An Insight on Semantic Change

An Insight on Semantic Change

Author: Florian Wenz

Publisher: GRIN Verlag

Published: 2012-04-27

Total Pages: 57

ISBN-13: 3656177627

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Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,7, University of Bamberg (Lehrstuhl für Englische Sprachwissenschaft ), course: English Etymology, language: English, abstract: "Nothing is perfectly static. Every word, every grammatical element, every locution, every sound and accent is a slowly changing configuration, molded by the invisible and impersonal drift that is the life of language." (Sapir 1949: 171) Reading this quote, in which Edward Sapir describes the nature of language, there are two important points, which I would like to use as a starting point for this paper. The first point is that language undergoes a continuous change and is never "perfectly static". This is especially true for semantics as Ullmann states: "Of all linguistic elements caught up in this drift, meaning is probably the least resistant to change." (Ullmann 1977: 193) The meaning of words is in a constant process of alteration. The second point is that the change mentioned above is done by "the invisible and impersonal drift" or to put it in simple words: The change in language in general and in meaning in particular happens unconsciously to the speakers. This fact poses the following questions: Why do speakers change the meaning of a word if they are not aware of it? What are the forces behind this process, how does this process look like and what are the most relevant types of change? Or in general: What is semantic change? To give answers to exactly these major questions about semantic change, will be the aim of this paper. The basis for this paper will be the theories of Andreas Blank, who even though being a Romanist, developed a precise, extensive and still very comprehensive theoretical work on semantic change, which is "[...] recommendable for historical semanticists of all languages." (Grzega 2000: 233)


Book Synopsis An Insight on Semantic Change by : Florian Wenz

Download or read book An Insight on Semantic Change written by Florian Wenz and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2012-04-27 with total page 57 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,7, University of Bamberg (Lehrstuhl für Englische Sprachwissenschaft ), course: English Etymology, language: English, abstract: "Nothing is perfectly static. Every word, every grammatical element, every locution, every sound and accent is a slowly changing configuration, molded by the invisible and impersonal drift that is the life of language." (Sapir 1949: 171) Reading this quote, in which Edward Sapir describes the nature of language, there are two important points, which I would like to use as a starting point for this paper. The first point is that language undergoes a continuous change and is never "perfectly static". This is especially true for semantics as Ullmann states: "Of all linguistic elements caught up in this drift, meaning is probably the least resistant to change." (Ullmann 1977: 193) The meaning of words is in a constant process of alteration. The second point is that the change mentioned above is done by "the invisible and impersonal drift" or to put it in simple words: The change in language in general and in meaning in particular happens unconsciously to the speakers. This fact poses the following questions: Why do speakers change the meaning of a word if they are not aware of it? What are the forces behind this process, how does this process look like and what are the most relevant types of change? Or in general: What is semantic change? To give answers to exactly these major questions about semantic change, will be the aim of this paper. The basis for this paper will be the theories of Andreas Blank, who even though being a Romanist, developed a precise, extensive and still very comprehensive theoretical work on semantic change, which is "[...] recommendable for historical semanticists of all languages." (Grzega 2000: 233)


Regularity in Semantic Change

Regularity in Semantic Change

Author: Elizabeth Closs Traugott

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2005-03-24

Total Pages: 364

ISBN-13: 9780521617918

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This new and important study of semantic change examines the various ways in which new meanings arise through language use, especially the ways in which speakers and writers experiment with uses of words and constructions. Drawing on extensive research from over a thousand years of English and Japanese textual history, Traugott and Dasher show that most changes in meaning originate in and are motivated by the associative flow of speech and conceptual metonymy.


Book Synopsis Regularity in Semantic Change by : Elizabeth Closs Traugott

Download or read book Regularity in Semantic Change written by Elizabeth Closs Traugott and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2005-03-24 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new and important study of semantic change examines the various ways in which new meanings arise through language use, especially the ways in which speakers and writers experiment with uses of words and constructions. Drawing on extensive research from over a thousand years of English and Japanese textual history, Traugott and Dasher show that most changes in meaning originate in and are motivated by the associative flow of speech and conceptual metonymy.


