To select-to choose, clothing-clothes-garments-vestments.

All synonyms are characterized by sem. relations of equivalents or by sem. relations of proximity.

Synonyms may be found in different parts of speech and both among notional and function words. For example: though and albeit, on and upon, since and as are synonymous because these phonemically different words are similar in their denotational meaning.

Synonyms are traditionally described as words different in sound-form but identical or similar in meaning. It’s inconceivable that polysemantic words could be synonymous in all their meanings. So, the number of synonymic sets of a polysemantic word tends, as a rule, to be equal to the number of individual meanings the word possesses. (to look-to see, watch, observe).

Differentiation of synonyms may be observed in different semantic components- denotational and connotational.

It should be noted that the difference in denotational meaning cannot exceed certain limits, and is always combined with some common denotational component. The verbs look, seem, appear… are viewed as members of one synonimic set as all three of them possess a common denotational semantic component ‘to be in one’s view, or judgement, but not necessarily in fact’ and come into comparison in this meaning.

It follows that relationship of synonymity implies certain differences in the denotational meaning of synonyms. In this connection a few words should be said about the traditional classification of synonyms into ideographic and stylistic synonyms.

This classification proceeds from the assumption that synonyms may differ either in the denotational meaning(ideographic synonyms) or the connotational meaning, or to be more exact stylistic reference. In the synonymous verbs seem, appear, look the stylistic reference may be regarded as identical though we observe some difference in their denotational component. Difference in the denotational semantic component is also found in synonymous words possessing different connotational components. ( to see- to behold are usually treated as stylistic synonyms; see is stylistically neutral and behold is described as bookish or poetic.) though the 2 verbs have a common denotational component “to take cognizance of something by physical or mental vision”, there is a marked difference in their comparable meanings. The verb behold suggests only “looking at that which is seen”, the verb see denotes “have or use power of sight”, “understand”, “have knowledge or experience of” and others.

Difference of the connotational semantic component is invariable accompanied by some difference of the denotational meaning of synonyms. Therefore, we can draw some conclusions: synonyms are subdivided into full synonyms (spirant- fricative), ideographic(denotational) - these synonyms are the most common, frequent synonyms in the language system. ( to stay- to remain; to swim- to float), stylistic synonyms (to begin- to commence- to initiate).

Synonymy is the coincidence in the essential meaning of words which usually preserve their differences in connotations and stylistic characteristics.

Synonyms are two or more words belonging to the same part of speech and possessing one or more identical or nearly identical denotational meanings, interchangeable in some contexts. These words are distinguished by different shades of meaning, connotations and stylistic features.

The synonymic dominant is the most general term potentially containing the specific features rendered by all the other members of the group. The words face, visage, countenance have a common denotational meaning " the front of the head" which makes them close synonyms. Face is the dominant, the most general word; countenance is the same part of the head with the reference to the expression it bears; visage is a formal word, chiefly literary, for face or countenance.

In the series leave, depart, quit, retire, clear out the verb leave, being general and most neutral term can stand for each of the other four terms.

One must bear in mind that the majority of frequent words are polysemantic and it is precisely the frequent words that have many synonyms. The result is that a polysemantic word may belong in its various meanings to several different synonymic groups. Kharitonchic Z. gives the example of 9 synonymic groups the word part enters as the result of a very wide polysemy:

1) piece, parcel, section, segment, fragment, etc; 2) member, organ, constituent, element, component, etc; 3) share, portion, lot; 4) concern, interest, participation; 5) allotment, lot, dividend, apportionment; 6) business, charge, duty, office, function, work; 7) side, party, interest, concern, faction; 8) character, role, cue, lines; 9) portion, passage, clause, paragraph. The semantic structures of two polysemantic words sometimes coincide in more than one meaning, but never completely. L. Bloomfield and E. Nida suppose even that there are no actual synonyms, i.e. forms which have identical meanings.

In a great number of cases the semantic difference between two or more synonyms is supported by the difference in valency. An example of this is offered by the verbs win and gain Both may be used in combination with the noun victory: to win a victory, to gain a victory. But with the word war only win is possible: to win a war.

Criteria of synonymity is interchangeability. It should be pointed out that neither the traditional definition of synonyms nor the new version provide for any objective criterion of similarity of meaning. It is solely based on the linguistic intuition of the analyst.

Recently there has been introduced into the definition of synonymity the criterion of interchangeability in linguistic contexts that is synonyms are supposed to be words which can replace each other in a given context without the slightest alteration either in the denotational or connotational meaning.

But this is possible only in some contexts, in others their meanings may not coincide, e.g. the comparison of the sentences " the rainfall in April was abnormal" and " the rainfall in April was exceptional" may give us grounds for assuming that exceptional and abnormal are synonyms. The same adjectives in a different context are by no means synonymous, as we may see by comparing " my son is exceptional" and " my son is abnormal" (B. Quirk, the Use of English, London 1962, p. 129)

Peace and tranquillity are ordinarily listed as synonyms, but they are far from being identical in meaning. One may speak of a peace conference, but not tranquillity conference. (E.Nida, The Descriptive analysis of words).

