That's interesting. I always thought English was one of the few languages without synonyms. My first language was Arabic, and I remember the distinction being made between the two languages by pointing out how many true synonyms Arabic contains (thousands) compared to English (almost none).
I guess it all depends on what the meaning of is is. There are plenty of related words in English, that do qualify as synonyms just as long their intended contextual use or meaning is understood. In a comedy routine, hen, fowl or chicken can be interchangeable without debate. But the words are different in origin, and intention, and meaning.
What I know, or think I know, about synonyms is summarized best in this wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SynonymI could be wrong - wouldn't be the first time - it just means there's more to learn, and that's where all the fun is.
Monty Python were always excellent in their use of language. I'll have to look that one up.
E. On Feb 20, 2010, at 11:42 AM, Harry Lock wrote:
If you are in doubt about synonyms in English - listen to Monty Python's 'Dead Parrot' sketch. I heard a discussion on the radio recently where it was said that English is one of the few languages where a comedy sketch like this is possible because of the abundance of synonyms and euphemisms.----- Original Message ----- From: Elias Roustom To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Saturday, February 20, 2010 5:58 PM Subject: [pure-silver] Re: "archival pigment print"English does have synonyms. There are plenty of different words that mean the same thing even if you don't include the slang that can develop. If they didn't have them, there would be no need for a word for them.That's a matter of some debate - probably endless, but in any case would highlight the justification that can made for the unique and specific uses for each word in the lexicon. There are also many examples of concepts or things that don't exist that we have words for.E.
