Today is the anniversary of the debut of the first cartoon featuring Bugs Bunny. On July 28, 1940, Warner Brothers released the animated short A Wild Hare in technicolor. The cartoon did not identify Bugs by name -- that would come later -- but it did premier his catchphrase "What's up Doc?" and his nemesis Elmer Fudd (1).
Coincidentally, it is also the birthday of Beatrix Potter, born in London in 1866.
Potter had few playmates as a child, but she did have a menagerie of pets that included a tortoise, a frog, a snake, and a rabbit. A shy, quiet girl, Potter sketched, painted, and kept a journal in which she wrote in a secret code she invented. The Tale of Peter Rabbit was published in 1902. She published numerous other animal tales, but Peter Rabbit remains the most popular (2).
All this talk about rabbits begs the question: what is the difference between a rabbit and a hare? Well, according to Bernice Randall's book When is a Pig a Hog?, a hare is larger than a rabbit, with longer ears and legs; another difference is that hares live in the open, among rocks and thickets, while rabbits live in burrows. Many words in English feature these kinds of fine distinctions, especially since English has more synonyms than any other language. This expansive lexicon is a blessing for writers, but it also demands attention to detail, since there are very few truly synonymous words -- that is words that can be used interchangeably regardless of context.
For example, the words lectern and podium appear to have no significant difference in meaning, but subtle distinctions in each word's definition make them near-synonyms rather than true synonyms. A lectern refers to a stand that a speaker might use for holding notes, but it also refers to a slanted-top reading desk in a church from which the scriptures are read. Like lectern, podium is used for a speaker's stand, but it also refers to a low platform upon which a speaker or conductor might stand.
Today's Challenge: The Tortoise and the Hare or The Turtle and the Rabbit?
In English there is a literal menagerie of near-synonyms. Read the definitions below from When Is a Pig a Hog? See if you can identify which of the two animals listed fits the definition most closely.
1. This domesticated member of the camel family is prized for its long, silky brown or black wool. Llama or Alpaca?
2. A domesticated ass. Donkey or Mule?
3. An immature swine weighing less than 120 pounds. Pig or Hog?
4. A torpedo-shaped, small-toothed whale with a blunt snout. Dolphin or Porpoise?
5. A leaping amphibian with smooth and moist skin, able to live on either land or water. Frog or Toad?
6. A reptile with a soft body and hard shell that lives in the water, especially the sea. Turtle or Tortoise?
7. A large, flesh-eating lizard-like reptile that is more aggressive than its counterpart; it also has
a longer and more pointed snout, and its closed mouth shows teeth. Alligator or Crocodile?
8. An amphibian, not a reptile, with soft, moist skin and no claws. Lizard or Salamander? (3)
Quote of the Day: Q: What’s the difference between a fanatic and a zealot? A: A zealot can’t change his mind. A fanatic can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject. --Winston Churchill
Answers: 1. Alpaca 2. Donkey 3. Pig 4. Porpoise 5. Frog 6. Turtle 7. Crocodile 8. Salamander
1 - Hunter, Matthew. "The Old Grey Hare: A History of Bugs Bunny." http://toolooney.goldenagecartoons.com/bugs.htm
2- http://www.peterrabbit.com/
3 - Randall, Bernice. When Is a Pig a Hog?: A Guide to Confoundingly Related English Words. New York: Galahad Books, 1991.
Showing posts with label synonyms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label synonyms. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
July 18: Semantics Day
Today is the birthday of S.I. Hayakawa who was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1906.
Professor Hayakawa was best known for his book Language in Thought and Action (1949). This book, now in its fifth edition, is one of the best known books on linguistics and specifically semantics: the study of the meaning of words and language.
Hayakawa taught English and Semantics at the University of Chicago and then at San Francisco State College, where he eventually became president in 1968.
His name hit the headlines when he disrupted a student anti-war demonstration in 1968, pulling the plug on an outdoor sound system. He was elected to the U.S. Senate as a Republican in 1976 and served one term until 1983.
Hayakawa's most famous act as a senator came in 1981 when he became the first politician to introduce a bill proposing that English become the official language of the United States.
After leaving office, Hayakawa founded U.S. English in 1983. U.S. English, Inc. lives on today. It's mission, according to its web site, is "preserving the unifying role of the English in the United States" (1).
