Student's name: Nguyen Hong Xuyen (7063046)

Tran Thi Thuy Linh (7063020)

SYNONYM

I. Definition:

Synonym is a relation in which various words have different (written and sound) forms but have the same or nearly the same meaning.

A synonym is a word that has a similar meaning to another word. In other word, it shares meanings.

Ex:

Do - make

• I wish you wouldn't________ so much noise.

• Have you _______your English exam?

Ex:

Hide and conceal are synonyms.

Both mean keep somebody/ something from being seen or known about.

Kind, type, sort and variety are synonyms.

They all refer to a group having similar characteristics.

II. Kinds Of Synonym:

1. True Synonym:

There are few synonyms in the lexicon of a language reflects the general tendency of language users to make most of what is available to them. If two terms have the same referent, the meaning of one of them is usually modified to express differences in referential, social or affective meaning.

• Movie, film, flick may be considered as synonyms because they all refer to the same set of referents in the real world.

They have the same denotative meanings. However, these lexical items differ in their connotative meanings:

- Movie : may strike you as American

- Film: may strike you as British or as appropriate for movie classics or art movies.

- Flick: is used chiefly in very informal contexts.

 Movie, film, flick are not true synonyms.

Fast, quick, rapid may be considered as synonyms because they may be used interchangeably in reference to someone's running speed.

Ex:

He is a fast/ quick/ rapid runner.

However,

A fast talker: one who is able to get out of trouble by talking cleverly.

A quick talker: one who usually talk in rapid manner.

We can say:

Some people may lead their lives in the fast lane, not in the rapid lane or in the quick lane.

Ex:

He has a quick mind, not a rapid mind or a fast mind.

 Rapid is usually term when reference is made to a person's strike, especially metaphorical strikes.

Ex:

He has made rapid strikes in his math this term.

Although true synonym is rare, the notion is useful because it helps describe similarities between the meanings of different terms in the lexicon (Finnegan, 1994).

2. Partial synonym:

Partial synonym is a relation in which a polysemous word shares one of its meanings with another word.

Ex:

You have my deep sympathy.

You have my profound sympathy.

In this example, one meaning of deep is synonymous with profound. In other word, deep and profound can be used interchangeably in that.

But with:

The river is very deep at this point.

The river is very profound at this point.

No such interchange can be found in this example.

Partial synonym lead to collocations:

-a bunch of keys

-a herd of sheep

-a school of ants

-a group of teachers

II. Features of synonym:

• Some sets of synonyms belong to different dialects of the language.

Ex:

Fall - United States

Autumn - some Western countries of Britain

• There is a similar situation, but a more ambiguous one with the words that are used in different styles.

• Synonyms differ in degree of formality.

Ex:

Gentleman (formal)

Chap (informal)

Man (an adult male human being)

• Some words differ in their emotive evaluative meanings.

Ex:

Politician and statesman

(The function of words in language is to influence attitudes.)

• Word may have different emotive meaning in different societies.

Ex:

Liberal is a good word in Great Britain, but it is a bad word in South Africa and in some political circles in the United States.

• It is obviously the case that many words are close meaning.

Ex:

Possible synonyms of govern: direct, control, determine, require.

We look for the synonyms for each of these word, we will have a further set for each and get further and further away from the meaning of original word.

In sum, X is a synonym for Y does not mean that Y is necessarily a synonym for X.

Ex:

Murder is a synonym of kill, but kill is not a synonym for murder.

III. Origins

History of English language etymology as a result of large-scale borrows over long periods of its development. The English vocabulary has been extremely rich and heterogeneous.

While a great number of borrowed words describe new ideas and activities, many of them duplicate pre-existing native words. Therefore, a great number of synonyms appear in the English vocabulary.

During the period of French rule after 1066, a state of two languages are used in the South of England, but applied to two discrete functions. French was used for matters of church and state, whereas English was used by the common people for personal and family discourse.

Terms which were originally French currently co-exist with their Anglo-Saxon equivalents.

Ex:

Chauffeur - driver

Tour - trip

This is because of the history of French dominance over the English as a result of the Norman Conquest.

Ex:

Pavement - sidewalk

Car - automobile

The Anglo - Saxon words are often considered to be "native" while those from French, Latin and Greek are "Foreign", borrowed from these languages.

Ex:

Buy and purchase

World and universe

Kingly (native); royal (French) ; regal(Latin)

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