Synonymy. Problems of classification of synonyms (criteria, types of classification)

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.

English vocabulary as a system. Hyponymy. Hyperonymy. The theory of semantic field.

Synonymy and euphemisms.

Synonymy is one of the modern linguistics’ most controversial problems. The duality of synonyms is their most confusing feature. They are somewhat the same and yet they are obviously different. Their function in speech is revealing different aspects, shades and variations of the same phenomenon.

Synonyms are words of the same category of part of speech conveying the same concept, but different either in shades of meaning or in stylistic characteristics.

The only existing classification system for synonyms was established by Academician V.V.Vinogradov. In his classification there are 3 types of synonyms: 1. ideographic; 2. stylistic; 3. absolute.

Ideographic are words conveying the same concept, but different in the shades of meaning.

Stylistic are words different in stylistic characteristics.

Absolute once coincide in all their shades of meaning and in all their stylistic characteristics.

A more modern approach to the classification of synonyms may be based on the definition of synonyms as words differing in connotations:

1. the connotation of degree or intensity.

Can be traced in such groups of synonyms as:

To surprise- to astonish – to amaze – to astound

To like – to admire – to love – to adore – to worship

2. the connotation of duration.

Can be traced in such groups of synonyms as:

To stare – to glare – to gaze – to glance – to peep – to peer

3. the emotive connotation.

e.g. alone – single – lonely – solitary

4. the evaluative connotation conveys the speaker’s attitude labeling it as good or bad:

e.g. well-known – famous – notorious –celebrated

5. the causative connotation:

e.g. to sparkle (сиять(глаза) положительные эмоции) – to glitter (блестят, но эмоции отрицательные)

to shiver (with cold, from a chill, because of a frost) – to shudder (with fear).

6. the connotation of manner:

e.g. to stroll – to stride – to trot – to pace – to swagger – to stagger. All these synonyms denote different ways and types of walking encoded in their semantic structure: the length of space, tempo, gait, carriage, purposefulness or lack of purpose.

7. the connotation of attendant circumstances.

To peep smb. – through a hole, from behind a screen, a half-closed door, a newspaper, a fan, a curtain.

8. the connotation of attendant features.

e.g. pretty – handsome – beautiful.

9. stylistic connotation.

e.g. to leave – to be off – to clear out(col.) – to beat it – to hoof it – to take the air (col.) – to depart – to retire – to withdraw (formal).

All or at least most synonymic groups have a central word whose meaning is equal denotation common to all the synonymic groups. This word is called the dominant synonym.

e.g. to produce – to create – to fabricate –to make – to manufacture.

The following characteristic features of the dominant synonym can be underlined:

1. high-frequency of usage; 2. broad combinability (ability to be used in combination with various classes of words); 3. broad general meaning; 4. lack of connotation.

Euphemisms. There are words in every language which people instinctively avoid because they are considered indecent, indelicate, rude, direct or impolite. They are often described in a round – about way by using substitutes, called euphemisms.

e.g. lavatory – powder-room, washroom, restroom, retiring-room, (public) comfort station, lady’s (room), gentlemen’s (room), water-closed, W.C., public conveniences, toilet, wind-sort castle.

The love or affection which displays itself in the excessive use of euphemisms has never been a sign of good taste. Fiction writers have often reduced pretentious people for their attempts to express themselves in too delicate and refined way.

Euphemism may be used due to genuine concern not to hurt someone’s feelings (a stupid person can be said to be not exactly brilliant).

Euphemisms are used to avoid the so-called social taboos. Superstitious taboos have their roots in the distant past of mankind, when people believed there was a supernatural link between a name and the object or creature it represented (devil – the Prince of Darkness, the Black One, the evil one, dickens(col.), dince(col.), (Old) Nick(col.)).

People are not superstitious nowadays and yet they are reluctant to use the verb “to die” which has a long chain of both solemn and humorous substitutes: to pass a way, to be taken, to breathe one’s last, to depart this life, to close one’s eyes, to yield (give) up the ghost, to go the way off all flash, to kick off(slang), to check out(slang), to keep the basket(slang)).