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A corpus-based study of the near-synonymous prepositions by, via, through |
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| รหัสดีโอไอ | |
| Title | A corpus-based study of the near-synonymous prepositions by, via, through |
| Creator | Tamolwan Yousukee |
| Contributor | Arthitaya Narathakoon, Advisor |
| Publisher | Thammasat University |
| Publication Year | 2568 |
| Keyword | Corpus linguistics, Near-synonyms, Prepositions, Collocation, Semantic preference, COCA, Corpus-based study |
| Abstract | This study investigated the similarities and differences among the near-synonymous prepositions by, via, and through in their means or process sense, using the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA). It examined their functional uses, their distribution across genres, and their collocations and semantic preferences, combining quantitative and qualitative analysis. Although the three prepositions share the general meaning of means or process, they are not used in the same way. By was the broadest and most flexible item (3,452,632 tokens), marking an agent, instrument, method, or cause, and was register-neutral, occurring most often in academic texts. Via was the most restricted (51,442 tokens), tied to communication, technology, and transmission, and largely confined to written and digital genres while rare in speech. Through (841,144 tokens) was the most evenly distributed, peaking in fiction, but its frequent collocates were mainly spatial. Among the three, via showed the clearest means or process preference and through the weakest. Overall, the findings indicate that these prepositions are not fully interchangeable in authentic use. |
