The attempt to analyse the phenomenon of near-synonymy in the oral and written mode implicitely pronounces the expectation of finding a tendentious or even a significant variation among the lexical realisations of a given underlying semantic concept in diverse contexts of linguistic performance. However, this task requires a specific determination of the kind of variation we hope to uncover in the course of analysis. One option would be to inquire how often the lexical items under discussion are used in speech and writing, respectively, and to determine that an item, or target, t1 is used twice as often in written language than in spoken, while, conversely, we face the opposite fact for target t2. But such an observation would merely scratch the surface of the actual problem, namely the assessment of the variations among the items concerning their paradigmatic relations to each other in both modes of communication. Asked more articulately, presupposing that speech and writing show a considerable difference concerning dimensions exceeding the mere distinction of being produced in the oral or written mode, does this difference also affect the paradigmatic relations between particular lexical items in a significant way? The answer to this question would ultimately give rise to a more dynamic understanding of how the items are used in language in general. However, this consideration still leaves us with the problem of how to operationalise the items’ paradigmatic relations to each other in such a way, that we are able to measure them in different situations of linguistic performance. In the present thesis, we will meet this challenge by pursuing the following argumentation: an inherent part of a lexical item’s meaning is constituted by its collocational potential, this is, its syntagmatic readiness concerning a given set of locally co-occurring lexical context and, consequently, nearsynonyms share a certain, measurable amount of this potential with each other, assuming that if they are semantically similar, they may also be so in respect of their syntagmatic readiness. This is, if we consider a set of near-synonyms with respect to their collocational patterns in diverse situational contexts of linguistic performance, are we able to assert a significant difference concerning their similarity among each context? If we are able to observe such a difference, what are the proper dimensions and determinants of this variation? [...]
Table of Contents
1 An Interdisciplinary Approach
2 Theoretical Concepts and Issues
2.1 Language in the oral and the written mode
2.1.1 Lexical density and grammatical intricacy
2.1.2 Involvement and detachment
2.1.3 Textual dimensions and a grammar of conversation
2.1.4 Conclusion
2.2 Near-synonymy and the lexicon
2.2.1 Synonymy as an emergent phenomenon
2.2.2 Synonymy as a matter of absoluteness and degree
2.2.3 Variations across near-synonyms
2.2.4 Conclusion
2.3 A multi-dimensional point of view
2.3.1 Introducing semantic space
2.3.2 Collocations as distance determinants
2.3.3 Conclusion
3 A Statistical Model of Near-synonymy in the Oral and Written Mode
3.1 The Hypothesis
3.2 The Methodology
3.2.1 Composing the subcorpora of spoken and written registers
3.2.2 Selecting the targets
3.2.3 Selecting the context elements
3.2.4 The lexical association function and the similarity measures
3.2.5 Some caveats
4 Results
4.1 Spontaneous Conversation
4.2 Context-governed speech
4.3 Written language of medium formality
4.4 Highly formal written language
4.5 The dimensions of variation
5 Discussion
5.1 Evaluation of the model
5.2 Is near-synonymy just the usual sort of standard stuff?
5.3 The determinants of variation
6 Summary
7 References
Objectives & Research Focus
This thesis aims to analyze the phenomenon of near-synonymy within different modes of communication by establishing a descriptive statistical model. The core research question addresses whether the paradigmatic relations between lexical items realizing a specific semantic concept vary significantly across different situational contexts of linguistic performance, such as spoken and written registers.
- Investigation of lexical variations across oral and written communicative modes.
- Development of a statistical model using collocational patterns as a measure of semantic distance.
- Application of multi-dimensional scaling to represent semantic typicality in register-specific spaces.
- Empirical analysis of the concept [PREVALENT BEHAVIOUR OR QUALITY] using BNC data.
- Identification of key semantic dimensions like 'descriptive versus prescriptive implication'.
