V. The Causes and Types of Semantic Changes

The meaning of a word changes in the course of time. The causes of semantic changes can be extra-linguistic and linguistic: For example, the change of the lexical meaning of the noun pen was due to extra-linguistic causes. Primarily pen comes back to the latin word penna (a feather of a bird).

On the other hand, causes may be linguistic, e.g. the conflict of synonyms when a perfect synonym of a native word is borrowed from some other language one of them may specialize in its meaning. The noun tide in Old English was polysemantic and denoted time, season, hour. When the French words time, season, hour were borrowed into English they ousted the word tide in these meanings. It was specialized and now means regular rise and fall of the sea caused by attraction of the moon.

Semantic changes have been classified by different scientists. The most complete classification was suggested by a German scientist Herman Paul. He distinguishes two main ways where the semantic change is gradual (specialization and generalization), two momentary conscious semantic changes (metaphor and metonymy) and secondary ways: gradual (elevation and degradation), momentary (hyperbole and litotes).

Specialization. In some cases it takes place when a word passes from a general sphere to some special sphere of communication, e.g. case has a general meaning circumstances in which a person or a thing is.

Generalization is the transfer from a concrete meaning to an abstract one, e.g. journey was borrowed from French with the meaning one day trip, now it means a trip of any duration.

Metaphor is a transfer of the meaning on the basis of comparison. a bookworm (a person who is fond of books). Metaphor can be based on different types of similarity: similarity of shape head (of a cabbage), similarity of position foot (of a page), similarity of function, behaviour; similarity of colour.

Metonymy is a transfer of the meaning on the basis of contiguity. There are different types of metonymy based on spatial, temporal relations, relations of cause and result, instrumental (tongue 'the organ of speech' – ‘language'), relations between the material of which an object is made and the object itself: a glass, etc. A variety of metonymy is synechdoche, that is the transference of meaning from part to whole, e.g. the case when the nouns denoting the parts of human body come to denote human beings.

Elevation. It is a transfer of the meaning when it becomes better in the course of time: knight originally meant a boy, then a young servant, then a military servant, then a noble man. Now it is a title of nobility given to outstanding people.

Degradation. It is a transfer of the meaning when it becomes worse in the course of time, e.g. villain originally meant working on a villa, now it means a scoundrel.

Hyperbole. It is a transfer of the meaning when the speaker uses exaggeration, e.g. to hate (doing something), not to see somebody for ages. hyperbole is often used to form phraseological units, e.g. to split hairs.

Litotes. It is a transfer of the meaning when the speaker expresses the affirmative with the negative or vice versa, e.g. not bad (it is good), no coward, not half as important.

Дата добавления: 2014-01-06