首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
English Synonyms English has the largest vocabulary and the most synonyms of all languages in the world. This richness owns to t
English Synonyms English has the largest vocabulary and the most synonyms of all languages in the world. This richness owns to t
admin
2014-06-02
89
问题
English Synonyms
English has the largest vocabulary and the most synonyms of all languages in the world. This richness owns to the constant incorporation of words from other languages.
I. The gradual incorporation of words from other languages
—Before 1066, Anglo-Saxon words;
—After 1066, words borrowed from (1)_____;
—In (2)_____.words from Latin and Greek origin;
—In modern times,words directly (3)_____from
other languages around the world; —(4)____English,eg. Jeep, railroad, gasoline, etc.
II. Different kinds of synonyms
1) Synonyms referring to the same thing but of different (5)_____:
—foreword, preface, introduction;
2) Synonyms referring to different aspects of (6)_____:
—plain, prairie;
3) Synonyms of different degree of (7)_____:
—teach, tutor, school;
4) Synonyms implying different (8)_____among
the participants;
—accompany, escort, attend;
5) Synonyms of different degree of (9)_____;
—go to bed VS hit the sack
Correct choice of words is very important to
the (10)_____expression of what one wants
to say.
English Synonyms
In today’s lecture, we’ll deal with the incorporation and the variations of the English synonyms. English has the largest vocabulary and the most synonyms of any language in the world. This richness is due to the fact that the English language has grown over centuries by constantly incorporating words from other languages.
Even before the Norman Conquest in 1066, the Anglo-Saxon vocabulary included words borrowed from Latin, Greek, Celtic and Scandinavian. (1) After the Norman Conquest, the English vocabulary was doubled by the addition of French words, especially those words reflecting a higher stand, and a more complex social life. For example , words connected with clothing such as garment, robe, gown, etc; and words connected with law, such as plaintiff, legacy, and words connected with social rank and organizations, such as Prince, Duke, Mayor, etc. While much of the new French vocabulary described new ideas and activities, much of it duplicated the pre-existing Anglo-Saxon vocabulary, thus giving the writer or speaker a choice of synonyms: cure or heal, labour or work, burglary or stealing.
With the enormous expansion of classical learning in the Renaissance, there was a great influx of words from Latin and Greek origin into the English language. Also, the lager world discovered through travel and exploration was a great stimulus to culture and language. In the 16th century, there also arose a fashion to ornamenting one’s discourse with what were then called "aureate" terms from Greek and Latin.
In modern times, as some English-speaking people traded and traveled around the world in Europe, North America, India, Australia, Africa, their adventures also expanded the vocabulary. Words were borrowed directly from Dutch, Spanish, American Indian, Eastern Indian, Italian, Australian, Mexican, Japanese, Malay and many others.
Furthermore, the United States, as a separate nation with its own life and character and institutions,has added vastly to the English vocabulary. With the rise of the United States to a position of world influence in politics, science, industry, trade and popular arts, (4) American words and phrases have gained recognition and prestige everywhere. Ice cream,jeep and rock-and-roll are internationally known terms. Moreover, American terminology for many things exists side by side with an English terminology, thus placing another whole group of synonyms at our service. For example, sidewalk in American English refers to the same thing as the British term pavement does. More examples are railroad and railway,elevator and lift,fall and autumn,druggist and chemist, gasoline and petrol, installment plan and hire-purchase system and so on.
So we can see that synonyms in English are of many kinds. (5)Some groups of synonyms are just words of different origins but refer to the same thing. For example, foreword,preface and introduction. Foreword is an Anglo-Saxon word;preface is from French,and introduction from Latin. (6) Some groups,like plain,prairie,tundra,refer to geographical variants of the same kind of thing. (7) Other groups of synonyms, like teach, educate, instruct, school, tutor, differ from one another principally in degrees of abstraction: teach js certainly the most general word of this group, while the others are more specialized in application.
It can be argued that there really are no exact synonyms—no exact equivalences of meaning. By "meaning" here we refer to the total range of contexts in which a word may be used. Certainly there are no two words that are interchangeable in all contexts. But within a given context,there is often exact synonymy. For example;I mislaid my wallet and I misplaced my wallet. However, in a slightly different context the two words are not interchangeable: it would not be idiomatic to say I mislaid my suitcase. Because mislay applies only to small objects while misplace is applicable to both small and large objects. This example shows again that words which are synonymous in one of their meanings may be different considerably in their other meanings.
