancient/).
Stylistic synonyms have different expressive shade and give different estimation. Furthermore, they often belong to different functional styles (мина /air/ – морда /muzzle/ – рыло /snout/ – лицо /face/ – лик /countenance/).
Distinctive features of semantic-stylistic synonyms include characteristics both of semantic and stylistic synonyms (идти /to go/ – плестись /to daddle/ – тащиться /to trudge/ – ковылять /to toddle/).
Structure of Synonyms
According to the structure, synonyms are divided into those of one root and different roots.
Synonyms of one root have common root and different affixes (ругать /to scold/ — обругать /to call names/ — заругать /to berate/).
Synonyms of different roots have completely different roots (сильный /strong/ – крепкий /firm/ – солидный /solid/), (активный /active/ — предприимчивый /enterprising/).
Source of Synonyms’ Origin
According to the source of origin, synonyms can be:
— derived from originally Russian words: выдумать /to invent/ – придумать /to concoct/
— derived from both Russian and borrowed words: антипатия /antipathy/ — нелюбовь /dislike/
— derived from completely borrowed words: директор /director/ – менеджер /manager/
— derived from folk-poetic, obsolete or, conversely, modern words: лазурный /azure/ — синий /blue/
— derived from Old Slavonic and Russian words: младой – молодой /young/, старец /elder/ — старик /old man/.
Modern Russian cannot exist without such important stylistic device as synonymy, which makes our speech much more multifacet and appellative. With the help of synonyms we are able to express different shades of one and the same notion.
- Definition & Examples
- When & How to Use Synonyms
- Quiz
I. What is a Synonym?
A synonym (sin—uh-nim) is a word that has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word. When words or phrases have the same meaning, we say that they are synonymous of each other. The term synonym comes from a combination of the Ancient Greek syn, meaning with, and onoma, meaning “name.” Synonyms are regular and essential parts of everyday language that we use almost without thinking. They come in all parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and so on. What’s more, synonyms are so important that there is a whole reference work dedicated to them, called a thesaurus—it’s a dictionary of synonyms!
II. Examples of Synonyms
Here are some synonyms of words you use every day:
- Bad: awful, terrible, horrible
- Good: fine, excellent, great
- Hot: burning, fiery, boiling
- Cold: chilly, freezing, frosty
- Easy: Simple, effortless, straightforward
- Hard: difficult, challenging, tough
- Big: large, huge, giant
- Small: tiny, little, mini
Now, read the three sentences below:
- The small child was quickly eating a cold ice cream cone, which gave him a bad headache.
- The little kid was rapidly gobbling a frosty ice cream cone, which gave him an awful headache.
- The youngster was speedily consuming a freezing ice cream cone, which gave him a terrible headache.
As you can see, the three sentences above share the same situation, but, Sentences 2 and 3 paint a better picture because they use synonyms for some of the dull words in Sentence 1. Words like “rapidly,” “gobbling,” “awful,” and “terrible” are much more descriptive than “quickly,” “eating,” and “bad”—they have the same meanings as Sentence 1, but stronger connotations.
III. Types of Synonyms
Synonyms exist as parts of speech. Here are some examples:
Verbs
- Teach, instruct, educate
- Seek, search, look for
Nouns
- Teacher, instructor, educator
- Test, exam, assessment
Adjective
- Smart, intelligent, clever
- Dumb, stupid, slow
Adverb
- Very, really, extremely
- Quietly, silently, without a sound
IV. Importance of Synonyms
Since word choice is everything in language (probably the most crucial part!), the importance of synonyms is beyond measure. Synonyms make language more interesting, more meaningful, and more relevant. They have a huge, central role in word choice for both prose and poetry. In fact, you could argue that poetry wouldn’t even exist without synonyms—one of the main reasons we use them is to be descriptive, creative, and expressive, and poetry relies on those three things. Imagine what writing, reading, and speaking would be like if there were only one word for everything! Language would be boring, and would have no room for creativity.
