An Investigation of the Probable Combinations of Levels of Similarity and Semantic Differentials within a Set of Synonyms

Abstract

The 2-research question and 3-hypothesis approach to the investigation of English synonyms provides a new understanding of synonyms. Based on 4 levels of similarity and 13 semantic differentials inducted from dictionaries of synonyms, this study aims at the derivations and implications of three hypotheses. The first hypothesis is that for any given set of n synonyms, one of the paired synonyms should not be different from the other in more than 6 semantic differentials. The second is that for any given set of n synonyms, there are C(n, 2) x 4 probable combinations of levels of similarity. The third hypothesis is that for any given set of n synonyms, there are H(13, 6) x C(n, 2) probable combinations of semantic differentials. This study unveils the complex semantic relations between any pair of synonyms on the one hand and points out the difficulty lexicographers are faced with when comparing and contrasting synonyms in scientific ways on the other hand.