Synonyms in contrast. A dynamic and descriptive resource for new semantic equivalents

This paper introduces “Synonyms in Contrast”, a new online dictionary that addresses the complexities and nuances of neologistic (near-) synonyms in the German language. The emergence of new lexical items, often borrowings from English, has contributed to the proliferation of meaning equivalents. These share a large extent of contextual features, causing ambiguity and uncertainty among speakers regarding their appropriate usage. The dictionary, which is part of the new IDS Neo2020+ resource, distinguishes itself by utilising corpus-driven and corpus-based approached and sophisticated lexicographic methods such as word embeddings to provide users with comprehensive, context-sensitive information on semantic similarities and differences between new synonyms. This resource aims to aid in the clear understanding of new terms, their usage, and interrelations by detailing their semantic overlaps, distinctive contexts, and collocational preferences. Through a combination of empirical data and user-specified presentation, the dictionary facilitates better linguistic decisions in both everyday and also more specialised communication. The ultimate goal is to enhance the integration of new lexical variants into the mental lexicon of German speakers by offering a reliable, dynamic, and descriptive platform for exploring and resolving lexical uncertainties with respect to meaning equivalents that have recently emerged.