한국언어과학회

This research investigates the collocational behaviors and semantic preferences to discriminate among near-synonyms. The research focuses on the nominal collocates of near-synonymous adjectives(complex, complicated, intricate, and elaborate) in terms of the overall usage patterns of collocates, semantic preferences of collocates, and shared collocates. Based on data collected from Brown and LOB corpus, Words analyzes frequency patterns of near-synonyms, and GraphColl builds and visualizes the collocation networks, which provide important insights into meaning relationships. Also, WordNet online is operated to group the collocates of each near-synonymous adjective into definable semantic categories. Findings from the research revealed there are some similarities and differences among four adjectives; firstly, they had different frequency patterns across genres, and secondly, they tended to appear selectively with the collocates indicating particular semantic preferences despite vagueness in accurately capturing and classifying meanings neatly. Lastly, they had some shared collocates which show some common semantic preferences.