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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>When reviewing the Owa (Solomon Islands)
Dictionary, the local editor found synonyms for a great many Owa words. These
synonyms were not 'identical in meaning and usage' but were 'very similar in
meaning'. The advantage of listing near synonyms is that it helps reveal the
conceptual framework, or conceptual domains, which the language is expressing.
For example, i</FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>f we find a dozen near
synonyms centred around the concept 'cut', that indicates that cutting is an
important concept in this language/culture. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>We find it helpful to be able to categorize some
words as synonyms, and others that we 'refer to' because the words refer to
the same domain. Listing synonyms and antonyms makes the dictionary more
useful, informative and interesting.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Even in everyday English, the word synonym has a
use for expressing the idea of close similarity of meaning. In that sense,
perhaps 'big' and 'large' are synonyms, even though they cannot be interchanged
in every instance.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Greg Mellow</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Owa Dictionary Project</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
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<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=Mike_Cahill@sil.org
href="mailto:Mike_Cahill@sil.org">Mike_Cahill@sil.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=lexicographylist@yahoogroups.com
href="mailto:lexicographylist@yahoogroups.com">lexicographylist@yahoogroups.com</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, April 13, 2005 4:54
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Lexicog] Synonymy</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT><BR></DIV><TT><BR>Wayne
wrote:<BR><BR> What kinds of experiences have
you all had when trying to elicit<BR>
synonyms<BR> from speakers of a
language?<BR><BR> Do you sometimes get a
response something like, "Oh, there is a<BR>
little<BR> difference between those words,"
confirming what many lexicographers<BR>
and<BR> semanticians has claimed, that there are
seldom true synonyms in a<BR>
language?<BR><BR>
Wayne<BR>
-----<BR> Wayne
Leman<BR> Cheyenne website: <A
href="http://www.geocities.com/cheyenne_language">http://www.geocities.com/cheyenne_language</A><BR><BR>I'd
think more likely would be "no, they are just the same." That's what
I<BR>might answer for English "own" and "possess", for example. But then
you<BR>start investigating their actual usage, and you find that they are
not<BR>completely substitutable for each other. Then the fun begins to find
out<BR>why.<BR><BR>Mike Cahill<BR><BR></TT>
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