Semantic Change

Semantic Change

Author: Thomas Heim

Publisher: GRIN Verlag

Published: 2006-01-12

Total Pages: 27

ISBN-13: 3638453898

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Seminar paper from the year 2003 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1, LMU Munich (Institut für Englische Philologie), course: Hauptseminar, language: English, abstract: “Semantic change deals with change in meaning, understood to be a change in the concepts associated with a word [...]” (Campbell 1998: 255). To some of you, Campbell’s definition may seem a bit simplistic. Some scholars, too (for example Blank whom we’ll be hearing of later on), argue that it’s not one meaning of word that changes, but with semantic change a new meaning is added to the already existing meaning or meanings of a word and then this new meaning is lexicalised, or one of the already lexicalised meanings is no longer used and becomes extinct. I think Campbell’s definition can suffice as a basis for our little “immersion” into semantic change. And what is more important than a theoretically watertight definition is a “practical insight” into semantic change. So let’s have quick look on what exactly changes when words change their meanings.


Book Synopsis Semantic Change by : Thomas Heim

Download or read book Semantic Change written by Thomas Heim and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2006-01-12 with total page 27 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seminar paper from the year 2003 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1, LMU Munich (Institut für Englische Philologie), course: Hauptseminar, language: English, abstract: “Semantic change deals with change in meaning, understood to be a change in the concepts associated with a word [...]” (Campbell 1998: 255). To some of you, Campbell’s definition may seem a bit simplistic. Some scholars, too (for example Blank whom we’ll be hearing of later on), argue that it’s not one meaning of word that changes, but with semantic change a new meaning is added to the already existing meaning or meanings of a word and then this new meaning is lexicalised, or one of the already lexicalised meanings is no longer used and becomes extinct. I think Campbell’s definition can suffice as a basis for our little “immersion” into semantic change. And what is more important than a theoretically watertight definition is a “practical insight” into semantic change. So let’s have quick look on what exactly changes when words change their meanings.


Introducing Semantics

Introducing Semantics

Author: Nick Riemer

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2010-03-25

Total Pages: 477

ISBN-13: 0521851920

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An introduction to the study of meaning in language for undergraduate students.


Book Synopsis Introducing Semantics by : Nick Riemer

Download or read book Introducing Semantics written by Nick Riemer and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2010-03-25 with total page 477 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An introduction to the study of meaning in language for undergraduate students.


Reasons for semantic change in the english language

Reasons for semantic change in the english language

Author: Judith Schwickart

Publisher: GRIN Verlag

Published: 2007-06-04

Total Pages: 22

ISBN-13: 3638785130

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Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,7, University of Trier, course: Historische Semantik, language: English, abstract: In order to understand the different reasonings why meanings have changed the way they did, it is first necessary to understand what exactly is meant by the term how words can change their meaning and what results from these changes. The first part of this paper therefore consists of a short description of the most common ways in which words can change their meanings; in addition to that, there will be an overview of some basic types (or results) of semantic change. Afterwards, there will be a discussion of the different approaches of finding reasons for semantic change, according to the division given above. Finally, there is also a section with the most obvious issues in criticism, followed by a short conclusion.


Book Synopsis Reasons for semantic change in the english language by : Judith Schwickart

Download or read book Reasons for semantic change in the english language written by Judith Schwickart and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2007-06-04 with total page 22 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,7, University of Trier, course: Historische Semantik, language: English, abstract: In order to understand the different reasonings why meanings have changed the way they did, it is first necessary to understand what exactly is meant by the term how words can change their meaning and what results from these changes. The first part of this paper therefore consists of a short description of the most common ways in which words can change their meanings; in addition to that, there will be an overview of some basic types (or results) of semantic change. Afterwards, there will be a discussion of the different approaches of finding reasons for semantic change, according to the division given above. Finally, there is also a section with the most obvious issues in criticism, followed by a short conclusion.


The Cambridge Handbook of English Historical Linguistics

The Cambridge Handbook of English Historical Linguistics

Author: Merja Kytö

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2016-05-03

Total Pages: 1092

ISBN-13: 1316472914

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English historical linguistics is a subfield of linguistics which has developed theories and methods for exploring the history of the English language. This Handbook provides an account of state-of-the-art research on this history. It offers an in-depth survey of materials, methods, and language-theoretical models used to study the long diachrony of English. The frameworks covered include corpus linguistics, historical sociolinguistics, historical pragmatics and manuscript studies, among others. The chapters, by leading experts, examine the interplay of language theory and empirical data throughout, critically assessing the work in the field. Of particular importance are the diverse data sources which have become increasingly available in electronic form, allowing the discipline to develop in new directions. The Handbook offers access to the rich and many-faceted spectrum of work in English historical linguistics, past and present, and will be useful for researchers and students interested in hands-on research on the history of English.


