[Lexicog] Law of Synonyms

[Wayne Leman]

Fritz, I don't believe in synonyms, either, as you state the issue. But 
people still have an intuitive sense that many words basically mean the 
"same thing", for all (or most) practical purposes. So we linguists need to 
be aware of the lay understanding of synonyms and we can analyze meaning 
components shared by what a majority of people consider synonyms.

So, even though I agree that there are probably no two words which are 
exactly the same connotationally, I still believe there is value in creating 
synonym dictionaries. They can help speakers of a language write/speak more 
precisely, when they think of one word, but suspect that there is a 
"synonym" that doesn't have connotation issues that the first word might 
have.

Wayne Leman

P.S. I say "memory stick" more often than "flash drive" or "thumb drive", 
but I have noticed that some people respond to me by asking if I mean a 
"thumb drive." And some don't know "thumb drive" but do know "flash drive" 
or "memory stick." So the terms are battling to see which will win, if any 
of them.

-----

Is there a law of synonyms? I don't believe in synonyms. No two words are 
exactly "synonymous" from the point of view of connotation.
Concerning your example from the computer domain, let me mention another 
example, given to me by a computer specialist. Who speaks of 'jump drive' or 
'pen drive' any more? It's probably between 'flash drive' and 'thumb drive' 
nowadays. And who knows what will come up next.
When two or more expressions come up at about the same time and compete, 
'brevity (punch)' is one factor IMO that makes the winner.

Brevity is the soul of wit (Shakespeare, Hamlet 2, 86-92),
Fritz Goerling


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