A Study Of Synonyms Based On Designatum And Denotatum

There are a huge number of synonyms in each language. The distinction of synonyms is one of the difficulty and key point of language learning. Various synonyms provide lots of lexical options for people to express their ideas more fully and accurately. At the same time, people may confront with great difficulty in choosing such words with similar meaning, formation and usage. Clear and accurate synonyms differentiation is one of the essential abilities of vocabulary learning as well as the key to improving other skills, like reading, speaking and writing. Since a clear-cut differentiation of synonyms is difficult, people could hardly find out the subtle differences between synonyms. Some people even think that the synonyms can be used interchangeably, which leads to the situation that they have trouble in expressing themselves with the most appropriate and accurate word. Consequently, many misunderstanding and misuses in their language use are inevitable. Traditional study of synonyms rely more on the definitions of the synonyms provided by authoritative dictionaries without paying adequate attention to how they become synonymous and what sense relation do they have. The differentiations and classification of synonyms are only from perspectives of lexicology and semantics, seldom of them could take pragmatics, as one of the three dimensions of semiosis, into consideration. The study of sense relation of synonyms is barely about discussing one or more pairs of specific synonyms, rather than a comprehensive analysis.The development of the theory of semiotics provides a new perspective and method to synonyms discrimination. The present paper focuses on the sense relations of synonyms based on designatum and denotatum from three dimensions of semiosis, namely syntax, semantics and pragmatics, aiming to investigate the internal relations of synonyms according to the differences of semantic components, designatum and denotatum, people and context, and give a comprehensive and accurate classification of synonyms. Compared with the previous study of synonyms, the author stands at the height of semiotics and brings in the view of pragmatics, and gives a full consideration of the role of interpreter in sense relations of synonyms.Semiosis is sign process which interprets signs as referring to their objects. Semiosis involves three main factors: the sign vehicle, the designatum, and the interpretant. It was firstly proposed by Peirce and later adopted and developed by Morris. Morris had divided semiosis into three dimensions which are syntax, semantics and pragmatics. The first dealt with the relations between a sign and other signs, the second concerned relations between signs and denotata and the third comprised relations between signs and interpreters. These terms make explicit the factors left undesignated in the common statements that a sign refers to something for someone. As an important part of semiosis, a designatum is not a thing, but a kind of object or class of object where a class may have many members, or one member, or no member, while a denotatum is an actually existing member of the class of objects. The study show that synonyms are those with the same designatum or denotatum, the ones with the same denotatum, have the same semantic component, and are semantically equivalent in all circumstances; while the others with the same designatum have similar semantic component, but not exactly the same, and only suitable in partial context. According to the differentiation of semantic component, synonyms can be divided as conceptual synonyms and associative synonyms; while due to the complex of interpreter and context, synonyms will be either interpersonal or intercontextual. The interpersonal synonyms involve personality characteristics of the interpreter, while intercontextual synonyms come from the rhetorical use of language.Based on the above findings, the thesis, on the one hand, expounds and proves the effectiveness of synonym distinction based on the designatum and denotatum; on the other hand, it offers a new perspective of synonym distinction for learners and teachers. Designatum and denotatum based approach is not a replacement, but an indispensable supplement to the traditional ways of synonyms discrimination. Synonym differentiation based on designatum and denotatum also provides significant implications for pedagogy.