The way words are chosen and used is often what defines a piece of literature; so, synonyms allow all authors to develop their own styles and voices when creating their works. Another main reason we use synonyms is because words often share the same meanings but have different connotations (a word’s implied meaning). For example, you might say “the soup’s aroma was in the air,” which makes it sound delicious, but “the soup’s odor was in the air” makes it sound terrible. So, an author chooses a synonym based on its positive, negative, or neutral connotation. This helps writers say what they mean, and how they mean it.
V. Examples of Synonyms in Literature
Example 1
As mentioned, poetry probably wouldn’t exist without synonyms. In the poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” William Wordsworth describes an afternoon walk that was particularly special for him. In the selection below, he uses synonyms to help his readers imagine the scene that he saw:
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Here, Wordsworth uses the synonyms “crowd” and “host” to express that he saw a large number of daffodils, which made them much more magnificent. It’s a technique he is using to emphasize the beauty of his experience. By using two different words with the same meaning, he is able to paint a better picture with his words.
Example 2
Synonyms are very important for creative, descriptive writing because authors choose certain words to fit their style and tone. In the poem “The Eagle,” Lord Tennyson uses synonyms for common words to create this detailed imagery:
He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ring’d with the azure world, he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
Tennyson’s descriptive words paint a picture for the audience. But, if you remove the synonyms he uses, it would be much less picturesque. For example, he uses “azure” instead of “blue” to give you a better idea of the color of the sky, and “crag” which sounds rougher than “cliff.” Synonyms also make the poem more expressive; for instance, he uses “lonely” instead of “isolated”—both words have almost the same meaning, but “lonely” usually describes a human feeling, and “isolated” usually describes a place. As you can see, Tennyson carefully chose his words with purpose.
VI. Examples of Synonyms in Pop Culture
Example 1
A popular advertising technique in today’s culture is to imply that a brand’s product is synonymous with the product itself. For example, we might say bleach is synonymous with Clorox, cola is synonymous with Coca-Cola, or Scotch tape is synonymous with adhesive tape. Foster’s beer uses this type of advertising in their campaign called “How to Speak Australian,” as in the following commercial:
Fosters | How to Speak Australian | Wireless
Foster’s main tagline is “Foster’s: Australian for Beer.” They are “teaching” the audience that in the Australian language, “Foster’s” and “beer” have the same meaning. But, the joke is that “Australian” is just English, which already has a word for beer. So, Foster’s advertising method is to suggest to viewers that in Australia, the words “beer” and “Foster’s” are synonyms that can be used interchangeably.
VII. Related Terms
Antonym
An antonym is a word or phrase’s opposite meaning, and the opposite of a synonym.
VIII. Conclusion
In conclusion, synonyms are an essential part of the English language that we could not live without, in writing or speaking. They are the most powerful type of descriptive tool, making them an important part of both prose and poetry alike. Synonyms provide freedom for word choice and allow authors to choose words with the right connotation to fit their style and serve their purpose.
Слайды и текст этой презентации
Слайд 2Synonym
Has developed as a term from a coinage of two
Greek morphemes: syn (συν) – plus and onoma (όνομα) –
name
Means a word of similar or identical meaning to one or more words in the same language.
All languages contain synonyms but in English they exist in superabundance.
Слайд 3Synonymy
Is the coincidence in the essential meanings of identical
linguistic elements;
However, words with identical semantic elements preserve their differences
in connotations and stylistic characteristics (to be described below).
Слайд 4Synonyms: the Problem of Definition
In traditional linguistics synonyms are defined
on the basis of the notional criterion.
According to it
synonyms are words of the same category of parts of speech conveying the same notion, but differing either in shades of meaning or in stylistic characteristics (V.V. Vinogradov).
Слайд 5Synonyms: the Problem of Definition
The definition of synonyms based on
the semantic criterion runs as follows:
Lexical synonyms are different words
of the same part of speech which have some common denotational component(s) in their semantic structure, but differ either in some other denotational component(s) or in some connotational component(s) and thus usually have different lexical collocability (E.B. Cherkasskaya).
Слайд 6Synonyms: the Problem of Definition
In modern research on synonyms the
criterion of interchangeability is also applied.
According to it, synonyms
are defined as words which are interchangeable at least in some contexts without any considerable alteration in the denotational meaning.
