[Lexicog] Re: Synonymy

[Greg and Heather Mellow]

I think you have a good point Rudy. Perhaps languages create, borrow and retain words that have the same referent, (loosely called synonyms) precisely in order to express different register, speaker attitude, connotation, tenor and the like.

Lou Hohulin's use of hyponyms to refer to words that have the same referent but different manner, instrument, object or result, seems very useful for understanding the kind of similarity of these words.

Presumably, some words pairs of words vary in both categories. So, for example we would expect to find some pairs of words that vary in register (loosely synonymous) and also in manner or degree (hyponomous), but still retaining the same referent. For example, in my understanding, 'to cut an artery' uses commonplace register and the artery may not be cut right through, but 'to sever an artery' uses a technical register and suggests the artery is completely cut through. 

Greg Mellow,
Owa Dictionary Project


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Rudolph C Troike 
  To: lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Friday, April 15, 2005 2:32 PM
  Subject: [Lexicog] Re: Synonymy



  I was interested in Greg Mellow's mention of 'big' and 'large'. Like Greg,
  I would consider them synonyms, but in the past several years I've had
  occasion to note the use of 'big' in papers by non-native English speaking
  grad students, and have somewhat compulsively felt the need to change it
  to 'large', as 'big' seems stylistically inappropriate for formal writing.

  Rudy Troike
  U of Arizona




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