Regardless of your position on "English as the official language of the U.S." debate, Hayakawa's writing about synonyms and word choice is instructive. In his introduction to his book Use the Right Word, Hayakawa encapsulates the history of polyglot English. A history that has given English more words than any other language and which has created an "embarrassment of riches" for the writer. Hayakawa challenges readers and writers to pay careful attention to words and especially to synonyms. He says that although we have many synonyms to choose from, there are "no exact synonyms." When using words in context there are subtle shades of meaning in every words. Denotations may be the same but connotations are different. Similarly words have different levels of abstraction. The word teach for example is more general in meaning than the word indoctrinate which is more specific.
The following paragraph contains more explanation and examples of Hayakawa's plea for attention to semantic details:
It can be argued that there really are not exact synonyms -- no exact equivalences of meaning. Such a position can be upheld if by 'meaning' 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 the contexts in which either might appear. But within a given context, there is often exact synonymy: I "mislaid" my wallet; I "misplaced" my wallet. In a slightly different context, however, the two words are not interchangeable: it would not be idiomatic to say, I "mislaid" my suitcase --all of which may suggest that while "misplace" is applicable to both small objects and large, "mislay" applies only to small. Also, one may suffer disappointment because of "misplaced," but never "mislaid," trust. This example shows again that words which are synonymous in one of their meanings may differ considerably in their other meanings (2).
Today's Challenge: Same Difference
Each group of three words below contains two synonyms and one antonym. See if you can identify the antonym. Then, see if you can identify the subtle differences between the remaining two synonyms.
1. sagacious ludicrous farcical
2. amateur connoisseur dilettante
3. plaudit acclaim censure
4. timidity savoir faire aplomb
5. benediction anathema curse
6. cursory superficial painstaking
7. tawdry garish modest
8. immutable fixed temporary
9. explicit cryptic arcane
10. prodigal spendthrift frugal
Quote of the Day: In a real sense, people who have read good literature have lived more than people who cannot or will not read. It is not true that we have only one life to live; if we can read, we can live as many more lives and as many kinds of lives as we wish. --S. I. Hayakawa
Answers: 1. sagacious 2. connoisseur 3. censure 4. timidity
5. benediction 6. painstaking 7. modest 8. temporary 9. explicit
10. frugal
1- U.S English, Inc.
http://www.usenglish.org/inc/default.asp
2 -Use The Right Word: A Modern Guide to Synonyms. (Edited by S. I. Hayakawa). Pleasantville, New York: The Reader's Digest Association, Inc., 1968.
Professor Hayakawa was best known for his book Language in Thought and Action (1949). This book, now in its fifth edition, is one of the best known books on linguistics and specifically semantics: the study of the meaning of words and language.
Hayakawa taught English and Semantics at the University of Chicago and then at San Francisco State College, where he eventually became president in 1968.
His name hit the headlines when he disrupted a student anti-war demonstration in 1968, pulling the plug on an outdoor sound system. He was elected to the U.S. Senate as a Republican in 1976 and served one term until 1983.
Hayakawa's most famous act as a senator came in 1981 when he became the first politician to introduce a bill proposing that English become the official language of the United States.
After leaving office, Hayakawa founded U.S. English in 1983. U.S. English, Inc. lives on today. It's mission, according to its web site, is "preserving the unifying role of the English in the United States" (1).
Regardless of your position on "English as the official language of the U.S." debate, Hayakawa's writing about synonyms and word choice is instructive. In his introduction to his book Use the Right Word, Hayakawa encapsulates the history of polyglot English. A history that has given English more words than any other language and which has created an "embarrassment of riches" for the writer. Hayakawa challenges readers and writers to pay careful attention to words and especially to synonyms. He says that although we have many synonyms to choose from, there are "no exact synonyms." When using words in context there are subtle shades of meaning in every words. Denotations may be the same but connotations are different. Similarly words have different levels of abstraction. The word teach for example is more general in meaning than the word indoctrinate which is more specific.
The following paragraph contains more explanation and examples of Hayakawa's plea for attention to semantic details:
It can be argued that there really are not exact synonyms -- no exact equivalences of meaning. Such a position can be upheld if by 'meaning' 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 the contexts in which either might appear. But within a given context, there is often exact synonymy: I "mislaid" my wallet; I "misplaced" my wallet. In a slightly different context, however, the two words are not interchangeable: it would not be idiomatic to say, I "mislaid" my suitcase --all of which may suggest that while "misplace" is applicable to both small objects and large, "mislay" applies only to small. Also, one may suffer disappointment because of "misplaced," but never "mislaid," trust. This example shows again that words which are synonymous in one of their meanings may differ considerably in their other meanings (2).
