The Difference between "memorial" and "commemorative"?

Question

I am a non-native speaker of English and I wonder the difference of the usage of the words "memorial" and "commemorative".
I know that the word "memorial" has something to do with the notion of "in memory of s/th".
Can anyone explain the difference of these words in tems of the
collocation.
For example, when we descibe a hall, which is built by the funds of someone, should we call the hall "a memorial hall" or "a commemorative hall"?
My supposition is that the word "memorial" has a nuance of "something in memory of deceased". So to me, it seems that a term "memorial hall" implies a certain place where a memorial service is taken place.

I appreciate some detailed answers preferably with some sentence examples.

Answer 1

I think even native speakers of English might not notice the difference if you used one instead of another, but to the best of my understanding:

Memorial has more to do with death. You would not have a "memorial" hall for someone unless they were dead..it might still be named after them, if they are alive...but it's not a memorial.

Commemorative I associate more with events (not people...living or dead) so it might be an event in someones life...but more often an historic event "the signing of the declaration of independence" or " The Emancipation proclamation"

We might have a memorial for Lincoln and a commemoration for the Proclamation.

Answer 2

Hi,

You were pretty close to answering your own question. Without splitting too many hairs here, this is the basic difference. (Although most English speaking people would never know it)

Memorial is used when we just want to remember or pay our respects to someone, usually because they are dead.

Commemorative is used when we are celebrating either someone's special achievements or a special event.

A memorial hall is likely to respect or remember the lives of locals killed in a war.

I've never heard of a "Commemorative Hall" but it is likely to have been built with money donated by a local dignitary or a fund-raising campaign launched by a local dignitary.

Answer 3

First of all instead of "collocation" I think you may mean "connotation", or perhaps "context". Both of these words have a similar meaning. They mean how you interpret a word within a sentence. I've not heard of "collocation". Now to answer your question. "Commemoration" refers to an event, so you might commemorate the Holocaust, or some other terrible event. "Memorial" refers to an individual person, so you might have a memorial service when the leader of the country dies. I hope this helps to clear things up for you, as I know how difficult my language is to learn.