Excerpt from the Book
An Interdisciplinary Approach
The attempt to analyse the phenomenon of near-synonymy in the oral and written mode implicitely pronounces the expectation of finding a tendentious or even a significant variation among the lexical realisations of a given underlying semantic concept in diverse contexts of linguistic performance. However, this task requires a specific determination of the kind of variation we hope to uncover in the course of analysis. One option would be to inquire how often the lexical items under discussion are used in speech and writing, respectively, and to determine that an item, or target, t1 is used twice as often in written language than in spoken, while, conversely, we face the opposite fact for target t2. But such an observation would merely scratch the surface of the actual problem, namely the assessment of the variations among the items concerning their paradigmatic relations to each other in both modes of communication. Asked more articulately, presupposing that speech and writing show a considerable difference concerning dimensions exceeding the mere distinction of being produced in the oral or written mode, does this difference also affect the paradigmatic relations between particular lexical items in a significant way? The answer to this question would ultimately give rise to a more dynamic understanding of how the items are used in language in general.
However, this consideration still leaves us with the problem of how to operationalise the items’ paradigmatic relations to each other in such a way, that we are able to measure them in different situations of linguistic performance. In the present thesis, we will meet this challenge by pursuing the following argumentation: an inherent part of a lexical item’s meaning is constituted by its collocational potential, this is, its syntagmatic readiness concerning a given set of locally co-occurring lexical context and, consequently, near-synonyms share a certain, measurable amount of this potential with each other, assuming that if they are semantically similar, they may also be so in respect of their syntagmatic readiness.
Summary of Chapters
1 An Interdisciplinary Approach: Outlines the research motivation regarding near-synonymy in oral and written modes and introduces the core methodology of utilizing collocational patterns.
2 Theoretical Concepts and Issues: Reviews prior studies on speech versus writing, defines near-synonymy, and explores multi-dimensional semantic modeling.
3 A Statistical Model of Near-synonymy in the Oral and Written Mode: Details the empirical framework, including subcorpus selection, the use of Cubic Mutual Information (MI3) for lexical association, and the application of multi-dimensional scaling.
4 Results: Presents the qualitative and quantitative analysis of target configurations across four distinct register samples, revealing specific semantic dimensions of variation.
5 Discussion: Evaluates the model's performance, addresses the influence of 'target focus' on semantic cohesion, and reflects on the interplay between situational context and lexical choice.
6 Summary: Concludes the thesis by synthesizing findings and suggesting directions for future research in lexical semantics.
Keywords
near-synonymy, lexical semantics, corpus linguistics, register variation, collocational potential, semantic space, Cubic Mutual Information, paradigmatic relations, syntagmatic readiness, communicative competence, BNC, multi-dimensional scaling, semantic typicality.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this thesis?
The work examines how near-synonymous lexical items, representing a common semantic concept, behave differently in various spoken and written language registers based on their local collocational environments.
What are the central thematic fields covered?
The study intersects lexical semantics, corpus linguistics, and register analysis, focusing on how situational factors influence language use and lexical choice.
What is the core research objective?
The aim is to provide empirical evidence that near-synonyms realize semantic concepts differently depending on their situational context, operationalized through a statistical model of collocational variation.
Which scientific methodology is employed?
The thesis utilizes a corpus-based quantitative approach, primarily employing the British National Corpus (BNC), Cubic Mutual Information (MI3) for measuring lexical association, and non-metric multi-dimensional scaling for mapping semantic spaces.
What does the main body address?
The main chapters develop a statistical model for near-synonymy, perform register-specific corpus analyses, and discuss the determinants of semantic variation, such as 'target focus' and the interplay between descriptive and prescriptive linguistic usage.
Which keywords characterize the work?
The research is characterized by terms such as near-synonymy, corpus linguistics, register variation, semantic space, and collocational potential.
How does the model handle the problem of polysemy?
The thesis acknowledges polysemy, particularly regarding the target "common," and proposes treating this ambiguity as a variable to be integrated when interpreting the semantic dimensions, rather than attempting a complete manual elimination.
What role does the 'target focus' play in the findings?
'Target focus' emerges as a crucial situational determinant, explaining that registers with a narrower focus (e.g., spontaneous conversation) exhibit different semantic discrimination patterns compared to those with broader communicative objectives.
- Citar trabajo
- M.A. Daniel Daimler (Autor), 2004, Near-synonyms in the oral and written mode, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/29420