Book Synopsis The Cambridge Handbook of English Historical Linguistics by : Merja Kytö

Download or read book The Cambridge Handbook of English Historical Linguistics written by Merja Kytö and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2016-05-03 with total page 1092 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: English historical linguistics is a subfield of linguistics which has developed theories and methods for exploring the history of the English language. This Handbook provides an account of state-of-the-art research on this history. It offers an in-depth survey of materials, methods, and language-theoretical models used to study the long diachrony of English. The frameworks covered include corpus linguistics, historical sociolinguistics, historical pragmatics and manuscript studies, among others. The chapters, by leading experts, examine the interplay of language theory and empirical data throughout, critically assessing the work in the field. Of particular importance are the diverse data sources which have become increasingly available in electronic form, allowing the discipline to develop in new directions. The Handbook offers access to the rich and many-faceted spectrum of work in English historical linguistics, past and present, and will be useful for researchers and students interested in hands-on research on the history of English.


Computational approaches to semantic change

Computational approaches to semantic change

Author: Nina Tahmasebi

Publisher: Language Science Press

Published: 2021-08-30

Total Pages: 396

ISBN-13: 3961103127

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Semantic change — how the meanings of words change over time — has preoccupied scholars since well before modern linguistics emerged in the late 19th and early 20th century, ushering in a new methodological turn in the study of language change. Compared to changes in sound and grammar, semantic change is the least understood. Ever since, the study of semantic change has progressed steadily, accumulating a vast store of knowledge for over a century, encompassing many languages and language families. Historical linguists also early on realized the potential of computers as research tools, with papers at the very first international conferences in computational linguistics in the 1960s. Such computational studies still tended to be small-scale, method-oriented, and qualitative. However, recent years have witnessed a sea-change in this regard. Big-data empirical quantitative investigations are now coming to the forefront, enabled by enormous advances in storage capability and processing power. Diachronic corpora have grown beyond imagination, defying exploration by traditional manual qualitative methods, and language technology has become increasingly data-driven and semantics-oriented. These developments present a golden opportunity for the empirical study of semantic change over both long and short time spans. A major challenge presently is to integrate the hard-earned knowledge and expertise of traditional historical linguistics with cutting-edge methodology explored primarily in computational linguistics. The idea for the present volume came out of a concrete response to this challenge. The 1st International Workshop on Computational Approaches to Historical Language Change (LChange'19), at ACL 2019, brought together scholars from both fields. This volume offers a survey of this exciting new direction in the study of semantic change, a discussion of the many remaining challenges that we face in pursuing it, and considerably updated and extended versions of a selection of the contributions to the LChange'19 workshop, addressing both more theoretical problems — e.g., discovery of "laws of semantic change" — and practical applications, such as information retrieval in longitudinal text archives.


Book Synopsis Computational approaches to semantic change by : Nina Tahmasebi

Download or read book Computational approaches to semantic change written by Nina Tahmasebi and published by Language Science Press. This book was released on 2021-08-30 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Semantic change — how the meanings of words change over time — has preoccupied scholars since well before modern linguistics emerged in the late 19th and early 20th century, ushering in a new methodological turn in the study of language change. Compared to changes in sound and grammar, semantic change is the least understood. Ever since, the study of semantic change has progressed steadily, accumulating a vast store of knowledge for over a century, encompassing many languages and language families. Historical linguists also early on realized the potential of computers as research tools, with papers at the very first international conferences in computational linguistics in the 1960s. Such computational studies still tended to be small-scale, method-oriented, and qualitative. However, recent years have witnessed a sea-change in this regard. Big-data empirical quantitative investigations are now coming to the forefront, enabled by enormous advances in storage capability and processing power. Diachronic corpora have grown beyond imagination, defying exploration by traditional manual qualitative methods, and language technology has become increasingly data-driven and semantics-oriented. These developments present a golden opportunity for the empirical study of semantic change over both long and short time spans. A major challenge presently is to integrate the hard-earned knowledge and expertise of traditional historical linguistics with cutting-edge methodology explored primarily in computational linguistics. The idea for the present volume came out of a concrete response to this challenge. The 1st International Workshop on Computational Approaches to Historical Language Change (LChange'19), at ACL 2019, brought together scholars from both fields. This volume offers a survey of this exciting new direction in the study of semantic change, a discussion of the many remaining challenges that we face in pursuing it, and considerably updated and extended versions of a selection of the contributions to the LChange'19 workshop, addressing both more theoretical problems — e.g., discovery of "laws of semantic change" — and practical applications, such as information retrieval in longitudinal text archives.


