Seminar 4

Seminar

Historical Changeability of the Semantic Structure of English Words (2 hrs)

1. Causes of semantic change: linguistic, extra-linguistic.

EX-L

• 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

• 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)

L

• factors acting within the language system

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

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”

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

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”

2. Nature of semantic change: linguistic metaphor; linguistic metonymy.

Nature – a condition for any semantic change – association between the old meaning and the new one.

• similarity of meanings

• contiguity of meanings

Metaphor ­ – appearance of a new meaning as a result of associating two objects (phenomena, qualities, etc.) due to their resemblance.

• 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

• similarity of colour – e.g. orange, hazel, chesnut

• complex similarity – e.g. a leg of a table – similarity in shape, position, function

Metonymy – association of two referents one of which makes part of the other or is closely connected with it.

• 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”)

• 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)

• 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)

• 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)

3. Types of semantic change: broadening (generalization); narrowing (specialization); degradation (degeneration); elevation (amelioration).

change in the range of meaning

Changing of 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

• 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

Changing 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

Other changes of semantic meaning

• hyperbole

• irony

• euphemism

• taboo

• litotes

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

Irony

• the expression of one mening by words of opposite sense, usually it is done for the purpose of ridicule

How nice! (when you are angry)

A pretty mess you’ve done of it!

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)

Taboo

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

Litotes

• expressing the affirmative by the negative of its contrary

e.g. not bad =good

e.g. not small = great

Reading material

1. Lecture: Semantic change.

2. Зыкова, И.В. Практический курс английской лексикологии / И.В. Зыкова. – М.: Академия, 2008 – с. 27 – 29, 36 – 37 (Tasks 4 – 6).

3. Луканина, Е.А. Практикум по лексикологии для студентов факультета лингвистики: учебное пособие / Е.А. Луканина, О.И. Бабина. – Челябинск: Издательский центр ЮУрГУ, 2013. – Ex. 1-2 (p 35-37).

collect - 4. to regain control of (oneself or one's thoughts, faculties, composure, or the like):

At the news of her promotion, she took a few minutes to collect herself.

1. to gather together; assemble:

The professor collected the students' exams.)

linguistic context (lexical)

ancient - 5.old-fashioned or antique.

(1.of or in time long past, especially before the end of the Western Roman Empire a.d.)

extra-linguistic context

receiver - 2.a device or apparatus that receives electrical signals, waves, or the like, and renders them perceptible to the senses

( 1.a person or thing that receives.)

extra-linguistic context (a receiver of the phone)

1.d

2.b

3.d

4.b

5.f

6.a

7.a

8. money - generalization

9. omnibus - metonymy?

10. opera - elevation

11. orgy - pejoration

12. paradise - metaphor

13. queue - metaphor

14. sinister - pejoration

15. soldier - elevation?

1. laundered - pejoration

2. tycoon - generalization (European people used to call shoguns this way, now a powerful person)

3. brass - начальник. вообще brass - латунь

4. Holbeins - metonymy

5. Solomon - metaphor

6. Rubicon - metaphor

7. Beethoven, Picasso, Shakespeare - generalization (Picasso > brilliant artist)

8. the board - начальство. вообще хз. не очень у меня с начальством

9. outfit - generalization (uniform > clothes)

10. effects - specialization (personal property)

11. affair - specialization (thing)

12. above - metaphor

13.b

14.d

15.f

16.d

17.b

18.a

19.c

20.c

21.e

22.c

23.d

24.f