The application of this criterion is however limited.
Слайд 7Synonyms: the Problem of Definition (summing up)
Synonyms can therefore be
defined in terms of linguistics as two or more words
of the same language,
belonging to the same part of speech and possessing one or more identical or nearly identical denotational meanings,
interchangeable, at least, in some contexts,
differing in morphemic composition, phonemic shape, connotations, affective value, style, valence and idiomatic use.
Слайд 8 Hope / expectation / anticipation
Denotational meaning (common): having something in
mind which is likely to happen.
Evaluative connotation: expectation may
be either of good or of evil, anticipation, as a rule, is a pleasurable expectation of something good, hope is not only a belief but a desire that some event would happen.
Stylistic difference: the Romance words anticipation and expectation are formal literary words used only by educated speakers, whereas the native monosyllabic hope is stylistically neutral.
Idiomatic usage: only hope is possible in such set expressions as: to hope against hope, to lose hope, to pin one’s hopes on smth, etc. Thus, neither expectation nor anticipation could be substituted into the following quotation from T. S. Eliot: You do not know what hope is until you have lost it.
Слайд 9How do Synonyms Appear in the Language?
Due to extensive borrowings
from other languages: city /French/ — town /native/; chair /French/
— stool /native/, etc.
Due to abbreviation (in most cases the abbreviated form belongs to the colloquial style, and the full form to the neutral style): examination – exam, laboratory – lab, etc.
Due to the appearance of euphemisms (words used to substitute in speech some unpleasant or offensive words): «the late» instead of «the dead», «to perspire» instead of «to sweat», etc.
Слайд 10How do Synonyms Appear in the Language?
Due to the coexistence
and co-usage of words belonging to different dialects and language
varieties:
Boat (English) – coracle (Welsh)
Girl (English) – colleen (Irish)
Lift (BrEng) – elevator (AmEng)
Autumn (BrEng) – fall (AmEng), etc.
Слайд 11How do Synonyms Appear in the Language?
Due to the formation
of phrasal verbs, e.g. «to give up» — «to abandon»,
«to cut down» — «to diminish».
There are phraseological synonyms which are expressed by phrases similar semantically but different from the point of their pragmatics:
We say «to be late (for a lecture)» but «to miss (the train)».
Слайд 12Groups of Synonyms
Synonyms enter groups, which are referred to as
synonymic sets.
Each synonymic set has a word which expresses
the most general idea and holds a commanding position over other words, it is called the synonymic dominant:
See, view, behold, perceive, etc.
Main, chief, crucial, critical, essential, etc.
Слайд 13Functions of Synonyms
Synonyms have three main functions in speech:
the
function of substitution;
the function of precision of meaning;
the
expressive or stylistic function.
Слайд 14Classification of Synonyms
Absolute
Ideographic
Stylistic
Слайд 15Absolute Synonyms
Words totally identical in their inner aspect (the denotational
meaning, connotations, emotive and stylistic charge);
They can replace each other
in any given context without the slightest alteration in the denotational or emotional meaning and connotations;
They are a rare occasion and are found mostly in terminology or among special words: noun and substantive, functional affix, flection and inflection).
Слайд 16Ideographic Synonyms
Words bearing the same idea but not being identical
in their referential content:
to ascent – to mount – to
climb
to happen – to occur – to befall – to chance
look – appearance – complexion – countenance, etc.
Слайд 17Stylistic Synonyms
are distinguished stylistically, i.e. in all kinds of emotional,
expressive and evaluative overtones without explicitly displaying semantic difference:
child (neutral)
– infant (elevated) – kid (colloquial)
die (neutral) – pass away (elevated) – kick the bucket (colloquial)
Слайд 18Other Types of Synonyms
Contextual Synonyms
Context can emphasize certain semantic
traits & suppress other semantic traits of words; thus words
with different meaning can become synonyms in a certain context: tasteless – dull, active – curious, curious – responsive, etc.
