Intro
What is Semantic Change?
It's a form of language change regarding the evolution of word usage.
Name the three extra-linguistic factors that cause semantic change (3 seconds to think)
Psychological, sociocultural and cultural/encyclopaedic.
Name the three linguistic factors that cause semantic change (3 seconds to think).
Metonomy, metaphors and ellipsis.
Name the 5 types of semantic changes that deal with either linguistic or extra-linguistic factors (5 seconds to think).
Narrowing, broadening, amelioration, pejoration and semantic reclamation.
What does a word have to allow a Semantic Change?
A word has a variety of senses and connotations, which can be added, removed, or altered over time.
What do extra-linguistic factors deal with? What do they refer to?
They have to do mainly with social or historical causes. They refer to factors that are extra, meaning that they exist outside the language itself.
Where do these factors occur?
These Factors occur within the system of the spoken language. These changes take longer than extra-linguistic changes.
What does Amelioration refer to?
Amelioration is a term that refers to when a word acquires a more positive meaning over time.
What are the original uses of "awful" and "awesome"?
Inspiring wonder/awe and awe-inspiring.
The psychological factor is related to...
how people view a word and its meaning. If a word's meaning is unclear, it may be given a new meaning; or it may become a taboo (or be used as a euphemism)
When does Metonymy occur?
It occurs when the name of an object is substituted for an attribute or adjective. (tracks / turf)
What is pejoration?
A word that once had a positive meaning acquires a negative one. Can include a word becoming taboo, or being linked with a taboo within the culture
How would you define the process in which semantic change occurs?
The process of the semantic change is gradual. The meaning of a word may take many years to change.
Sociocultural factors are the most common for extra-linguistic change... why?
Changes in the social, economic or political status of a country can have a significant impact on semantics. For e.g: during the Industrial Revolution the meaning of the word engine changed to describe an specific mechanical device.
What do metaphors affect? What do they express?
They may affect what words are associated with. They may show connections between two similar things. (mouse/rodent/computer device).
Semantic reclamation occurs when...
a group of people who have been oppressed reclaim (or take back) a word that has been used in the past to disparage them.
What thing happens at the same time to allow semantic change to occur?
Semantic change often occurs as societal values change. Different social or ethnic groups may experience semantic change variously.
Cultural/encyclopaedic factors refer to...
the reason why a word might change its meaning. Due to cultural changes, a word might change its category. In the case of the word "cool", the meaning was regarding jazz music, but as the music style became more popular, the word got associated with anything trendy.
What do ellipsis deal with?
When two words are consistently used together in a sentence they acquire the same meaning. The verb "to starve" was first used as a way of saying "to die" but was constantly used in sentences with the word "hunger" so it changed.
Compare narrowing and broadening, why are they different?
Narrowing: Process in which the word becomes less generalised (more specific) over time. Narrowing can also be referred to as semantic specialisation or semantic restriction.
Broadening: The meaning of a word becomes more generalised over time. The word can be used in more contexts than it could originally.