Today's Challenge: Same Difference
Each group of three words below contains two synonyms and one antonym. See if you can identify the antonym. Then, see if you can identify the subtle differences between the remaining two synonyms.
1. sagacious ludicrous farcical
2. amateur connoisseur dilettante
3. plaudit acclaim censure
4. timidity savoir faire aplomb
5. benediction anathema curse
6. cursory superficial painstaking
7. tawdry garish modest
8. immutable fixed temporary
9. explicit cryptic arcane
10. prodigal spendthrift frugal
Quote of the Day: In a real sense, people who have read good literature have lived more than people who cannot or will not read. It is not true that we have only one life to live; if we can read, we can live as many more lives and as many kinds of lives as we wish. --S. I. Hayakawa
Answers: 1. sagacious 2. connoisseur 3. censure 4. timidity
5. benediction 6. painstaking 7. modest 8. temporary 9. explicit
10. frugal
1- U.S English, Inc.
http://www.usenglish.org/inc/default.asp
2 -Use The Right Word: A Modern Guide to Synonyms. (Edited by S. I. Hayakawa). Pleasantville, New York: The Reader's Digest Association, Inc., 1968.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
July 28: Near-synonym Day
Today is the anniversary of the debut of the first cartoon featuring Bugs Bunny. On July 28, 1940, Warner Brothers released the animated short A Wild Hare in technicolor. The cartoon did not identify Bugs by name -- that would come later -- but it did premier his catchphrase "What's up Doc?" and his nemesis Elmer Fudd (1).
Coincidentally, it is also the birthday of Beatrix Potter, born in London in 1866.
Potter had few playmates as a child, but she did have a menagerie of pets that included a tortoise, a frog, a snake, and a rabbit. A shy, quiet girl, Potter sketched, painted, and kept a journal in which she wrote in a secret code she invented. The Tale of Peter Rabbit was published in 1902. She published numerous other animal tales, but Peter Rabbit remains the most popular (2).
All this talk about rabbits begs the question: what is the difference between a rabbit and a hare? Well, according to Bernice Randall's book When is a Pig a Hog?, a hare is larger than a rabbit, with longer ears and legs; another difference is that hares live in the open, among rocks and thickets, while rabbits live in burrows. Many words in English feature these kinds of fine distinctions, especially since English has more synonyms than any other language. This expansive lexicon is a blessing for writers, but it also demands attention to detail, since there are very few truly synonymous words -- that is words that can be used interchangeably regardless of context.
For example, the words lectern and podium appear to have no significant difference in meaning, but subtle distinctions in each word's definition make them near-synonyms rather than true synonyms. A lectern refers to a stand that a speaker might use for holding notes, but it also refers to a slanted-top reading desk in a church from which the scriptures are read. Like lectern, podium is used for a speaker's stand, but it also refers to a low platform upon which a speaker or conductor might stand.
Today's Challenge: The Tortoise and the Hare or The Turtle and the Rabbit?
In English there is a literal menagerie of near-synonyms. Read the definitions below from When Is a Pig a Hog? See if you can identify which of the two animals listed fits the definition most closely.
1. This domesticated member of the camel family is prized for its long, silky brown or black wool. Llama or Alpaca?
2. A domesticated ass. Donkey or Mule?
3. An immature swine weighing less than 120 pounds. Pig or Hog?
4. A torpedo-shaped, small-toothed whale with a blunt snout. Dolphin or Porpoise?
5. A leaping amphibian with smooth and moist skin, able to live on either land or water. Frog or Toad?
6. A reptile with a soft body and hard shell that lives in the water, especially the sea. Turtle or Tortoise?
7. A large, flesh-eating lizard-like reptile that is more aggressive than its counterpart; it also has
a longer and more pointed snout, and its closed mouth shows teeth. Alligator or Crocodile?
8. An amphibian, not a reptile, with soft, moist skin and no claws. Lizard or Salamander? (3)
Quote of the Day: Q: What’s the difference between a fanatic and a zealot? A: A zealot can’t change his mind. A fanatic can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject. --Winston Churchill
Answers: 1. Alpaca 2. Donkey 3. Pig 4. Porpoise 5. Frog 6. Turtle 7. Crocodile 8. Salamander
1 - Hunter, Matthew. "The Old Grey Hare: A History of Bugs Bunny." http://toolooney.goldenagecartoons.com/bugs.htm
3 - Randall, Bernice. When Is a Pig a Hog?: A Guide to Confoundingly Related English Words. New York: Galahad Books, 1991.
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