Referential Synonyms
a vague term, which concerns co-referential expressions, when one denotatum can be defined differently from different points of view and in different aspects: e.g. names Walter Scott and the author of ‘Ivanhoe’ are co-referential because they refer to one and the same denotatum – Sir Walter Scott;
Слайд 19Synonymic condensation
Is typical of the English language and refers to
situations when writers or speakers bring together several words with
one & the same meaning to add more conviction or to make the description more vivid:
Safe & sound
Lord & master
First & foremost
Safe & secure
Stress & strain
By force & violence
It is deeply rooted in the history of English language since it was customary to use French borrowings together with their native synonyms, especially those which are characterized by alliteration and rhymes.
Слайд 20Antonyms
Words of the same part of speech which are opposite
in meaning.
Not every word of a language may have
an antonym though practically every word may have a synonym.
As is with synonyms, different lexical-semantic variants of a word have different antonyms:
Light – dark, light – heavy;
Bright – dim, bright – unintelligent, etc.
Слайд 21Antonyms: to the Problem of Definition
Antonyms may be defined as
two or more words of the same part of speech
which have some common denotational components in their semantic structure, but express some contrary or contradictory (contrasting) notions;
They are characterized by different types of semantic contrast of the denotational meaning and interchangeability at least in some contexts.
Слайд 22Types of Antonyms
According to the relationship between the notions expressed
antonyms are divided into
contradictories (intelligent – stupid, peaceful –
stormy, etc.) and
contraries (up – down, give – take, etc.).
According to their morphological structure antonyms may be subdivided into
root antonyms (intelligent — stupid) and
derivational antonyms (intelligent — unintelligent).
Continue Learning about Art & Architecture
What part of speech asks how when or where?
The part of speech that asks: how, when, and where, are
adverbs.
What part of speech is speech is speech?
Adjective
What part of speech is trotted?
«trotted» is a past tense part of speech.
What part speech is thaw?
What part of speech is thaw
What part of speech is the prefix chron?
Prefixes do not have their own part of speech.
Synonymy in English
Synonymy is a lexical relation that means sameness of meaning. Synonyms are similar, but not identical. Examples of some English synonyms are:
car and automobile smart and intelligent
baby and infant student and pupil
pretty and attractive sick and ill
funny and humorous died and expired
Synonyms can be nouns, adverbs or adjectives, as long as both members of the pair are of the same part of speech. Traditionally, synonymy can only hold between words, and, more precisely, between words belonging to the same part of speech; for example: ‘enormous’ = ‘huge’; ‘gaze’ = ‘stare’. This is the classic form of synonymy, covered by, for instance, synonym dictionaries.
Given the complexity of meaning, a person searching for an alternative word must be sure that the synonym chosen is accurate and precise. In its strict sense, a synonym is a word with a meaning identical or very similar to that of another word. In fact, it is often said that there is no such thing as an absolute synonym for any word, that is, a form that is identical in every aspect of meaning so that the two can be applied interchangeably. According to this extreme view, the only true synonyms are terms having precisely the same denotation, connotation, and range of applicability. As it turns out, these so-called true synonyms are frequently technical terms and almost always concrete words coming from linguistically disparate sources. Good examples of such pairs are celiac (from Greek) and abdominal (from Latin); and car (from Latin) and automobile (from French). These meet the criteria for true synonymy: they have precisely the same denotations, connotations, and range of applicability, and they are used in identical contexts.
This view of synonymy is far too restrictive, however. I think that synonymous terms are those having nearly identical denotations. English is rich in such words. Speakers very often have a choice from among a set of words of differing origin but the same denotation. One may go to the shore (from Old English), the coast (from Latin), or the littoral (from Latin). One can refer to the sense of hearing (from Old English) or to the acoustic (from Greek), auditory (from Latin), aural (from Latin), or auricular (from Latin) sense. One can make clothing from cloth (from Old English), fabric (from Latin), material (from Latin), or textiles (from Latin). The reason for choosing one of these words over another is frequently stylistic: one may prefer a simpler or a more complex word; one may prefer a more formal or a less formal term. However, the fact that these words share a denotation makes them synonymous and available as substitutes for words one has in mind so that one can be more precise, express oneself more colorfully, or avoid repetition.
