SEMANTIC CHANGE Flashcards
(22 cards)
What is the change in have + DP in North American English?
The change involves have shifting from an auxiliary verb (She had not a car) to a lexical main verb (She did not have a car).
What is the S-curve in syntactic change?
The S-curve describes the trajectory of syntactic change, where the new variant increases in frequency over time, following a logistic growth pattern (e.g., doubling of odds at equal intervals).
What is polysemy?
Polysemy occurs when a single word has multiple related meanings (e.g., bank as a financial institution or the side of a river).
What is homonymy?
Homonymy occurs when multiple words have the same form but unrelated meanings (e.g., bat as an animal or a sports equipment).
What is semantic widening/broadening?
Semantic widening (broadening) occurs when a word’s meaning becomes more general over time (e.g., dog originally referred to a specific breed but now refers to all dogs).
what are the three stages of change in meaning from ‘A’ to ‘B’, where ‘B’ outlives ‘A’?
- stage 1: ‘A’ only has one meaning
- stage 2: ‘A, B’ (new, additional sense ‘B’ appears) –> old meaning and also a new additional meaning that occur together (synonyms atp)
- stage 3: ‘B’ (original sense ‘A’ falls out of use) –> in this case, ‘A’ would often becom a word that is specialised in use, while ‘B’ is the broader term, however this stage doesn’t always occur due to polysemy
what are the three stages of change in meaning from ‘A’ to ‘B’, where ‘A’ outlives ‘B’?
- stage 1: ‘A’ –> only has that one meaning
- stage 2: ‘A, B’ –> two meanings, can be synonyms
- stage 3: ‘A’ –> A outlives B likely since B was a short-lived term (like slang)
What is semantic narrowing?
Semantic narrowing occurs when a word’s meaning becomes more specific over time (e.g., meat originally meant “food” but now refers specifically to animal flesh).
What is (a)melioration?
Melioration (elevation) occurs when a word’s meaning gains a more positive connotation over time (e.g., knight originally meant “boy” but now refers to a noble warrior).
What is pejoration?
Pejoration occurs when a word’s meaning gains a more negative connotation over time (e.g., villain originally meant “peasant” but now refers to a criminal).
What is metaphor in semantic change?
Metaphor involves using a word in a new context based on a perceived similarity (e.g., clear originally meant “bright” but now also means “easy to understand”).
What is metonymy?
Metonymy involves using an attribute or property of something to refer to the thing itself (e.g., the crown to refer to the monarchy).
What is synecdoche?
Synecdoche is a type of metonymy where a part stands for the whole or vice versa (e.g., hands to refer to workers).
What is taboo avoidance?
Taboo avoidance involves using euphemisms to refer to socially unacceptable topics (e.g., pass away instead of die).
Decide what type of semantic change ‘Queen” went thorough from meaning ‘royalty’ to current slang meaning ‘powerful in an empowering way’ and provide an argument why.
The semantic change in “queen” is best classified as melioration because the word has acquired a more positive and empowering connotation over time, reflecting societal values of strength, confidence, and celebration of individuality.
What is grammaticalization in semantic change?
Grammaticalization is the process by which a lexical item acquires a grammatical function (e.g., will “want” > will “future” > ‘ll “future”).
What is the relationship between grammaticalization and semantic change?
Grammaticalization often involves semantic change, where a word’s meaning becomes more abstract or bleached as it takes on a grammatical role.
What is the universality of semantic change?
Certain semantic changes, such as see > know or see > think, are hypothesized to be universal due to shared cognitive processes across languages.
What is the cultural variation in semantic change?
While some semantic changes are universal, others may vary across cultures, reflecting differences in how perception and cognition are mapped (e.g., see > desire in some languages).
What is the intrafield extension in semantic change?
Intrafield extension involves semantic shifts within the same domain, such as see > hear (higher to lower sensory modalities).
What is the transfield extension in semantic change?
Transfield extension involves semantic shifts across domains, such as see > think (perception to cognition).
What is the prediction about see in semantic change?
See is predicted to link to higher cognitive functions (e.g., think) due to its status as the highest perceptual modality.
