A Corpus-Based Study of the three Near-Synonyms : Change, Alter and Modify and Their Collocations

Sammanfattning: An important component of nativelike language production is linked to the knowledge of near-synonyms and their collocational patterns. The purpose of this corpus-based study was three-fold: (a) an examination of the frequency distribution across registers of the three near-synonyms change, alter, and modify; (b) their collocational patterns; and (c) their interchangeability. A lexical study on their distribution across registers in the BNC was conducted, examining the collocational strength between near-synonyms and their collocations in Sketch Engine. Subsequently, attempts were made to determine the potential interchangeability of the near-synonyms. The comparative analysis indicates that the near-synonyms differ from each other with reference to formality, as alter and modify tend to be used more in written and formal language than change. Further to this, and to some extent, they reveal different collocational patterns. More specifically, they often did not share collocates, although the verbs were near-synonyms. Change was more polysemous than alter and modify, which have more restricted collocational patterns. Furthermore, the interchangeability of change and alter were higher than for modify. Nevertheless, the formality and meaning were affected as change is less formal than alter and modify. The findings from the analyses are of value to second language learners and can support further knowledge in the field of linguistics, specific to near-synonyms and collocations.