Конспект выступления на научно-практической конференции Synonyms

Муниципальное общеобразовательное бюджетное учреждение средняя общеобразовательная школа с. Новая Отрадовка муниципального района Стерлитамакский район
Synonyms in the translation
according
to the English textbooks
Автор: Наумова Галина Александровна.
учитель английского языка
Contents
I. Introduction
The purposes of the work
II. The Main Body
General definition of synonyms and their classification
Peculiar distributional features of synonyms
The link of synonymy with collocational meaning
III. Conclusion
IV. Bibliography

IntroductionThe purposes of the work
The theme of my work is synonyms in the translation according to the English textbooks.The actuality of this work caused by several important points. We seem to say that the problem of synonyms is one of the main difficult ones for the English language learners.It can be most clearly seen in the colloquial layer of a language ,modern technologies and in the alive speech.
As a result, a great number of new meanings of one and the same word appear in our vocabulary. So the importance of our work can be proved by the following reasons:
The problem of synonymy is one of the developing branches of vocabulary nowadays.
Synonyms reflect the general trend of enrichment of a language word-stock.
Synonymy is closely connected with the development of modern informational technologies.
Having based upon the actuality of the theme we are able to formulate the general goal of our work: to study, analyze, and sum up all variants of using synonyms according to the English textbooks.
The practical significance of the work can be concluded in the following items:
The work could serve as a good source of learning English by students at schools and colleges.
Those who would like to communicate with the English-speaking people through the Internet will be able to use the up-to-date words with the help of our work.
The Main Body
General definition of synonyms and their classification
Synonyms (in ancient Greek syn ‘συν’ plus and onoma ‘όνομα’ name) are words different in writing , but similar or identical in their meaning.Synonyms can be nouns(baby - infant), adverbs(quickly - speedly) or adjectives(awful - terrible), verbs(make - do) as long as both members of the pair are the same part of speech.
In English there are a lot of synonyms, because there are many borrowings. For example words “hearty” and “cordial”, first is native and second is borrowing, but both of them mean “сердечный, радушный”. After a word is borrowed it undergoes desynonymization, because absolute synonyms are unnecessary for a language. Wecanseeitinthesamewords “hearty” and “cordial”, when we speak about food(heartysoup – обильныйсуп; cordialcoffee – крепкийкофе).
There are some absolute synonyms in the language, which have exactly the same meaning and belong to the same style. For example “to moan - to groan”(стонать), “homeland – motherland”(родина).
Sometimes one of the absolute synonyms is specialized in its usage and we get stylisticsynonyms(«to begin»/ native, «to commence» /French borrowing) , («city» /borrowed, «town» /native). The French borrowing «city» is specialized. In other cases native words can be specialized in their meanings, for example «stool» /native, «chair» /French.
Sometimes one of the absolute synonyms is specialized in its usage and we get stylistic synonyms, for exampleIn some cases the native word is specialized, for example «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 as «examination» and «exam».
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».
More examples of English synonyms:
baby and infant (noun)
job and work(noun)
pretty and attractive (adjective)
do and make (verb)
investigation and research (noun)
quickly and speedily (adverb)
Note that the synonyms are defined with respect to certain senses of words; for instance, “profession”is not synonymous with “job”.
Some lexicographers claim that no synonyms have exactly the same meaning (in all contexts or social levels of language) because etymology, orthography and phonic qualities make them unique.
I found definition in Student book ENJOY ENGLISH 11(Biboletova M.) , page 49, exercise 17.
Job – work that you do regularly to earn money Profession – a job that youneed special skills and qualifications to do
Words often used with job:
Apply for a job, leave your job, take a job, lose your job, job interview, top job Words often used with profession:
The teaching profession, in a profession, go into/join a profession
Peculiar distributional features of synonyms
Synonymic pairs like wear and tear are very numerous in modern English and often used both in everyday speech and in literature. They show all the typical features of idiomatic phrases that ensure their memorable ness such as rhythm, alliteration, rhyme and the use of archaic words seldom occurring elsewhere.
The examples are numerous: hale and hearty, with might and main, nevertheless and notwithstanding, modes and manners, stress and strain, rack and ruin, really and truly, hue and cry, wane and pale, without let or hindrance, act and deed. There are many others which show neither rhyme nor alliteration, and consist of two words equally modern. They are pleonastic, they emphasize the idea by just stating it twice, and possess a certain rhythmical quality which probably enhances their unity and makes them easily remembered. These are: by leaps and bounds, to pick and choose, pure and simple, stuff and nonsense, bright and shining, far and away, proud and haughty and many more.
In a great number of cases the semantic difference between two OP more synonyms is supported by the difference in valence. Distributional oppositions between synonyms have never been studied systematically, although the amount of data collected is very impressive. The difference in distribution maybe syntactical, morphological, lexical, and surely deserves more attention than has been so far given to it. It is, for instance, known that bare in reference to persons is used only predicatively while naked occurs both predicatively and attributively. The same is true about alone, which, irrespectively of referent, is used only predicatively, whereas its synonyms solitary and lonely occur in both functions. The function is predicative in the following sentence: you are idle, be not solitary, if you are solitary be not idle. It has been repeatedly mentioned that begin and commence differ stylistically, It must be noted, however, that their distributional difference is not less important. Begin is generalized in its lexical
meaning and becomes a semi-auxiliary when used with an infinitive. It follows naturally that begin and not commence is the right word before an infinitive even in formal style. Seem and appear may be followed by an infinitive or a that-claw. see whereas look which is stylistically equivalent to them is never used in these constructions. Aware and conscious are followed either by an o/-phrase or by a subordinate clause, e. g. to be aware of one’s failure, to be aware that one’s failure is inevitable. Their synonym sensible is preferably used with an o/-phrase.