Semantics

Semantics

Author: James R. Hurford

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1983-04-28

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 9780521289498

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Introduces the major elements of semantics in a simple, step-by-step fashion. Sections of explanation and examples are followed by practice exercises with answers and comment provided.


Book Synopsis Semantics by : James R. Hurford

Download or read book Semantics written by James R. Hurford and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1983-04-28 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Introduces the major elements of semantics in a simple, step-by-step fashion. Sections of explanation and examples are followed by practice exercises with answers and comment provided.


From Polysemy to Semantic Change

From Polysemy to Semantic Change

Author: Martine Vanhove

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 422

ISBN-13: 9027205736

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This book is the result of a joint project on lexical and semantic typology which gathered together field linguists, semanticists, cognitivists, typologists, and an NLP specialist. These cross-linguistic studies concern semantic shifts at large, both synchronic and diachronic: the outcome of polysemy, heterosemy, or semantic change at the lexical level. The first part presents a comprehensive state of the art of a domain typologists have long been reluctant to deal with. Part two focuses on theoretical and methodological approaches: cognition, construction grammar, graph theory, semantic maps, and data bases. These studies deal with universals and variation across languages, illustrated with numerous examples from different semantic domains and different languages. Part three is dedicated to detailed empirical studies of a large sample of languages in a limited set of semantic fields. It reveals possible universals of semantic association, as well as areal and cultural tendencies.


Book Synopsis From Polysemy to Semantic Change by : Martine Vanhove

Download or read book From Polysemy to Semantic Change written by Martine Vanhove and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2008 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is the result of a joint project on lexical and semantic typology which gathered together field linguists, semanticists, cognitivists, typologists, and an NLP specialist. These cross-linguistic studies concern semantic shifts at large, both synchronic and diachronic: the outcome of polysemy, heterosemy, or semantic change at the lexical level. The first part presents a comprehensive state of the art of a domain typologists have long been reluctant to deal with. Part two focuses on theoretical and methodological approaches: cognition, construction grammar, graph theory, semantic maps, and data bases. These studies deal with universals and variation across languages, illustrated with numerous examples from different semantic domains and different languages. Part three is dedicated to detailed empirical studies of a large sample of languages in a limited set of semantic fields. It reveals possible universals of semantic association, as well as areal and cultural tendencies.


Semantic Change and Collective Knowledge in 18th Century Britain

Semantic Change and Collective Knowledge in 18th Century Britain

Author: John Regan

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2023-07-27

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 1350360503

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An in-depth digital investigation of several 18th-century British corpora, this book identifies shared communities of meaning in the printed British 18th century by highlighting and analysing patterns in the distribution of lexis. There are forces of attraction between words: some are more likely to keep company than others, and how words attract and repel one another is worthy of note. Charting these forces, this book demonstrates how distant reading 18th-century corpora can tell us something new, methodologically defensible and, crucially, interesting, about the most common constructions of word meanings and epistemes in the printed British 18th century. In the case studies in this book, computation brings to light some remarkable facts about collectively-produced forms of meaning, without which the most common meanings of words, and the ways of knowing that they constituted, would remain matters of conjecture rather than evidence. Providing the first investigation of collective meaning and knowledge in the British 18th century, this interdisciplinary study builds on the existing stores of close reading, praxis, and history of ideas, presenting a view constructed at scale, rather than at the level of individual texts.


Book Synopsis Semantic Change and Collective Knowledge in 18th Century Britain by : John Regan

Download or read book Semantic Change and Collective Knowledge in 18th Century Britain written by John Regan and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2023-07-27 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An in-depth digital investigation of several 18th-century British corpora, this book identifies shared communities of meaning in the printed British 18th century by highlighting and analysing patterns in the distribution of lexis. There are forces of attraction between words: some are more likely to keep company than others, and how words attract and repel one another is worthy of note. Charting these forces, this book demonstrates how distant reading 18th-century corpora can tell us something new, methodologically defensible and, crucially, interesting, about the most common constructions of word meanings and epistemes in the printed British 18th century. In the case studies in this book, computation brings to light some remarkable facts about collectively-produced forms of meaning, without which the most common meanings of words, and the ways of knowing that they constituted, would remain matters of conjecture rather than evidence. Providing the first investigation of collective meaning and knowledge in the British 18th century, this interdisciplinary study builds on the existing stores of close reading, praxis, and history of ideas, presenting a view constructed at scale, rather than at the level of individual texts.