[文学]Chapter062.ppt

Chapter Six Sense Relations Part Two Synonyms Synonyms are traditionally defined as “words different in sound and spelling but similar or nearly identical in meaning”. (not precise) Understanding Synonyms As we know, meaning is not a simple concept, it is a composite consisting of different types. Most English words are polysemic. It is impossible for polysemic words to be synonymous in all their meanings. For example, the word head is synonymous with ruler, leader when it refers to a person who leads in an organization or institution; but it is synonymous with talent or ability as in the sentence “He has a good head for mathematics”. In conclusion, synonyms share likeness in meaning only in a certain sense, not in all their meanings. Definition of Synonyms: ?Words which have the same or nearly the same essential meaning/denotative meaning (基本意义). Synonyms share a likeness not only in denotation (概念意义) but also in part of speech. A verb cannot have an adjective as its synonym, neither can an adverb take a noun as its synonym. E.g. end/final and brother/fraternally are not synonymous pairs. Some expressions in English language are synonyms although their spellings and literal meanings make them like opposite ones, e.g. valuable = invaluable ； shameful = shameless ; heritable = inheritable; a slim chance = a fat chance (可能性很小); a good scare = a bad scare (吓一大跳); a smart blow = a shrewd blow (狠狠的一击)； Two Types of Synonyms Absolute Synonyms (Perfect Synonyms) 2. Relative Synonyms (Partial Synonyms) 1. Absolute Synonyms  Absolute Synonyms are words which are fully identical in all aspects of meaning, i.e. both in grammatical meaning and lexical meaning, including conceptual and associative meaning. Absolute synonyms in English language are mostly scientific terms. (check manuscript) 2. Relative Synonyms  Relative synonyms are similar or nearly the same in essential meaning, but diff