SYNONYMS IN ACTION: A CASE STUDY

Authors

  • Rebecca Clift
Keywords: synonymy, conversation analysis (CA), actually, in fact

Abstract

This paper discusses what the methods of conversation analysis (CA) might have to offer the study of linguistic synonymy. It takes as a case study two items commonly held to be synonyms -'actually' and 'in fact'- and shows considerable differences between the two in their interactional implementation: they are implicated in the prosecution of differing courses of action. Such cases argue that it is analytically more profitable to consider what a lexical item does in the context of talk than what it means.

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Author Biography

Rebecca Clift

Department of Language and Linguistics University of Essex
How to Cite
Clift, R. (2003). SYNONYMS IN ACTION: A CASE STUDY. International Journal of English Studies, 3(1), 167–188. Retrieved from https://revistas.um.es/ijes/article/view/48631