Ovladavanje sinonimima u školskome razdoblju jezičnoga razvoja govornika hrvatskoga jezika
Mastering Synonyms in the School Period of Linguistic Development of the Speakers of the Croatian Language

Summary/Abstract: This paper explains the theoretical postulates of synonyms and of synonymy as a paradigmatic relationship between the lexemes, and the process of mastering the synonyms during the language development. Important prerequisites for mastering the synonyms are certain levels of cognitive, meta-linguistic and, especially, meta-semantic and meta-pragmatic knowledge and awareness, which are all mastered in later stages of the language development; i.e. the beginning of the school age. Mastering the synonyms as a meta-linguistic knowledge is stimulated by explicit learning. The conducted research has shown that the knowledge of synonyms positively correlates with reading habits, encouraging surroundings and the speaker’s exposure to foreign languages. It has also shown that the skill of using synonyms in a creative narrative is affected by one’s reading habits and by the number of foreign languages one adopts. These insights are a valuable contribution to the study of mastering the Croatian language during the school age phase of language development – especially of mastering the meta-linguistic knowledge. The results indicate guidelines for a methodical approach to the linguistic curriculum during the preschool and school age phases in linguistic development.

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