"Introduction to the History of English"
Semantic change
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Semantic change
1 Types of change
2 Reasons for change
1.1 Denotation (literal meaning)
2.1 Linguistic
1.1.1 Specialisation (narrow
ing)
1.1.2 Generalisation (extensi
on)
1.2 Connotation (evaluation)
1.2.1 Amelioration
1.2.2 Pejoration
2.1.1 Grammaticalisation
2.1.2 Borrowing
2.2 Historical
2.3 Psychological
2.4 (Social; see required reading
)
1.1 Denotation (literal meaning)
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How to describe meaning (change)?
Structural semantics ~ structural phonology
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Structural phonology
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Phonemes split up into minmal phonetic
features,
e.g. /t/ [stop, alveolar, -voice]
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Structural semantics
meanings split up into minmal semantic features,
e.g. 'woman' [+animate, human, female]
Meaning change: add or delete features
1.1.1 Specialisation (narrowing)
Add semantic feature > narrower meaning & fewer referents
Hound
Originally: [+animate]
'dog'
[quadruped] (cf. German Hund
[canine]
)
Add feature [+animate]
:
[quadruped]
[canine]
[hunt]
'hunting dog'
('Jagdhund')
1.1.1 Specialisation (narrowing)
Narrower
meaning:
Specific type of dog
Fewer referents:
Hunting dogs only
a subset of dogs
generally
What about licour in ...
Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Crawley, A.C. (ed.). 1958 [1975]. Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. (Repr.).
London, New York: Dent & Sons, Dutton. (p.1)
1.1.1 Specialisation (narrowing)
Licour ~ OED (1989: s.v. liquor +1.a., 3.a.)
Originally:
[liquid] 'liquid'
Add feature/ [liquid] 'liquor Narrower meaning:
s:
[drink]
'
Specific type of liquid, viz.
[distilled
'liquor'
]
Fewer referents:
Distilled alcoholic drink, i.e.
liquor, only a subset of liquids
generally
1.1.1 Specialisation (narrowing)
What about foweles in ...
And smale foweles maken melodye,
That slepen al the nyght with open ye
Crawley, A.C. (ed.). 1958 [1975]. Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. (Repr.).
London, New York: Dent & Sons, Dutton. (p.1)
1.1.1 Specialisation (narrowing)
Fowl
Simpson, J.A.; Weiner, E.S.C. (eds.) 1989. The Oxford English
dictionary. 20 vols. (2nd ed.) Oxford: Clarendon. (s.v. fowl)
1.a. Any feathered vertebrate animal [...]. Now rare [...]
[Beowulf, c1000]
1.+b In narrower sense: Winged game. Obs. 1646
.
1.+c With some modifying addition: as, fowl of chase, flight,
.
game, prey, ravin. Obs. c1381
1.d. A troublesome sailor, one unamenable to discipline. slang.
1937
+2. In wider sense: Winged creatures Also collect. in plural
sense. Obs. 1382
3.
The prevailing sense: A 'barn-door fowl', a domestic cock
or hen; a bird of the genus Gallus. [...] 1580
1.1.1 Specialisation (narrowing)
Fowl
Originally:
Add feature/
s:
[+animate]
[+winged]
'bird'
[+animate]
'chicken Narrower meaning:
[+winged]
'
Specific type of bird,
[genus Gallus]
viz. 'chicken'
(=domestic cock/h
Fewer referents:
en)
Chickens are only a
subset of birds
generally
1.1.1
Please try to account for the semantic change in
the following examples:
(1) OE deor 'animal' (cf. German Tier) ~ ModE deer
(2) OE mæt 'food' ~ ModE meat
(3) ModE to kidnap
"The robbers kidnapped a 45-year-old bank
manager."
1.1.2 Generalisation (extension)
Delete semantic feature > wider meaning & more referents
Arrive (cf. French rive = 'bank of a river, shore')
Originally:
[arrive] 'arrive on shore, come to shore'
[on shore]
Delete feature: [arrive] 'arrive, come to an undefined place'
Can you accunt for the change in ModE to land?
"I gave him a shove and he landed in the pool."
Grammaticalisation = special type of
generalisation
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•
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Word develops grammatical function
At the same time loses semantic meaning (semantic
bleaching)
Becomes phontically reduced
Grammatical Meaning
function
HAVE full
vb.
aux
vb.
'possess' He has ('possesses') a car.
tense
formative
He's (*'possesses') gone.
full
vb.
'exist'
BE
aux
vb.
tense
formative
full
vb.
'move' She went into the room.
GO
aux
vb.
tense
formative
She is going to ('s gonna)
leave.
