Concept

Object Term

Concept–term relations

1 concept : 1 term 1c:1:t

IDEAL to avoid ambiguity, misunderstanding

to guarantee precision

1 t should designate 1 c only

1 c should be expressed by 1 t only

Monosemy

Polysemy

1 t – C1
C2
C3
C4

c. in constructions/architecture
c in dentistry

BRIDGE
c. in music

c. in music instruments
What all these concepts have in common? A characteristic is common. They all have a one
shared characteristic providing a link between 2 points.
C. in medicine noun
Viral (adj.) -> viral
C. in online marketing/ social media adjective

shared characteristics : fast and widespread

Polysemy is not recommended in specialized communication because it creates ambiguity,

especially in the same field.

3. Synonymy

T1 mapa de presa
T2 kit de presă
1c
T3 dosar de presă
T4 kit media

Synonymy is not recommended for the same reason as polysemy. There is one
instance in which synonymy is useful: in written communication.
Synonymy Occurs when we have the term in Romania and the termn in English
running in paralles
Even when there is a term we still borrow the English one
 Read the lecture notes
Borrowings from other languages appear when there is no term in a language
Equivalence

T1
T2
1c in different languages
T3
T4

Press kit = dosar de presă

total

Synonymy partial
Equivalence
quase

Synonymy and equivalence can be total when the terms designate exactly the
same concept. It can also be partial

Quase = wrong
E.g. Press kit = comunicat de presă

Possible questions for the exam

1. Name 3 factors that may lead to synonymy in specialized
communications. We have 4-5 examples in lecture notes.
2. Is synonymy recommended in specialized communication? Why yes and
why no?
3. What is the difference between synonymy and polysemy?
4. Point out the difference between words and terms.
 Terms vs words

Words:
- Belong to general language
- Used by everyone including by specialists in everyday situations
- Many meanings, not specialized
- Words change meaning according to the context in which they are used
- Are used in a wide range of lexical collocations (combination) – wprds combine in
various ways, terms do not.
Terms:
- Belong to specialized communications (LSP)
- Are used by specialists in professional settings
- Have a much higher degree of precision/are much more precise (1T:1C in a
specialized domain)
- Preserve their meaning in a domain
- Are used in relatively fixed lexical combinations
- More varied linguistic expression 9 symbols, codes, numeric combinations 9