Similarity (linguistics)
Similarity (from the Latin similis "similar") denotes in text linguistics a relation between lexemes through which a similarity is expressed in the broadest sense, for example:
- A is similar to B
- A is opposite to B,
- A is more complex than B,
- A replaces B.
Above all, the term excludes contiguity relations .
If there is a risk of misunderstanding, one can say that contiguity exists in physical reality, whereas similarity exists in thoughts. The two categories are at the top of a semantic classification of relations. For example, they play a role in linguistics
- as relationships between meanings ( designata ) in the theory of semantic change,
- as relationships between linguistic units in the syntagma and paradigm,
- as relationships between languages in the theory of language comparison.
swell
- ^ Christian Lehmann: Contiguity and Similarity.