Synonyms Within Chinese Teaching To French Speakers: Problems And Solutions

Synonyms are a particular phenomenon in vocabulary. While communicating, peopleuse words of identical or similar meanings in order to reflect the nuances of the world theylive in and to express their feelings and opinions about things surrounding them.Understanding the nuances existing between a group of synonyms as well as the way inwhich to appropriately use them, will without doubt, help to increase the accuracy of one’sexpression in the language.French speakers learning Chinese may be able to strengthen their expression throughextension of their vocabulary and proper use of Chinese synonyms. However, during theactual Chinese learning process, French speakers face great difficulty in differentiatingbetween synonyms and identifying nuances. Through research, this thesis aims to identifycommon errors relating to the use of synonyms which can occur when learningChinese. By analyzing the reasons for such errors, one may provide “tailored-made”teaching guidance for French-speaking students. During her internship, the author of thispaper taught a class that focused on differentiating Chinese synonyms and identifying theirnuances. She wishes that this thesis may enrich research in the field of Chinese teaching toFrench speakers.