Pour en finir avec la prétendue synonymie de pareil et identique

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to tease apart the semantic differences between pareil and identique. After a brief discussion of the syntactic and semantic properties shared by the two adjectives, attention is given to data illustrating their specificity. It is shown that identique is similar to symmetric relational adjectives. In an objective way, identique emphasizes a strong resemblance between distinct entities which usually have the same referential status. By contrast, pareil often serves to point out an asymmetric relationship between two referents, of which one tends to be more virtual than the other. The adjective often expresses a subjective judgment, allowing the speaker to focus (possibly by means of a type) on certain salient properties of a referent.