2. What type of dictionaries are the following entries from?

1. bugle /’bju:gl / noun a musical instrument like a small TRUMPET, used in the army for giving signals (general=translational)

2. воспитание nt. 1. education; upbringing. 2. (good) bringing. (general=translational)

3. feat n. achievement, act, deed: Leaping across the canyon was a feat for the motorcycle rider.(general-explanatory)

4. crack a joke v. phr., informal To make a joke; tell a joke. The men sat around the stove, smoking and cracking jokes.(specialized=phraseological)

Card 2

Definition, classification and sources of synonyms in Modern English.

Synonyms are different words with identical or very similar meanings. Words that are synonyms are said to be synonymous, and the state of being a synonym is called synonymy. The word comes from Ancient Greek syn (σύν) ("with") and onoma (ὄνομα) ("name"). The words car and automobile are synonyms. Similarly, if we talk about a long time or an extended time, long and extended become synonyms. In the figurative sense, two words are often said to be synonymous if they have the same connotation:

Synonymy and its sources.

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 occurence are different. Senses of synonyms are identical in respect of central semantic trades but differ in respect of minor semantic trades.

Classification of synonyms by V.V. VInogradov:

Ideographic - synonyms which differ in the denotational component of meaning i.e. between which a semantic difference is statable.

Stylistic - which differ in the connotational component of meaning, i.e. all kinds of emotional, expressive and evaluative overtones.

Absolute - which can each other in any given context, without the slightest alteration in denotative or emotional meaning and connotations.

Contextual - are synonyms which are similar in meaning only under some specific distributional conditions.

Dominant - the notion common to all synonyms of the group without contributing any additional information as to the manner, intensy, duration or any attending feature of the referent.

The sources of synonyms: borrowings, shift of meaning, dialectical words, compounds, shortenings, conversion, euphemisms.

Classification:

1. Total synonyms

an extremely rare occurence

Ulman: “a luxury that language can hardly afford.”

M. Breal spoke about a law of distribution in the language (words should be synonyms, were synonyms in the past usually acquire different meanings and are no longer interchangeable).

Ex.: бегемот – гиппопотам

2. Ideographic synonyms.

They bear the same idea but not identical in their referential content.

Ex.: to ascent – to mount – to climb

To happen – to occur – to befall – to chance

Look – appearance – complexion – countenance

3. Dialectical synonyms.

Ex.: lift – elevator

Queue – line Autumn – fall

4. Contextual synonyms.

Context can emphasize some certain semantic trades & suppress other semantic trades; words with different meaning can become synonyms in a certain context.

Ex.: tasteless – dull

Active – curious

Curious – responsive

Synonyms can reflect social conventions.

Ex.: clever , bright, brainy, intelligent, Dever-clever

neutral :Only speaking about younger people by older people. Is not used by the higher educated people

Positive connotation

Stylistically remarked

5. Stylistic synonyms.

Belong to different styles.

child , Infant, Kid

neutral: elevated, colloquial

To die -To kick the bucket

Synonymic condensation is typical of the English language. It refers to situations when writers or speakers bring together several words with one & the same meaning to add more conviction, to description more vivid.

Ex.: save & sound, Lord & master, First & foremost, Safe & secure, Stress & strain, By force & violence

It is deeply rooted in the history of English language.

Synonyms are words different in their outer aspects, but almost identical or similar in their inner aspects. Synonyms express different shades of the meaning. In English there are a lot of synonyms, because there are many borrowings, e.g. hearty /native/ - cordial /borrowing/. There are some absolute synonyms in the language, which have exactly the same meaning and belong to the same style, e.g. to moan, to groan; homeland, motherland etc. Sometimes one of the absolute synonyms is specialized in its usage and we get stylistic synonyms, e.g. "to begin"/ native/, "to commence" /borrowing/. Here the French word is specialized. In some cases the native word is specialized, e.g. "welkin" /bookish/, "sky" /neutral/. Stylistic synonyms can also appear by means of abbreviation. In most cases the abbreviated form belongs to the colloquial style, and the full form to the neutral style, e.g. "examination, "exam". Among stylistic synonyms we can point out a special group of words which are called euphemisms. These are words used to substitute some unpleasant or offensive words, e.g "the late" instead of "dead", "to perspire" instead of "to sweat" etc. There are also phraseological synonyms, these words are identical in their meanings and styles but different in their combining with other words in the sentence, e.g. "to be late for a lecture" but "to miss the train", "to visit museums" but "to attend lectures" etc. In each group of synonyms there is a word with the most general meaning, which can substitute any word in the group, e.g. "piece" is the synonymic dominant in the group "slice", "lump", "morsel". The verb "to look at" is the synonymic dominant in the group "to stare", "to glance", "to peep". The adjective "red is the synonymic dominant in the group "purple", "scarlet", "crimson". When speaking about the sources of synonyms, besides desynonymization and abbreviation, we can also mention the formation of phrasal verbs, e.g. "to give up" - "to abandon", "to cut down" - "to diminish"..

The only existing classification system for synonyms was established by Academician V.V.Vinogradov. In his classification there are 3 types of synonyms: 1. ideographic 2. stylistic; 3. absolute. Ideographic are words conveying the same concept, but different in the shades of meaning. They bear the same idea but not identical in their referential content. Ex.: to ascent – to mount – to climb; To happen – to occur – to befall – to chance; Look – appearance – complexion – countenance; Stylistic are words different in stylistic characteristics (euphemisms). Absolute once coincide in all their shades of meaning and in all their stylistic characteristics. Extremely rare. Ex.: бегемот – гиппопотам

Sources of synonyms: 1. due to historical development 2. change of meaning 3. words acquire new meaning 4. borrowings 5. conversion (The sources of synonyms: borrowings, shift of meaning, dialectical words, compounds, shortenings, conversion, euphemisms.)

Task:

A. Give synonyms to the underlined words in the following passages.

1. A little boy who had been used to receiving his old brother’s old toys and clothes

remarked: ”Ma, will I have to marry his widow when he dies?”(pass on, pass away, to kick the bucket,

2. Boss: You are twenty minutes late again. Don’t you know what time we

Start (begin,commence) to work at this office?

New Employee: No, sir, they are always at it when I get here.

3. “Oh, Mummie, I hurt my toe” cried small Janey, who was playing in the

garden. “Which toe, dear?” I inquired, as I examined her foot. “My youngest

one,” sobbed (cry-syntactic dominance, wail=to cry loudly, whimper=to cry making low, weak noices, to be in tears, to burst into tears, cry ur eyes out) Janey.

B. Choose the letters with synonymous phraseological units.

a) to show one's cards; to look through one's fingers; to show the white feather;

b) in the soup; in the pink; under a cloud;

c) a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush; better an egg today than a hen tomorrow;

d) to take the bull by the horns; to wear one's heart on one's sleeve; to kill the goose that laid the golden eggs.

e) what’s done, cannot be undone; it is no use crying over spilt milk