Book Review- Synonymy

Synonyms are words which can be substituted for one another without changing the core meaning of the phrase they are in- they are logically identical. This academic writing is focussed on near synonyms and absolute synonyms, and what distinguishes one from another. The aim of this writing is also to stress the rarity of absolute synonyms, and introduce how subliminal contextual factors and connotation’s may in fact differ the meaning of a pair of seemingly absolute synonyms. Studying and understanding the etymology of a lexeme is also important in distinguishing near and absolute synonyms, in order to understand what it may mean in the present day. 

Murphy (2010) states that “near synonyms in a particular sense can often substitute each other in some contexts” (p.111), meaning that whilst synonyms are to an extent interchangeable, their sense must be defined for clarity of the reader. For example, ‘cup’ can be understood as the noun for the container used to hold and consume a beverage, or as the verb ‘to cup’- “she cupped her hands”. Murphy’s statement also suggests near synonyms are not consistently interchangeable, and rely upon context, for example ‘weak’ and ‘frail’. You may describe a critically ill person as either near-synonym, and although ‘weak’ typically conveys physical strength, and ‘frail’ conveys appearance, they may be substituted in this context without causing any difference to the overall sentence.

Synonymy can vary for different users, and for this reason researchers such as Rosamund Moon state synonymy “calls for synchronic analysis of data drawn from contemporary corpora as distinct from what is for her the inadequate intuition of the researcher” (Dolezal, 2013, p.257). The concept that synonymy differs from individuals means finding a clear cut between what some may call an absolute synonym and others a near synonym is subjective, sometimes being necessary to use a corpus for evaluation. Thus, “discussion must focus on the user’s perception of synonymy, or the identification and treatment of partial- and near-synonymy.” (Dolezal, 2013, p.252), and so with justifiable reasoning, any one synonym may be disputed by another’s perception of the lexeme in question, such as with the previously mentioned pair ‘weak’ and ‘frail’. 

To test whether lexemes are synonymous; firstly, they must be of the same lexical class, for example ‘sofa/couch/settee’ are all nouns. Murphy (2010, p.109) then argues “the Substitutability testis used”, and that “words are substitutable if there is no change in meaning of a sentence when on word is substituted for another”. When applying this to the following sentence it is apparent that there is no change in lexical meaning when any one of the three lexemes are used.

 “We need to buy a new sofa.”

                                    “settee”

                                    “couch”

Although these appear to be absolute synonyms- which are “sustainable in any possible context with no changes in denotation or other aspects of meaning” (Murphy, 2010, p.110), Aitchison (2012) states, “perfect synonymy- total overlap of meaning- is somewhat rare, but many words are intermittently interchangeable” (p.106), reinforced by Dolezal (2013, p.252). Murphy introduces the concept that synonyms that are “denotationally identical” and can be different in ways other than meaning, “for example, by belonging to different dialects, registers, or having different connotations.” (2010, p.111). When exploring the etymology and global use, it appears ‘couch’ is more popular throughout the United States originating from Middle English, with ‘sofa’ from Arabic and French, and ‘settee’ from Latin and French, being the more common choice in the UK. All denote an upholstered piece of furniture with a back and arms for more than one person to sit. Thus, whilst these absolute synonyms are denotationally identical, their identification as a synonym in some regions may be non-existent. 

A clearer example of regional synonyms may be the pair ‘food/scran’- ‘food’ being used nationally, whist ‘scran’ is predominantly used throughout the North of the UK, such as in Manchester, Newcastle, Liverpool and Scottish English. Whilst the synonyms appear to be denotationally identical, thus absolute synonyms, context is dependent on the success of their interchangeability, as either sense-synonym may be used in the North of the UK, the lexeme ‘scran’ is not common knowledge in the South. Aitchison (2012, p.107) addresses that “partial overlap shows that speakers need to be permanently ‘tuned in’ to the usages of their language”, thus understanding the extent of interchangeability and the effects of context is crucial. For this reason, the examples are near synonyms.

Moon introduces other contextual factors that may dispute lexemes as absolute synonyms, recognising they can be differentiated “according to variety or dialect… register, genre or style, emotive or evaluative content… size, intensity, aspect or degree of specifity… and collocation or selection restrictions.” (2013, p.261). Drawing upon this statement, it can be suggested a speaker’s choice of sense-related synonyms can be influenced by their ideological stances. An example could be between the near synonyms “homosexual” and “gay”, referring to a person who is sexually attracted to the same sex. The following sentence exemplifies the effects interchanging them have upon the stance of the speaker:

“James has come out as homosexual”

“gay”

The lexeme “homosexual” creates distance between the speaker and subject, perhaps muting the speaker’s negative stance, demonstrating Moon’s ‘evaluative content’, whilst “gay” appears proud and relaxed, thus ‘emotive’. ‘Homosexual’ was first used in the late 19^thcentury, with sense-relations other than sexual relationships, such as something of all the same sex, for example a ‘homosexual school’. Later, the term was used in referring to sexual practices, rather than an identity, whilst the term ‘gay’ began to replace it amidst the 1960’s to 1980’s gay liberation. This could explain why the near-synonyms present differing stances, with ‘gay’ being reclaimed and ameliorated, and replacing the clinical ‘homosexual’.

Reflecting upon the discussion and data, it is apparent that near synonyms are most frequent and most obvious to distinguish, taking into account that if a lexeme has multiple sense-relations then these must be defined. There are difficulties in applying the concept of absolute synonyms, as Dolezal (2013) and Moon (2013) discuss, the concept of synonymy can be subjective. This paired with extenuating factors such as regional and emotional differences between words, as discussed by Moon and Murphy (2010), makes the process increasingly difficult. This could be why absolute synonymy is so rare, and even when claimed, likely to be disputed, as observed by Aitchison (2012) and Dolezal. However, the concept of choice of synonym reflecting a person’s ideological stance remains useful, and comparing to texts such as political speeches or media publications may demonstrate interesting results.