There have been many heated debates about the definitions of some near- synonyms. In particular, it is very difficult for English non-native speakers to distinguish among English synonyms and use them in appropriate contexts even if we look up the meanings in an English dictionary, which are sometimes more confusing. The objective of this study is to explore the distinctions between Destiny and Fate by means of ‘Binary Opposition(BO) Strategies’ proposed by Kim(2015). The basic idea of BO is that in order to distinguish sharply and effectively between a pair of near-synonyms, it is necessary to focus on a pair of (contextual) BO features, such as [actual vs. non-actual], [cause vs. effect], [controllable vs. uncontrollable] and [changeable vs. unchangeable] ect., and identify the critical differences between them. This demonstrates that in the case of non-interchangeable uses, ‘destiny’ and ‘fate’ are distinguished in the context by BO features like 1)[+divine vs. -divine](which means destiny can be influenced by man’s actions, whereas fate is seen as divinely planned), 2)[+controllable vs. -controllable](which means destiny is like an appointment you can make or change, whereas fate is like death you cannot avoid), 3)[+changeable vs. -changeable](which means while destiny is something we can actively shape and change. whereas fate is based on the notion that there is a natural order in the Universe which cannot be changed, no matter how hard we try, and 4)[future vs. past](which means destiny relates to the probable to almost certain future, whereas fate relates to events of the past).
저자
Byeongkil Ahn [ Gyeongnam National University of Science and Technology ]