Classification of Synonyms

According to whether the difference is in denotational or connotational component synonyms are classified into ideographic and stylistic. Ideographic synonyms denote different shades of meaning or different degrees of a given quality. They are nearly identical in one or more denotational meanings and interchangeable at least in some contexts, e.g. beautiful - fine - handsome -pretty Beautiful conveys, for instance, the strongest meaning; it marks the possession of that quality in its fullest extent, while the other terms denote the possession of it in part only. Fineness, handsomeness and prettiness are to beauty as parts to a whole.

In the synonymic group choose, select, opt, elect, pick the word choose has the most general meaning, the others are characterised by differences clearly statable: select implies a wide choice of possibilities (select a Christmas present for a child), opt implies an alternative (either this, or that as in Fewer students are opting for science courses nowadays); pick often implies collecting and keeping for future use (pick new words), elect implies choosing by vote (elect a president; elect smb (to be) chairman).

Stylistic synonyms differ not so much in denotational as in emotive value or stylistic sphere of application.

Pictorial language often uses poetic words, archaisms as stylistic alternatives of neutral words, e.g. maid for girl, bliss for happiness, steed for horse, quit for leave.

Calling and vocation in the synonymic group occupation, calling, vocation, business are high-flown as compared to occupation and business.

In many cases a stylistic synonym has an element of elevation in its meaning, e.g. face - visage, girl - maiden.

Along with elevation of meaning there is the reverse process of degradation: to begin - to fire away, to eat - to devour, to steal - to pinch, face - muzzle. According to the criterion of interchangeability in context synonyms are classified into total, relative and contextual.

Total synonyms are those members of a synonymic group which can replace each other in any given context, without the slightest alteration in denotative meaning or emotional meaning and connotations. They are very rare. Examples can be found mostly in special literature among technical terms and others, e.g. fatherland - motherland, suslik - gopher, noun - substantive, functional affix -flection, inflection, scarlet fever - scarlatina Relative Synonyms

Some authors class groups like ask - beg - implore, or like - love - adore, gift -talent - genius, famous - celebrated- eminent as relative synonyms, as they denote different degree of the same notion or different shades of meanings and can be substituted only in some contexts.

Contextual or context - dependent synonyms are similar in meaning only under some specific distributional conditions. It may happen that the difference between the meanings of two words is contextually neutralised, E.g. buy and get would not generally be taken as synonymous, but they are synonyms in the following examples: I'll go to the shop and buy some bread.

I'll go tothe shop and get some bread.

The verbs bear, suffer, stand are semantically different and not interchangeable except when used in the negative form: I can't stand it, I can't bear it.

One of the sources of synonymy is borrowing. Synonymy has its characteristic patterns in each language. Its peculiar feature in English is the contrast between simple native words stylistically neutral, literary words borrowed from French and learned words of Greco-Latin origin.

Native English (to ask to end to rise teaching belly)

French Borrowings (to question to finish to mount guidance stomach)

Latin borrowings (to interrogate to complete to ascend instruction abdomen)

There are also words that came from dialects, in the last hundred years, from American English, in particular, e.g. long distance call AE - trunk call BE, radio AE - wireless BE.

Synonyms are also created by means of all word - forming processes productive In the language.

Synonymic differentiation

It must be noted that synonyms may influence each other semantically in two diametrically opposite ways: one of them is dissimilation or differentiation, the other - the reverse process, i.e. assimilation.

Many words now marked in the dictionaries as " archaic" or " obsolete" have dropped out of the language in the competition of synonyms, others survived with a meaning more or less different from the original one. This process is called synonymic differentiation and is so current that is regarded as an inherent law of language development.

The development of the synonymic group land has been studied by A.A. Ufimtseva. When in the 13 century soil was borrowed from French into English its meaning was " a strip of land".

OE synonyms eorpe, land, folde ment " the upper layer of earth in which plants grow".

Now, if two words coincide in meaning and use, the tendency is for one of them to drop out of the language.

Folde became identical to eorpe and in the fight for survival the letter won. The polysemantic word land underwent an intense semantic development in a different direction and so dropped out of this synonymic series.

It was natural for soil to fill this lexical gap and become the main name for the notion " the mould in which plants grow". The noun earth retained this meaning throughout its history whereas the word ground, in which this meaning was formerly absent, developed it. As a result this synonymic group comprises at present soil, earth, ground.

The assimilation of synonyms consists in parallel development. This law was discovered and described by G. Stern,, H.A. Treble and G.H. Vallins in their book " An ABC of English Usage", Oxford, 1957, p. 173 give as examples the pejorative meanings acquired by the nouns wench, knave and churl which originally ment " girl", " boy", and " labourer" respectively, and point out that this loss of old dignity became linguistically possible because there were so many synonymous words of similar meaning. As the result all the three words underwent degradation in their meanings:

wench - indecent girl knave - rascal churl - country man.

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