Lyons distinguishes between two kinds of synonymy, i.e. what he calls complete and absolute synonymy. He says that complete synonymy is rare, and absolute synonymy hardly exists. If absolute synonymy exists at all, it is merely in very special contexts such as scientific terms (e.g. almonds and tonsils). But what happens when we have two absolute synonyms is that specialists or speakers in general tend to use one of the two synonymous words and agree that the chosen word should be always used to refer to the concept they are describing.
What about absolute synonymy, that is, according to Cruse where all contextual relations between the two terms are identical. Roughly speaking this means that in all linguistic contexts, the two terms are interchangeable without any difference in meaning. Cruse suggests the normality test as a way of determining the absence of absolute synonymy. This test shows that one of the two terms is normal in a given context, and the other less normal.
(1) He told me the match starts at 8.00 (+ normal)
(2) He told me the match commences at 8.00 (- normal)
If we add (3), however, and compare it with (1) it is difficult to attribute greater normality to one or the other:
(3) He told me the match begins at 8.00
Cruse rules out the use of contexts where one term is odd in syntactic functions, suggesting the context should provide a level playing field in order to ascertain normality. If this is the case, one would have to go a long way to find two contexts where begin and start could be seen to be non-absolute synonyms. Furthermore Cruse also rules out the use of ‘irrelevant senses’ of a word form.
(4) Arthur’s most recent car is an old one (+)
(5) Arthur’s most recent car is a former one (-)
(6) He had more responsibility in his old job
(7) He had more responsibility in his former job.
Cruse’s normality test works well if we wish to show with the least amount of contextual investigation that two words are not absolute synonyms. It is more difficult to show that two words are in fact absolute synonyms.
Palmer differentiates between synonyms in five ways. First, some synonyms belong to different dialects of the language. For instance, the word fall is used in the United States and autumn is used in Britain. Second, some synonyms are used in different styles according to the degree of formality; colloquial, formal. For instance, gentleman (formal), man, chap. Thirdly, some words differ only in their emotive or evaluative values but their cognitive meaning is the same. For instance, hide, conceal. Fourthly, some word are subject to collocational restraints, i.e. they occur only with specific words. For instance, rancid occurs with butter, addled with eggs. Fifthly, the meanings of some words overlap. For instance, mature, adult, ripe. If we take each of these words we will have a larger set of synonyms. Palmer suggests a test for synonymy by substituting one word for another. Because absolute synonyms are mutually interchangeable in all contexts, that is why absolute synonyms are very rare in language. Another way to test synonymy is using antonyms. For instance, superficial is the opposite of deep and profound, while shallow is the opposite of deep only.
When we use language for the purpose of communication, we come to perceive any expression as a tool more or less suitable for our purposes, we come to see it as possessing a certain value.
Перевод
Синонимия в английском языке
Синонимия – это лексические отношения между словами, схожими по смыслу. Синонимы схожи, но не идентичны. Вот примеры некоторых английских синонимов:
car и automobile smart и intelligent
baby и infant student и pupil
pretty и attractive sick и ill
funny и humorous died и expired
Синонимами могут быть существительные, прилагательные или наречия, оба члена пары относятся к одной и той же части речи. Традиционно синонимия имеет место только между словами, а, точнее, между словами, принадлежащих к той же части речи, например: ‘ enormous’ = ‘ huge’; ‘ gaze’ = ‘ stare’. Это классическая форма синонимии, предлагаемая, например, в словарях синонимов.
Учитывая сложность смысла, человек, ищущий альтернативные слова, должен быть уверен, что выбранный синоним является точным. В строгом смысле, синонимы — слова со значением, идентичным или очень похожим на значение другого слова. На самом деле, часто говорят, что не существует такой вещи, как абсолютные синонимы, то есть форм, которые идентичны в каждом аспекте своего значения, которые могут быть взаимозаменяемыми. В соответствии с этим существует крайняя точка зрения о том, что настоящие синонимы — члены, имеющие точно такую же денотацию, коннотацию и область применения. Как выяснилось, эти так называемые истинные синонимы — часто технические термины и почти всегда конкретные слова, пришедшие из лингвистически разнородных источников. Хорошими примерами таких пар являются celiac (от греческого) и abdominal (от латинского); car (от латинского) и automobile (от французского). Эти слова отвечают критериям истинных синонимов: у них точно такие же денотация, коннотация и область применения, и они используются в одинаковых контекстах.
