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. Changes in Denotational Meaning
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

26. Changes in Denotational Meaning
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

27. Changes in Connotational Meaning
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

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