词汇学

6.3 Synonymy,Designed by 427,Outline,Definition of Synonyms,Types of Synonyms,Sources of Synonyms,Discrimination of Synonyms,Synonymy,Synonymy is one of the characteristic features of the vocabulary of natural languages English as a highly developed language is known for its copious（丰富的，很多的）stock of synonyms. 同义关系是自然语言中词汇的特点之一。英语是相当发达的语言，也富含同义词。,Synonyms can be defined as wordsdifferent in sound and spelling but most nearly alike or exactly the same in meaning. Reasonable as it sounds,this definition is subject to disagreement. 同义词可以被定义为在发音和拼写上不同。但在意义上基本相似或完全相同。 Reasnable as it sounds, this definition is subject to disagressment. The focal point is what is meant by meaning.Meaning is a composite（合成物） consisting of different types.,Definition,Definition,If one chooses any group of synonyms and analyses them, one will find different shades of meaning.,For example: modes of ending,end,terminate,close,end finally,end gradually,更好的定义可以是“在英语语言里，两个或多个词有相同或非常相近的本质意义”。,Definition,A better definition might be one of two or more words in the English language which have the same or very nearly the same essential meaning.,In other words,synonyms share a likeness in denotation as well as part of speech,for a verb cannot have an adjective as its synonym. Simmilarly, an adverb cannot take a noun as its synonym.,end final (v. adj.) brother fraternall (n. adv.) ,Types of Synonyms,Absolute synonyms (complete synonyms) (绝对同义）,Relative synonyms (near-synonyms) （相对同义）,Types,Types,Absolute synonyms are words which are identical(完全相同的）in meaning in all its aspect, i.e. both in grammatical(符合语法规则的）meaning and lexical(词汇的）meaning including conceptual(概念上的）and associative meanings.(绝对同义词是指各个方面的意义均相同的词，及语法意义和词汇意义（包括概念意义和关联意义）都相同的词。）,Synonyms of this type are interchangeable（可互换的）in every way. Absolute synonyms , if any（如果有的话），are restricted to highly specialized vocabulary,such as: caecitis-typhlitis（盲肠炎） in medicine composition-compounding in lexicology.,Relative synonyms,also called by some people near-synonyms,are similar or nearly the same in denotation,but embrace（包含） different shades of meaning or different degrees of a given quality.（相对同义词又叫近似同义词，指词的指示意义基本相同或相似，但隐含意义或表达程度不同）,Example: change-alter-vary To change a thing is to put another thing in its place; To alter a thing is to make ti different from which it was before; To vary a thing is to alter it in different manner and at different times; A man change his habits, alters his conduct,and varies his manner of speaking.,Modern English is extremely rich in synonyms,which come from different sources.The most important is perhaps borrowing.As a result of borrowing,words of native origin form many couplets(双词模式）and triplets(三词模式）with those from other languages. e.g. Native Foreign room chamber foe enemy begin commence help aid,3.Sources of synonyms,1)Borrowing,Within the native element,words are also found to express similar meanings such as fast-speedy-swift,handsome-pretty-lovely.,2)Dialects and regional English(地域性语言和方言） railway(BrE) railroad(AmE),3)Figurative and euphemistic use of word (词的比喻和委婉用法） occupation(profession) walk of life(fig),4)Coincidence with idiomatic expressions (单词与习惯表达在意义上的隔阂） win gain the upper hand,4.Discrimination,Generally speaking, there is no difference between absolute synonyms, but relative synonyms always differ in one way or another.,We can discriminate relative synonyms from four aspects,1.Difference in Range and Intensity of Meanin 语义范围与强度的不同 Synonyms concey a similar concept but there are shades of meaning between them,for example, some words have a wider range of meaning than others.There are two pictures can illustrate the relationship between such kind of synonyms.,aid,help,understand,comprehend,Another illustrative example is the synonymous group of extend,increase,expand, which share a general sense of enlargement but have conceptual differences. extend increase expand 延伸，扩大 增加 扩张,Synonyms may differ in degree of intensity.,examples: rich wealthy want wish desire big large huge suprise amaze astound,2. Difference in Stylistic Features 文体方面不同,There are some relative synonyms which share the same denotation(意义相同)，but differ in their stylistic appropriateness(文体方面不同).,begin commenceanswer respondwood foresttime age epoch,【native】 【French】 【Latin】,Formal:, Borrowed words:, Group words:,policeman constable bobby cop,Br. English & Am. English,Br. English,stylistically neutral,colloquial(通俗的，白话的) used only in Br. English,slangy(俚语的),Example :“警察”, Archaic and poetic terms,can be found in poety, earlier writings or perhaps in legal documents, Idiomatic expressionsVS.their single word counterparts,【less formal】,【more formal】,惯用表达 它们的单个单词表达,3. Difference in Emotive Colouring 感情色彩不同,resultconsequence,( affectively neutral ),good / bad result,( always has a negative implication ),littlesmalltiny,Look at that little / small / tiny boy.,( attractively and pleasantly small ),( an appreciative term; neutral; not big),( extremely small; implying the abnormal growth of the child ),Example 1,Example 2,4. Difference in Application 应用不同,Many words are synonymous in meaning(意思相近)but dif