Однако эта точка зрения на синонимию является слишком ограниченной. Я думаю, что синонимами являются те слова, которые имеют почти идентичную денотацию. Английский богат такими словами. Выступающие очень часто имеют выбор из набора слов различного происхождения, но с той же самой денотацией. Можно идти to the shore (from Old English), the coast (from Latin), or the littoral (from Latin). Можно ссылаться to the sense of hearing (from Old English) or to the acoustic (from Greek), auditory (from Latin), aural (from Latin), or auricular (from Latin) sense. Можно сделать одежду from cloth (from Old English), fabric (from Latin), material (from Latin), or textiles (from Latin). Основанием для выбора одного из этих слов часто служит их стилистика: один может предпочесть более простое или более сложное слово; другой может предпочесть более формальные или менее формальные слова. Однако тот факт, что эти слова различаются денотацией делает их синонимами, и они доступны как заменители слов (имеется в виду то, что можно быть более точным, выразиться более красочно или избежать повторения).
Лайонс различает два вида синонимии: полная и абсолютная синонимия. Он говорит, что полные синонимы редки, а абсолютные синонимы вряд ли существуют. Если абсолютные синонимы вообще существуют, то только в особых ситуациях, таких, как научные термины (например, almonds и tonsils). Но что происходит, когда у нас есть две абсолютные синонимы, что специалисты или выступающие в целом, как правило, используют одно из двух синонимичных слов и согласитесь, что выбранное слово должно всегда использоваться для обозначения понятия, которое оно описывает.
Что касается абсолютных синонимов, то, в соответствии с Крузом, это слова, где все контекстуальные отношения идентичны. Грубо говоря, это означает, что во всех языковых контекстах эти два термина являются взаимозаменяемыми без разницы в значении. Круз предполагает тест как способ определения отсутствия абсолютных синонимов. Этот тест показывает, что одно из двух слов нормально в данном контексте, и другое менее нормально.
(1) He told me the match starts at 8.00 (+ normal)
(2) He told me the match commences at 8.00 (- normal)
Однако если мы добавим (3), и сравним его с (1), то трудно придать большую нормальность употребления одному или другому:
(3) He told me the match begins at 8.00
Круз исключает использование контекстов, где одно слово необычно по своим синтаксическим функциям; контекст должен обеспечивать равные условия для того, чтобы выяснить нормальность. Если бы это было так, то нужно было бы пройти долгий путь, чтобы найти два контекста, где begin и star tможно было бы рассматривать как неабсолютные синонимы. Кроме того Круз также исключает необходимость использования форм слова со «значением чувств».
(4) Arthur’s most recent car is an old one (+)
(5) Arthur’s most recent car is a former one (-)
(6) He had more responsibility in his old job
(7) He had more responsibility in his former job.
Тест нормальности Круза работает хорошо, если мы хотим показать на наименьшем количестве контекстов, что два слова не являются абсолютными синонимами. Труднее было бы показать, что два слова на самом деле абсолютные синонимы.
Палмер проводит различие между синонимами пятью способами. Во-первых, некоторые синонимы принадлежат к разным диалектам языка. Например, слово fall используется в Соединенных Штатах, а autumn в Великобритании. Во-вторых, некоторые синонимы используются в разных стилях в зависимости от степени формальности; разговорный, формальный. Например, gentleman (формальный), man, chap. В-третьих, некоторые слова отличаются только по своему эмоциональному или оценочному значению, но их когнитивный смысл тот же. Например, hide, conceal. В-четвертых, некоторые слова могут быть коллокационно ограниченны, то есть они сочетаются только с определенными словами. Например, rancid сочетается с butter, addled с eggs. В-пятых, значения некоторых слов перекрываются. Например, mature, adult, ripe. Если взять каждое из этих слов, мы будем иметь больший набор синонимов. Палмер предлагает тест на синонимию при замене одного слова другим. Поскольку абсолютные синонимы взаимозаменяемы во всех контекстах, то они очень редки в языке. Еще один способ тестирования синонимии — использование антонимы. Например, superficial является противоположностью deep и profound, в то время как shallow является противоположностью только deep.
