Synonyms in English language

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Introductory

In the course of its long history the English language has adopted a great many words from foreign languages all over a world. One of the consequences of extensive borrowings was the appearance of numerous derivational affixes in the English language. Under certain circumstances some of them came to overlap semantically to a certain extent both with one another and with the native affixes.

Synonyms (Gr. Synonymous - «of like meaning,» syn. - with onyma - name).

We shall now submit to consideration words alike in meaning though entirely different in shape, which we generally call synonyms. Synonyms are usually defined as words different in form but denoting different shades of a common meaning. Every group of synonyms represents a certain unity for they denote one concept characterising it from different sides. Synonyms may express various peculiarities of that concept, they may express subtle shades of emotional colouring or modal meaning.

English is very rich in synonyms. An elementary dictionary of synonyms which is not at all exhaustive, contains over 8000 synonyms. Various reasons account for that. Borrowings from various languages account for a great number of cases, for one thing. [8, c. 67]

And now we can proceed to definition: a synonym - is a word of similar or identical meaning to one or more words in the same language. All languages contain synonyms but in English they exist in superabundance. They're no two absolutely identical words because connotations, ways of usage, frequency of an occurrence are different. Senses of synonyms are identical in respect of central semantic trades but differ in respect of minor semantic trades. [4]

In OE there were already cases of thirty and more words to denote one and the same object (hero, sea, battle, etc). Old English poetry made use of a great number of synonyms used to make the description more vivid and flowery, e. g. battle: cumbol - gehnsest.

In Modern English a great number of synonyms serve to differentiate the meanings of words, their colloquial or bookish character. Most of bookish synonyms are of foreign origin, while popular and colloquial words are mostly native. Many native synonyms were either restricted in meaning or ousted altogether by foreign terms.

The existence of numerous groups of native and foreign synonyms is one of the characteristic features of English.

It is a matter of common observation that in every group of native and borrowed synonyms the native word is generally more emotional, warm, popular while the French word is often more formal, more polite, less emotional. Synonyms Germanic in origin are mostly concrete in their meaning while Romanic synonyms have generally abstract and transferred meanings. [8, c. 68]

1. Sources of Synonymy

The distinction between synchronic and diachronic treatment is so fundamental that it cannot be overemphasized, but the two aspects are interdependent and cannot be understood without one another. It is therefore essential after the descriptive analysis of synonymy in present - day English to take up the historical line of approach and discuss the origin of synonyms and the causes of their abundance in English.

The majority of those who studied synonymy in the past have been cultivating both lines of approach without keeping them scrupulously apart, and _ican_d their attention on the prominent part of foreign loan words in English synonymy, e.g. freedom: liberty or heaven: sky, where the first elements are native and the second, French and Scandinavian respectively. O. Jespersen and many others used to stress that the English language is peculiarly rich in synonyms because Britons, Romans, Saxons, Danes and Normans fighting and settling upon the soil of the British Isles could not but influence each other's speech. British scholars studied Greek and Latin and for centuries used Latin as a medium for communication on scholarly topics. [2, c. 177]

Synonymy has its characteristic patterns in each language. Its peculiar feature in English is the contrast between simple native words stylistically neutral, literary words borrowed from French and learned words of Greco-Latin origin. This results in a sort of stylistically conditioned triple «keyboard» that can be illustrated by the following:

English also uses many pairs of synonymous derivatives, the one Hellenic and the other Romance, e.g.: periphery: circumference: hypothesis: supposition; sympathy: compassion; synthesis: composition

The pattern of stylistic relationship represented in the above table, although typical, is by no means universal. For example, the native words dale, deed, fair are the poetic equivalents of their much more frequent borrowed synonyms valley, act or the hybrid beautiful. [3]

This subject of stylistic differentiation has been one of much controversy in recent years. It is universally accepted, however, that semantic and stylistic properties may change and synonyms which at one time formed a stylistic opposition only, may in the course of time become ideographically cognitively contrasted as well, and vice versa.

The important thing to remember is that it is not only borrowings from foreign languages but other sources as well that have made increasing contributions to the stock of English synonyms. There are for instance words that come from dialects, and, in the last hundred years, from American English in particular. As a result speakers of British English may make use of both elements of the following pairs, the first element in each pair coming from the USA: gimmick: trick, dues: subscription, long distance (telephone) call: trunk call, radio: wireless. There are also synonyms that originate in numerous other dialects as, for instance, girl: lass, lassie or charm: glamour (from Scottish).

The role of borrowings should not be overestimated. Synonyms are also created by means of all word-forming processes productive in the language at a given time of its history. The words already existing in the language develop new meanings. New words may be formed by affixation or loss of affixes, conversion, compounding, shortening and so on, and being coined, form synonyms to those already in use.

