A Study on the Recognition of Semantic Differences between Loanwords and Synonymous Words: Focusing on the Vocabulary Usage Patterns of Korean University Students

As the number of loanwords is increasing in the use of the Korean language, there are many cases where they are used as synonyms of native words or Chinese characters. There are also many cases where foreign languages are used as they are before being recognized as loanwords. In this process, native words or Chinese characters, loanwords, and foreign words form their own semantic roles and become synonyms. This study, accordingly, aimed at identifying how native Koreans distinguish the differences in the meanings of synonyms involving loanwords or foreign languages, in relation to native words or Chinese characters and other loanwords, and how they use them differently depending on the context, through a survey conducted among students enrolled in colleges in Seoul. 10 pairs of target vocabulary were selected through a survey of university lecturers. This study analyzed specific aspects of how these vocabulary pairs share common meanings but are used differently depending on the context in actual linguistic life. This study is significant in that it identified a shared understanding among language users regarding the differences in the meanings of loanwords and synonyms that were not clearly recognized by them. It is hoped that the results of this study will define distinctions between synonyms that are not clearly explained by dictionary definitions alone, and that this will serve as basic materials for Korean synonym education in the future.