Когда мы используем язык в целях коммуникации, мы приходим к восприятию его как инструмента, более или менее подходящего для наших целей.
Аннотация к статье «Synonymy in English»
Synonymy is a lexical relation that means sameness of meaning. Synonyms are similar, but not identical.
Lyons distinguishes between two kinds of synonymy, i.e. what he calls complete and absolute synonymy. He says that complete synonymy is rare, and absolute synonymy hardly exists. If absolute synonymy exists at all, it is merely in very special contexts such as scientific terms (e.g. almonds and tonsils).
What about absolute synonymy, that is, according to Cruse where all contextual relations between the two terms are identical. Roughly speaking this means that in all linguistic contexts, the two terms are interchangeable without any difference in meaning.
Palmer differentiates between synonyms in five ways. First, some synonyms belong to different dialects of the language. For instance, the word fall is used in the United States and autumn is used in Britain. Second, some synonyms are used in different styles according to the degree of formality; colloquial, formal. For instance, gentleman (formal), man, chap. Thirdly, some words differ only in their emotive or evaluative values but their cognitive meaning is the same. For instance, hide, conceal. Fourthly, some word are subject to collocational restraints, i.e. they occur only with specific words. For instance, rancid occurs with butter, addled with eggs. Fifthly, the meanings of some words overlap. For instance, mature, adult, ripe. If we take each of these words we will have a larger set of synonyms. Palmer suggests a test for synonymy by substituting one word for another. Because absolute synonyms are mutually interchangeable in all contexts, that is why absolute synonyms are very rare in language. Another way to test synonymy is using antonyms. For instance, superficial is the opposite of deep and profound, while shallow is the opposite of deep only.
Перевод
Синонимия в английском языке
Синонимия – это лексические отношения между словами, схожими по смыслу. Синонимы схожи, но не идентичны.
Лайонс различает два вида синонимии: полная и абсолютная синонимия. Он говорит, что полные синонимы редки, а абсолютные синонимы вряд ли существуют. Если абсолютные синонимы вообще существуют, то только в особых ситуациях, таких, как научные термины (например, almonds и tonsils).
Что касается абсолютных синонимов, то, в соответствии с Крузом, это слова, где все контекстуальные отношения идентичны. Грубо говоря, это означает, что во всех языковых контекстах эти два термина являются взаимозаменяемыми без разницы в значении.
Палмер проводит различие между синонимами пятью способами. Во-первых, некоторые синонимы принадлежат к разным диалектам языка. Например, слово fall используется в Соединенных Штатах, а autumn в Великобритании. Во-вторых, некоторые синонимы используются в разных стилях в зависимости от степени формальности; разговорный, формальный. Например, gentleman (формальный), man, chap. В-третьих, некоторые слова отличаются только по своему эмоциональному или оценочному значению, но их когнитивный смысл тот же. Например, hide, conceal. В-четвертых, некоторые слова могут быть коллокационно ограниченны, то есть они сочетаются только с определенными словами. Например, rancid сочетается с butter, addled с eggs. В-пятых, значения некоторых слов перекрываются. Например, mature, adult, ripe. Если взять каждое из этих слов, мы будем иметь больший набор синонимов. Палмер предлагает тест на синонимию при замене одного слова другим. Поскольку абсолютные синонимы взаимозаменяемы во всех контекстах, то они очень редки в языке. Еще один способ тестирования синонимии — использование антонимы. Например, superficial является противоположностью deep и profound, в то время как shallow является противоположностью только deep.
Bibliographical References
Cruse, D. A. (1986), Lexical Semantics, Cambridge University Press.
Carnap, R. (1956), Meaning and Necessity (Second edition) Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Lyons, J. (1981), Language and Linguistics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Palmer, F. R. (1981), Semantics, (Second edition) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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