Semantic Change

1. Semantic Change

2. MoE - “kind and loving, affectionate” MoE – “pleased, delighted” MoE – “man to whom a woman is married” OE fond – “foolish, foolishly credulous” OE glad – “bright, shining” OE husband – “master of the house”

3. Why do words develop new meanings? • What circumstances cause and stimulate their development? • How do words develop new meanings? • What is the nature of the very process of development of new meanings?

4. Semantic Change • development of a new meaning • change of meaning

5. Causes of Semantic Change • Why did the word change its meaning?

6. Causes of Semantic Change • linguistic factors • extra-linguistic (historical) factors

7. Extra-linguistic Causes • various changes in the life of the speech community • changes in economic and social structures • changes in culture, knowledge, technology, arts • changes of ideas, scientific concepts, way of life

8. Extra-linguistic Causes • e.g. pen Latin penna – “feather of a bird” • mill – “a building in which corn is ground into flour” (primary meaning) “textile factory” (secondary meaning)

9. Linguistic Causes • factors acting within the language system

10. Linguistic Causes • ellipsis – a change of meaning when the meaning of a word-combination is given to only one word of this combination

11. Ellipsis to starve OE steorfan – “to die” – sterven of hunger Modern E starve – “to die from hunger” daily daily – “happening every day” – a daily newspaper daily – “a daily newspaper”

12. Linguistic Causes • discrimination of synonyms – conflict of synonyms when a perfect synonym of a native word is borrowed from other language

13. Discrimination of Synonyms tide OE tide – 1)”time” 2)”season” 3)”hour” from French – time, season, hour Modern English tide – “regular rise and fall of the sea caused by the moon” deer OE deor – “any beast” animal – a borrowed word deer – “a certain kind of animal”

14. Nature of Semantic Change • How do new meanings develop? • a condition for any semantic change – association between the old meaning and the new one

15. Two Kinds of Association • similarity of meanings • contiguity of meanings

16. Similarity of Meanings(linguistic metaphor) • appearance of a new meaning as a result of associating two objects (phenomena, qualities, etc.) due to their resemblance

17. Similarity of Meanings • similarity of shape – e.g. head of a cabbage, teeth of a saw, bottleneck • similarity of position – e.g. foot of a page, of a mountain • similarity of function, behavior – e.g. a bookworm, a (minute) hand

18. Similarity of Meanings • similarity of colour – e.g. orange, hazel, chesnut • complex similarity – e.g. a leg of a table – similarity in shape, position, function

19. Contiguity of Meanings(linguistic metonymy) • association of two referents one of which makes part of the other or is closely connected with it

20. Types of Metonymy • the material of which an object is made may become the name of the object – e.g. an iron, a mink (“mink coat”) • the name of the place may become the name of the people or of an object placed there – e.g. the city was exited, the White House (“the administration of the USA”)

21. Types of Metonymy • names of musical instruments may become names of musicians when they are united in an orchestra – e.g. the violin, the piano • the name of some person may become a common noun – e.g. sandwich (Lord Sandwich), boycott (the Boycotts)

22. Types of Metonymy • names of inventors very often become terms to denote things they invented – e.g. watt, om • geographical names may be used for things produced there – e.g. china (porcelain), astrakhan (a sheep fur)

23. Types of Metonymy • the name of a thing may be used for its content – e.g. the kettle is boiling • the name of a painter is used for his masterpieces – e.g. a Matisse (a painting by Matisse)

24. Results of Semantic Change • What was changed? • change in the range of meaning

25. restriction of meanings (narrowing) – restriction of the types or referents denoted by the word e.g. OE “hound” – a dog of any greed Modern English “hound” – a dog used in chase extension of meanings (widening) – application of the word to wider variety of referents e.g. OE “trunk” – the main stem of a tree Modern English “trunk” – the body of anything Changes in Denotational Meaning

26. specialization - the word with a new meaning (restricted) comes to be used in the specialized vocabulary e.g. OE glide -“to move gently and smoothly” Modern English “glide” -to fly with no engine generalization – the word with the extended meaning passes from the specialized vocabulary into common use e.g. OE “salary” – money given to soldiers to buy salt with Modern English “salary” – money paid to clerks Changes in Denotational Meaning

27. pejoration (degradation, degeneration) – a word acquires some negative derogatory emotive charge e.g. OE “boor”- a villager, a peasant Modern English “boor” – a clumsy or ill-bred fellow amelioration (elevation) – improvement of the connotational component e.g. OE “minister” – a servant, an attendant Modern English “minister” – a civil servant of higher rank Changes in Connotational Meaning

28. Other Changes of Semantic Meaning • hyperbole • irony • euphemism • taboo • litotes

29. Hyperbole • the exaggerated statement which should not be understood literally as it expresses an emotional attitude of a speaker to what he is speaking about • e.g. I haven’t seen you for ages • e.g. You’ll be the death for me

30. Irony • the expression of one mening by words of opposite sense, usually it is done for the purpose of ridicule • e.g. How nice! (when you are angry) • e.g. A pretty mess you’ve done of it!

31. Euphemism • referring to something unpleasant by using milder words and phrases so that a formerly inoffensive word receives a disagreeable meaning • e.g. to pass away (to die) • e.g. diseased (dead)

32. Taboo • the case when it is prohibited to pronounce a word and it is replaced by another word or a word-combination

33. Litotes • expressing the affirmative by the negative of its contrary • e.g. not bad =good • e.g. not small = great