ARCHIVED 2.5.5. Term Relationships
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Ideally, all terms designating a concept should be in a relationship of monosemy (a one concept-one term relationship) with that concept in a given specialized language. In reality, however, this is not always the case. polysemy of a term in a subject-field mainly results from semantic neology, but beyond that it should be controlled.
Examples
Monosemy: In anatomy, the term "brain" designates the portion of the vertebrate central nervous system that is enclosed within the cranium, continuous with the spinal cord, and composed of grey matter and white matter. It regulates and controls many bodily activities, and is the seat of consciousness, memory and emotion. (ITP Nelson Canadian Dictionary 1997: 168)
Polysemy: In the anatomy of invertebrate organisms, the term "brain" designates a functionally similar portion of the invertebrate nervous system; in general language, it designates a very intelligent person (the brain of an organization), and intelligence itself (brains). (ibid.: 168)
The main kinds of entries appearing on a terminology record are the preferred terms, their synonyms (including their abbreviations and their spelling or syntactic variants), quasi-synonyms and, if necessary, the pseudo-synonyms, or terms to avoid.
- True synonyms are terms that designate the same concept and that can be used interchangeably in all contexts.
- Quasi-synonyms, or near-synonyms, are terms that designate the same concept but that are not interchangeable because of differences in usage depending on communication situations. These differences are indicated on the record by appropriate usage labels and observations.
- Pseudo-synonyms, or false synonyms, designate different, although often closely related, concepts. Your record-creation rules may state that pseudo-synonyms are not to be included on the record. If they are included, they are always accompanied by an observation explaining the situation and advising against the use of these terms to designate the concept dealt with on the record.
- Antonyms are pairs of words whose meanings are the opposites of one another, exactly as antonym is opposite to synonym (e.g. explosion / implosion).
Exercise
In the following questions, select either pseudo-synonym or quasi-synonym to describe the relationship between the term in question and the term CHAIR: seating form for one person, composed of horizontal surface, or seat, supported on legs and with a vertical element, or back, raising from its rear edge (BOYCE 2001: 54)
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