Very often the distributional difference between synonyms concerns the use of prepositions: e. g. to answer a question, but to reply to a question. The adjectives anxious and uneasy are followed by the preposition about, their synonym concerned permits a choice and is variously combined with about, at, for, with. The misuse of prepositions is one of the most common mistakes not only with foreigners but with native speakers as well.
Lexical difference in distribution is based on the difference in valence. An example of this is offered by the verbs win and gain. Both may be used in combination with the noun victory: to win a victory, to gain a victory. But with the word war only win is possible: to win a war. We are here trespassing on the domain of set expressions, a problem that has already been treated in an earlier chapter. Here it will suffice to point out that the phraseological combining possibilities of words are extremely varied.
It has been repeatedly stated that synonyms cannot be substituted into set expressions; as a general rule each synonym has its own peculiarities of phraseological connections. The statement is only approximately correct. A. V. Koenig has shown that set expressions have special properties as regards synonymy, different from those observed in free phrases. l Some set expressions may vary in their lexical components without changing their meaning, e. g. cast (fling or throw] smth in smb’s. teeth. Moreover, the meaning may remain unchanged even if the interchangeable components are not synonymous: to hang on by one’s eyelashes (eyelids, eyebrows),-to bear or show a resemblance. The nouns glance, look and glimpse are indiscriminately used with the verbs give and have: to give a look (a glance, a glimpse), to have a look (a glance, a glimpse). With (he verbs “cast arid take the word glimpse is not used, so that only the expressions to cast a glance (a look) or to take a glance (a look) are possible. With the verbs steal, shoot, throw the combining possibilities are further restricted, so that only the noun glance will occur in combination with these. It goes without saying that phraseological interchangeability is not frequent.
The link of synonymy with collocational meaning
Let us take into consideration, for instance, the synonyms “to surprise” - “удивлять” and “to amaze”, “to astound” - изумлять”,”поражать”. They are different, in particular, on the feature of degree of a feeling. All the three synonyms can be combined with the adverbial modifiers of measure and отображатьthe super high or the maximal degree of property, condition or feeling.
So, in the English textbook 11 O.V. Afanasyeva, I found same different discrimination of using words that depends on emotion and feelings of describing man.
To cry(всплакнуть) – to produce tears from the eyes as a sign of sorrow.
To weep(плакать) – to cry tears because of sadness or strong emotion, usually quietly and for a long time.
To sob(рыдать) – to cry noisily while taking short breathes.
To long (жаждать) – to want something very much, especially this used to happen or existed in the past.
To wish (желать) – to want strongly to do something.
To yearn (хотеть) – to want something so much that you do not feel happy or complete without it, but you know you are not likely to get it.
Crazy(сумасшедший) – very strange, attractiveMad(безумный) – very silly.
Work (работа) – effort made in order to achieve or make something.
Labour(труд) – work, especially hard physical work.Toil (тяжкийтруд) – work difficult and tiring
Customer(клиент, покупатель, посетитель) – a person or company that buys goods or services .
Client (клиент) – someone who pays for services of a professional person suchas a doctor or lawyer
Chief (основной, высшийпорангу, главный)– main or most important; highest in authority, position or rank.
Main (главный, основной) – most important, largest, or most frequently used.
Amiable(дружелюбный) – pleasant and friendly; use describing peopleAmicable(дружелюбный) – friendly; do not use while describing people
High(высокий) – measuring a long distance from top to bottom in a position a long way above the ground; large in amount; very good, excellent or important;
Tall(высокий) – high and not wide or long,it always used while describing people
Lofty(возвышенный)–very tall or noble and morally admirable (mainly literature).
Sleep(сон) – the natural resting state of unconsciousness of the body.
Slumber(сон) –a state of sleep (mainly literature).
Nap(вздремнуть)–a short sleep , especially during a day.
To get(получить) – to obtain, receive or be given something.
To receive(получить) – to get something that someone’s gives or sends ( formal)
To gain(приобретать) – to get or to achieve something, to get a benefit or advantage for yourself.
Thin(худой) – having very little fat on the body.
Slender(стройный) – tall or long and thin in a way that is attractive.
Skinny(худой ,кожадакости) – very thin, especially in a way that is unattaractive.
ConclusionWe decided to research how the vocabulary of English has been enriching.
The main part bears the three points in itself. The first point explains the general definition of synonyms and their classification. The second point we tale into consideration the peculiar distributional features of synonyms.The third item shows us the link of synonymy with collocational meaning.
Synonymy is one of the resources of enrichment of the language and we have realized it to have analyzed different English textbooks for Higher School students. There are three main groups of synonyms: borrowings, absolute synonyms, stylistic synonyms. We came to the conclusion that most synonyms have come from the French language.Absolute synonyms are widely used in the modern English language, but stylistic synonyms are rarely used.
The problem of synonymy is still waiting for its detail investigation.
The practical significance of the work can be concluded in the following items:
The work could serve as a good source of learning English by young students at schools.
The students could find a lot of interesting information for themselves.
Those who would like to communicate with the English-speaking people through the Internet will be able to use the up-to-date words with the help of our work.
Bibliography
Afanasyeva O.V.; Mikheeva I.V. ENGLISH - 11 Student’s book ;Prosvesheniye publishers, 2010
Arakin V.D. English Russian Dictionary M., RusskyYazyk 1978
Biboletova M.Z.; Babushys E.E. ENJOY ENGLISH – 11 Student’s book; Titul publishers, 2010
Biboletova M.Z.; Babushys E.E. ENJOY ENGLISH – 10 Student’s book; Titul publishers, 2010
Hornby The Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English. Lnd. 1974
Internet: http://www.wikipedia.com/English/articles/synonyms.htm