Grammaticalisation = special type of
generalisation
Free > bound morphemes (affixes) (cf. reduction)
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English/German dental suffix past formative -ed < IE lexeme
for 'do'
Lat. mens, -tis 'manner' > Fr. adverb formative -ment
(normalement)
1.2 Connotation (evaluation)
1.2.1 Amelioration
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Evaluation, association becomes "better" (or at least neutral)
Often in conjunction with change in denotation
OE cniht 'boy, youth, attendant' >
ModE
knight
1.2.1 Amelioration
Intensifiers from lexemes with negative
connotation
Noun
Adv.
terror (-) terribly
awe (-)
awfully
Connotation &
Meaning
Intensifier
terribly (kind) 'terror'? - 'very' (~)
awfully (nice)
'awe'? - 'very' (~)
fright (-) frightfully frightfully (kind) 'fright'? - 'very' (~)
blood (-)
bloody
bloody (good)
'blood'? - 'very' (~)
Instances of grammaticalisation
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Semantic bleaching, and along with it ...
Amelioration
1.2.2 Pejoration
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ModE silly (-) < OE sælig 'happy, blessed' (+); cf. G selig
Fr. crétin (-) < chrétien 'Christian'
CGmc. *wambo - ModHG Wampe - ModE womb
Which semantic changes took place in these
words?
CGmc. *wambo
'stomach'
ModHG Wampe
ModE womb
2 Reasons for change
2.1 Linguistic
2.1.1 Grammaticalisation (see above)
2.1.2 Borrowing (can affect other words in the same semantic
field)
'Himmel'
OE heofon spiritual natural
ModE heaven spiritual natural ModE sky (< ON)
2 Reasons for change
2.2 Historical
2.3 Psychological (taboo, euphemism)
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Problematic concepts avoided in speech (=taboo), e.g.
Death, disease, excretion, sex, &c.
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Aims of the speaker will be twofold:
(a) Make meanings slightly opaque
(b) Use acceptable words (with neutral or positive)
connotation
= euphemism
Which layer of the lexicon is opaque to many
speakers but carries a positive evaluation?
2.3 Psychological reasons (taboo, euphemism)
The Neo-Latin (Romance) layer!
Consider the following dialogue
Dennis, the attendant in a pet cemetary, discusses burial
arrangements with a customer.
"I have our brochure here setting out our service. Were
you thinking of interment or incineration?"
"Pardon me?"
Waugh, Evelyn. 1988. The loved one. (Originally published 1948). Stuttgart: Reclam.
(p.23)
The customer obviously doesn't know what Dennis is talking
about. Why?
2.3 Psychological reasons (taboo, euphemism)
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Painful concepts are obviously veiled because Latin words
are opaque
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At the same time their stylistic level is high
"I have our brochure here setting out our service. Were
you thinking of interment or incineration?"
"Pardon me?"
"Buried or burned?"
"Burned, I guess."
Waugh, Evelyn. 1988. The loved one. (Originally published 1948). Stuttgart: Reclam.
(p.23)
2.3 Psychological reasons (taboo, euphemism)
Monty Python "The Parrot Sketch"
PRALINE. [...] Now that's what I call a dead parrot.
SHOPKEEPER. No, no it's stunned.
PRALINE. Look my lad, [...]. That parrot is definitely
deceased. [...]
SHOPKEEPER. It's probably pining for the fjords. [...]
PRALINE. Look matey [...] this parrot [... is] bleeding
demised.
SHOPKEEPER. It's not, it's pining.
PRALINE. It's not pining, it's passed on. This parrot is
no more. It has ceased to be. It's expired and gone to meet
its maker. This is a late parrot. It's a stiff. Bereft of life, it
rests in peace. If you hadn't nailed it to the perch, it
would be pushing up the daisies. It's rung down the
curtain and joined the choir invisible. This is an exparrot.
SHOPKEEPER. Well, I'd better replace it then.
Gratzke, Reinhard (ed.) 1995. Monty Python's Flying Circus. Selected Sketches.
Stuttgart: Reclam. (p.109-11)
2.3 Psychological reasons (taboo, euphemism)
Monty Python "The Parrot Sketch"
Paradoxically, a lot of synonyms (many of them typical
euphemisms**) not in order to veil the concept of death, but
underline it > humour!
dead
deceased
demised**
to pass on**
to be no more**
to cease to be**
to go to meet ones maker**
late**
a stiff
bereft of life**
to rest in peace**
to push up the daisies**
to ring down the curtain** to join the choir invisible**
ex-parrot
2.3 Psychological reasons (taboo, euphemism)
We encounter euphemism everywhere.
Concept
Euphemism
(Arbeiter) entlassen
?
(als Schüler) durchfallen
?
dead/injured civilians
?
bad
?
blind
?
poor
?
short
?
2.3 Psychological reasons (taboo, euphemism)
We encounter euphemism everywhere.
Concept
Euphemism
(Arbeiter) entlassen
freisetzen
(als Schüler) durchfallen das Klassenziel nicht erreichen
dead/injured civilians
collateral damage
bad
?suboptimal
blind
?visually challenged
poor
?financially challenged
short
?vertically challenged
2.3 Psychological reasons
Neutral designations for minorities
Minorities
cripple
handicapped
Patient
Klient
black, coloured African-American
Red Indians
Native Americans
Zigeuner
Sinti, Roma