Abstract
The focal issue of the paper is synonymy occurring in phraseology discussed
on the example of selected units from various European languages. The relation
of synonymy between multiword expressions is of complex character, since
there are three main types of phraseological synonyms, i.e. absolute synonyms,
quasi-synonyms and pseudo-synonyms. The first type, absolute synonyms, is
represented by units which bear similarity in a number of parametres, such
as: stylistic markedness and evaluation, frequency. In order to qualify units as
absolute synonyms, one is to conduct a multiaspectual analysis, comparing the
parametres of two units. It is generally acknowledged that hardly any absolute
synonyms exist. The ones which can be considered absolute synonyms tend to
form a chain of units, which show some lexical differences, occurring as a result
of substitution of a component. Quasi-synonyms, units differing in some aspects,
yet conveying the same meaning, are by far more common in language. As to the
differences, they concern the semantics, imagery, stylistics, evaluation, syntactic
properties, collocability and frequency of the units. The typology presented also
comprises pseudo-synonyms, i.e. units showing external similarity (the structure
and components) which cause language users to associate their meanings, which
actually do not overlap. As a consequence, the units tend to be used wrongly
in the process of communication. The results of the studies on the synonymy of
phraseological units have some practical applications, for instance, they can be
implemented in lexicography and language teaching.
