SOM and CNS as corpus linguistic Methods for the Analysis of Paronyms by using the example of technical / technological

This paper discusses the use of semantic feature maps (SOMs) and the use of the contrastive method CNS (Contrasting Near Synonyms) for the semantic analysis and description of paronym pairs. So far, both methods have been employed principally in the analysis of synonyms and antonyms. They enable us to study contrastively and simultaneously pairs of lexical items which show semantic similarities with regard to their contextual use. The direct comparison of the thematic or discursive domains of two lexical units is of particular interest for the analysis of paronyms. This method was first tested and successfully employed in the framework of the Paronym Dictionary project (cf. effizient/effektiv, Storjohann 2013; sensibel/sensitiv, Storjohann/Schnorch 2016). With the help of the example technisch/technologisch this paper will describe both, the precise procedure of applying semantic feature maps and the CNS method to the study of paronyms.