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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>Mike Maxwell wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>“</span></font>I'm feeling crochety
tonight.<font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial;color:blue'>”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>Bill Poser wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>“</span></font>This is a little too
strong, I think.<font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial;color:blue'>”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>I’m just feeling tired tonight and
don’t want to fight. My definition was not of ‘synonym’ but
of ‘exact synonym’. Both Mike and Bill are correct that we commonly
use ‘synonym’ to refer to pairs of words that are similar in
meaning, irrespective of usage. If we leave off ‘usage’, then we
can look at how similar the two words are in meaning and reference (cf. Bill’s
“truth conditions”). Unfortunately many semanticists debate whether
we can leave off usage. If there is no clear dividing line between semantics
and pragmatics, then we are right back at my original definition of ‘exact
synonym’. Only now it applies equally to ‘exact synonym’ and ‘synonym’.
I’m quite happy to let ‘synonym’ refer to words that are
similar in meaning. But I am quite unhappy to separate semantics and
pragmatics. Instead I see the two as faces of the same coin. At least I would
say they are inextricably linked with no clear dividing line between them.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>Ken McElhanon has pointed out that there
is only one very small physical difference between a ‘fiddle’ and a
‘violin’. Essentially they are the same instrument. But you can
hardly use them interchangeably. “Tonight the London Philharmonic
Orchestra will perform several fiddle concertos.” I don’t think
that trying to make a distinction between semantics and pragmatics even begins
to touch on why ‘fiddle’ is wrong in this sentence. Words are used
in settings and those settings are just as much a part of a word’s “meaning”
as a description of their truth conditions. Fiddles and violins are human
artifacts. All human artifacts have to be defined in terms of their physical
attributes (shape, material composition) and usage (purpose, setting). This
seems to me to be a useful analogy to words—they have to be defined in
terms of their meaning and usage.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>Ron Moe<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
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face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>
<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center tabindex=-1>
</span></font></div>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'> <st1:PersonName
w:st="on">lexicographylist@yahoogroups.com</st1:PersonName> [mailto:<st1:PersonName
w:st="on">lexicographylist@yahoogroups.com</st1:PersonName>] <b><span
style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b>Mike Maxwell<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Wednesday, October 15, 2008
11:13 PM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> <st1:PersonName w:st="on">lexicographylist@yahoogroups.com</st1:PersonName><br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Re: [Lexicog] Law of
Synonyms</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>I'm
feeling crochety tonight.<br>
<br>
Ronald Moe wrote:<br>
> I believe the correct claim concerning 'synonyms' is that there are <br>
> no exact synonyms. For two words to be exact synonyms they would have<br>
> to be interchangeable in any and all contexts with no change in <br>
> meaning or any other aspect of usage.<br>
<br>
Well, that's one definition of 'synonym'; I prefer another, which leaves<br>
off the "or any other aspect of usage."<br>
<br>
> Concerning 'laptop' and 'notebook', IBM does not sell 'laptops'.<br>
<br>
Ah, but I owned an IBM laptop once. Maybe IBM doesn't call it that, but<br>
I did, and so did (and probably do) lots of other people, regardless of<br>
the way IBM might prefer the world to be. Just like I went and xeroxed <br>
some receipts yesterday.<br>
<br>
> I shudder to think how I would clearly and concisely state the<br>
> difference between 'laptop' and 'notebook'.<br>
<br>
I think the point is that there is no difference--<wbr>in meaning.<br>
-- <br>
Mike Maxwell <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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