Of special importance for those who are interested in the present-day trends and characteristic peculiarities of the English vocabulary are the synonymic oppositions due to shift of meaning, new combinations of verbs with postpositives and compound nouns formed from them, shortenings, set expressions and conversion. [2, c. 187]

2. Problem of classification of synonyms

The only existing classification system for synonyms was established by Academician V.V Vinogradov, the famous Russian scholar. In his classification system there are three types of synonyms: ideographic (which he defined as words conveying the same concept but differing in shades of meaning), stylistic (differing in stylistic characteristics) and absolute (coinciding in all their shades of meaning and in all their stylistic characteristics).

However, the following aspects of his classification system are open to question.

Firstly, absolute synonymy are rare in the vocabulary and, on the diachronic level, the phenomenon of absolute synonymy is anomalous and consequently temporary: the vocabulary system invariably tends to abolish it either by rejecting one of the absolute synonyms or by developing differentiation characteristics in one or both (or all) of them. Therefore, it does not seem necessary to include absolute synonyms, which are a temporary exception, in the system of classification.

There seems to be right no rigid demarcation line between synonyms differing in their shades of meaning and in stylistic characteristics. There are numerous synonyms which are distinguished by both shades of meaning and stylistic colouring. Therefore, even the subdivision of synonyms into ideographic and stylistic is open question. [6, c. 191]

According to the criterion of interchangeability in context synonyms are classified into total, relative and contextual.

Total synonyms are those members of synonymic group which can replace each other in any given context, without the slightest alteration in denoting meaning or emotional meaning and connotation. They are very rare. Examples can be found mostly in special literature among technical terms and others:

Fatherland - motherland;

Suslik - gopher;

Noun - substantive;

Functional affix - flection, inflection;

Scarlet fever - scarlatina.

Some authors class groups like ask - beg - implore, or like - love - adore, gift - talent - genius, famous - celebrate - eminent as relative synonyms, as they denote different degree of the same notion or different degree of the same notion or different shades of meanings and can be substituted only in some contexts.

Contextual or context-dependent synonyms are similar in meaning only under some specific distributional conditions. It may happen that the difference between the meaning of two words is contextually neutralized, e.g buy and get would not generally be taken as synonymous, but they are synonyms in the following examples: I'll go to the shop and buy some bread. [6. c. 192]

I'll go to the shop and get some bread.

The verbs bear, suffer, stand are semantically different and not interchangeable except when used in the negative form: I can't stand it, I can't bear it.

A more modern and a more effective approach to the classification of synonyms may be based on the definition describing synonyms as words differing in connotations. It seems convenient to classify connotations by which synonyms differ rather than synonyms themselves. It opens up possibilities for tracing much subtler distinctive features within their semantic structures. [6, c. 193].

I. The connotation of degree or intensity can be traced in such groups of synonyms as

To surprise - to astonish - to amaze - to astound;

To satisfy - to please - to content - to gratify - to delight - to exalt;

To shout - to yell - to bellow - to roar;

To like - to admire - to love - to adore - to worship.

Some words have two and even more connotative components in their semantic structures. In the above list the synonymic groups headed by to satisfy and to like contain words which can be differentiated not only by the connotation of intensity but also by the connotation of manner. Each of them describes a feeling of a different type, and not only of different intensity.

II. In the group of synonyms to stare - to glare - to gaze - to glance - to peep - to peer all the synonyms except to glance denote a lasting act of looking at somebody or something, whereas to glance describes a brief, passing look. These synonyms may be said to have a connotation of duration in their semantic structure.

Other examples are: to flash (brief) - to blaze (lasting); to shudder (brief) - to shiver (lasting); to say (brief) - to speak, to talk (lasting).

All these synonyms to share - to glare - to gaze are differentiated from the other words of the group by emotive connotations, and from each other by the nature of the emotion they imply.

In the group alone - single - lonely - solitary, the adjective lonely also has an emotive connotation.

She was alone implies simply the absence of company, she was lonely stressed the feeling of melancholy and desolation resulting from being alone. A single tree on the plain states plainly that there is only one tree, not two or more. A lonely tree on the plain gives essentially the same information, that there was one tree and no more, but also creates an emotionally coloured pictures.

In the group to tremble - to shiver - to shudder - to shake, the verb to shudder is frequently associated with the emotion of fear, horror or disgust and therefore can be said to have an emotive connotation in addition to the two others.

One should be warned against confusing words with emotive connotations and words with emotive denotative meaning e.g to love - to admire - to adore - worshiping; angry - furious - enraged; fearing - terror - horror.