Some groups of words describe the same actions, but imply different relation-ships among the parties concerned. We accompany our equals; we attend or follow those to whom we are subordinate; we conduct those who need guidance, and escort those who need protection. Womanlike and womanish are much alike in referring to female characteristics, but the second applies only to males,and in a derogatory sense.
Some differences in locution reveal differences in the degree of formality of the occasions described. Sometimes different locutions reveal differences not in the situations described but in the formality of discourse about them. For instance, he went to bed as compared to he hit the sack. Hit the sack is a more informal phrase with many young people are using when they go home tired after finishing a whole day’s work.
Semanticists and linguistic scholars continue to remind us that words change in meaning according to time and place and circumstance. Such warnings are certainly not to be ignored. Yet there are remarkable elements of stability in a vocabulary. The distinctions between angry and rage,between thought and deliberation,have remained remarkably constant since Shakespeare’s day in all English-speaking countries.
In a word,nothing is so important to clear and accurate expression as the ability to distinguish between words of similar, but not identical meaning. In a given context, one particular word is certain to be more appropriate than the other. To choose wrongly is to leave the hearer or reader with a fuzzy or mistaken impression. To choose well is to give both illumination and delight. The study of synonyms will help us to say what we really want to say. That’s all for today’s lecture. Thank you.
选项
答案
relationships
解析
本题为细节题。还有一类同义词虽然是表示同样的动作或行为,但其中参与者的关系是有所不同的:Some groups of words describe the same actions,but imply different relationships among the parties concerned.因此填入relationships。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/rupO777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
Manyarticlesandbookshavebeenwritteninrecentyearsaboutcultureinorganizations,usuallyreferredtoas"CorporateCult
InEnglishifawordbeginswitha[1]ora[r],thenthenextsoundmustbeavowel.Thisisa(n)
ThemasterpieceofSherwoodAndersonis______.
Thesentence"ShallIcomparetheetoasummer’sday?"isthebeginningofoneofShakespeare’s
EventodaytheBritishroyalassenttolawisstillwrittenin______"leroileveut".
AgricultureinBritainI.Britishagricultureanditssupportingareas:accountforaround(1)______ofGNP.II.Smallpercentage
Onthesecondnightofthegroundwar,Irealizedthatdarknesswouldneverfall.Tothesouthofmypositionwiththe42ndFiel
OnReviewingandImprovingWrittenWorkTeachersfeelveryfrustratedwhentheyfindsmallmistakesinstudents’writing
FriendshipandTradeChina’smainlifelinetoNorthKorea,anarrowroad-and-railbridgeacrosstheYaluriver,doesnotsug
Intheword"books,bags,boxes",thepluralmorpheme{-s}isrealizedby/s/,/z/,/iz/inphoneticpointofview,thuswecancall
随机试题
巴纳德在其著作出版后把自己的主要贡献归结为“结构性”概念和
A.2hB.6hC.8hD.12hE.1h《突发公共卫生事件应急条例》规定,对突发事件监测机构、医疗卫生机构和有关单位,发现发生或者可能发生传染病暴发、流行的;发生或者发现不明原因的群体性疾病的;发生传染病菌种、毒种丢失的;发生或者可能发生重大
B企业为禽类加工企业,有员工415人,厂房占地:15000m2,包括一车间、二车间、冷冻库、冷藏库、液氨车间、配电室等生产单元和办公区。液氨车间为独立厂房,其余生产单元位于一个连体厂房内。连体厂房房顶距地12m,采用彩钢板内喷聚氨酯泡沫材料;吊顶距房顶2.
施工成本分析就是根据会计核算、业务核算和______提供的资料,对施工成本的形成过程和影响成本升降的因素进行分析。
党委的政治领导与政府的行政领导()。
职务侵占罪:是指公司、企业或者其他单位的人员,利用职务上的便利,将本单位财物非法占为已有,数额较大的行为。 下列行为属于职务侵占罪的是( )。
其他因素保持不变,折现率提高后,下列哪个指标会变小?()[华东师范大学2012研]
(厦门大学2011年初试真题)我国个人所得税法规定,纳税人从中国境外取得的所得,准予其在应纳税额巾据实扣除已在境外缴纳的个人所得税税额。()
(1)建立数据库ordersmanage.dbc。把自由表employee.dbf和orders.dbf添加到数据库中。(2)打开表单d11.SeX,设置标签控件中英文字母的字号为18,保存表单。(3)打开表单dh.scx,为命令按钮“
Ifhe____________(不发脾气),thenegotiationwouldhavebeenasuccess.
最新回复
(
0
)