On Synonymy in Adjectives of Foreign and Native Origin in English Botanical Terminology and their Equivalence in Slovak

Abstract

Synonymy within scientific vocabulary is an undesirable phenomenon. It contradicts the basic definition and characteristics of a scientific term which are dealt with in the present paper. There are, however, pairs or sets of scientific terms used in written English botanical texts that appear to be synonymous. The paper further summarises the results of the analysis of 39 terminological adjectives grouped into 13 sets each comprising a foreign origin term and two domestic terms of the type substantive+shaped and substantive+like. The relationship between the respective terms is described from the point of view of the (dis)agreement in denotation, stylistic markedness, frequency of occurrences, and distributional differences. In addition, suitable Slovak equivalents are provided for all examined terms.