In the latter, emotion is expressed by the leading semantic component whereas in the former it is an accompanying, subsidiary characteristic.

IV. The evaluative connotation conveys the speaker's attitude towards the referent, labeling it as good or bad. So in the group well-known - famous - notorious - celebrated, the adjective notorious bears a negative evaluative connotation and celebrated a positive one.

In the group to produce - to create - to manufacture - to fabricate, the verb to create characterizes the process as inspired and noble. To manufacture means «to produce in a mechanical way without inspiration originality». So, to create can be said to have a positive evaluative connotation, and to manufacture a negative one.

V. The causative connotation can be illustrated by the examples to sparkle and to glitter: one's eyes sparkle with positive emotions and glitter with negative emotions. However, this connotation of to sparkle and to glitter seems to appear only in the model Eyes + Sparkle/ Glitter.

The causative connotation is also typical of the verbs to shiver and to shudder, in whose semantic structures the cause of the act or process of trembling is encoded: to shiver with cold, from a chill, because of the frost, to shudder with fear, horror etc.

To blush and to redden represent similar cases: people mostly blush from modesty, shame or embarrassment, but usually redden from anger or indignation. Emotive connotation can be easily be traced in both these verbs.

VI. The connotation of manner can be singled out in some groups of verbal synonyms. The verbs to stroll - to stride - to trot - to pace - to swagger - to stagger - to stumble all denote different ways and types of walking, encoding in their semantic structures the length of pace, tempo, gait and carriage, purposefulness or lack of purpose. The verbs to peep and to peer also have this connotation in their semantic structures: to peep = to look at smb. / smth.; to peep = to look at smb. / smth. with difficulty or strain.

VII. The verbs to peep and to peer are connotations of duration and manner. But there is some other curious peculiarity in their semantic structures.

One peeps at smb./ smth. through a hole, crack or opening, from behind a screen, a half-closed door, a newspaper, a fan, a curtain, etc. It seems as if a whole set of scenery were built within the word's meaning. Of course, it is quite so, because «the set of scenery» is actually built in the context, but, as with all regular contexts, it is intimately reflected in the word's semantic structure thus demonstrating the connotation of attendant circumstances.

This connotation is also characteristic of to peer: one peers at smb./ smth. in darkness, though the fog, though dimmed glasses or windows, from a great distance; a short-sighted person may also peer at things. So, in the semantic structure of to peer are encoded circumstances preventing one from seeing clearly.

VIII. The synonyms pretty, handsome, beautiful are more or less interchangeable. Yet, each of them describes a special type of human beauty: beautiful is mostly associated with classical features and a perfect figure, handsome with a tall stature, a certain robustness and fine pro portions, pretty with small delicate features and a fresh complexion. This connotation may be defined as the connotation of attendant features.

IX. Stylistic connotations stand somewhat apart for two reasons. Firstly, some scholars do not regard the word's stylistic characteristic as a connotative component of its semantic structures. Secondly, stylistic connotations are subject to further classification namely: colloquial, slang, dialect, learned, poetic, terminological, and archaic. [6, c. 188]

Meal. Snack, bite, snap, repast, refreshment, feast.

These synonyms, besides stylistic connotations, have connotations of attendant features.

Snack, bite, snap all denote a frugal meal taken in a hurry; refreshment is also a light meal; feast is a rich or abundant meal.

Girl. Girlie, lass, lassie, bird, birdie, jane, fluff, skirt, maiden, damsel.

To leave. To be off, to clear out, to beat it, to hoof it, to take the air, to depart, to retire, to withdraw.

According to weather the difference is in denotational or connotational component synonyms are classified into ideographic and stylistic.

Ideographic synonyms denote different shades of meaning or different degrees of a giving quality. They are nearly identical in one or more denotational meanings and interchangeable at least in some contexts, e.g. beautiful - fine - handsome - pretty. Beautiful conveys, for instance, the strongest meaning; it marks the possession of that quality in its fullest extent, while the other terms denote the possession of it in part only. Fineness, handsomeness and prettiness are to beauty as parts to a whole. [6, c. 189]

stylistic synonym context modern

Conclusion

English is very rich in synonyms. An elementary dictionary of synonyms which is not at all exhaustive, contains over 8000 synonyms. Various reasons account for that. Borrowings from various languages account for a great number of cases, for one thing.

We have already commented on some of the causes of the appearance of synonyms. Among them the logical reasons of the development of language as a means of human intercourse, the development of abstract thinking, of a finer differentiation between various sides of one and the same concept should be considered predominant. Any extra touch of emotional colouring may create a synonym. The change in words is often a change in style and the effect is quite different. [8]

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