Historical Semantics: Evolution of Meaning in Words
SEMANTICS
As defined by Palmer it is the study of
meaning of words, phrases and sentences
as found in the lexicon .
Historical semantics
•
It was noted earlier that that the term semantics was first used to
refer to the development and change of meaning.
•
The great American linguist, Bloomfield (1933:427-7) , noted a
number of types , each given a traditional name as shown
below:
•
Narrowing:
meat food
•
Widening:
bird nestling
•
Metaphor:
bitter biting
•
Metonymy:
jaw cheek
Historical semantics
•
Synecdoche (whole / part relation ) :
town fence
•
Hyperbole (stronger to weaker meaning ) :
astound strike with thunder
•
Litotes ( weaker to stronger meaning ) :
kill torment
•
Degeneration:
knave boy
•
Elevation:
knight boy
Historical semantics
•
We shall also try to find reasons for the changes. The word
money
is related to Latin
moneo
which means
'warn
' (cf.
admonish) used at wars to scare the Germans .
Other changes arise from new needs:
•
The word
car
was an obsolete poetic word for
chariot
', until the
motor-car
was invented.
Historical semantics
•
A cause of last change is
taboo
, a word that is used for
something unpleasant is replaced by another and that too is
again had the terms
privy, W.C., lavatory, toilet, bathroom
, and
more recently,
loo
.
•
Historical change is what is more commonly called
comparative philology
, which attempts both to reconstruct the
history of languages and to relate language apparently coming
from a common ancestor .
Historical semantics
•
One of the aims of this subject is to establish sound laws .
•
Sound laws
: the relation between words that have the same
origin .
•
we find words that according to the sound laws are related, and
then look for a reasonable semantic relationships but, Unhappily
this is not possible with all languages because we have no
ancient records for all languages around the world .
Historical semantics
•
There are attempts have been made to relate words from
different African languages because of some phonetic similarity,
with no sound laws, on the basis of the meanings like:
•
'day
',
'sun
',’
fire
’, and, similarly,
'sky
',
'above
',
'rain
'. But such
identifications are not very persuasive.
E
t
y
m
o
l
o
g
y
•
Etymology
: is the discovery of earlier meanings of words.
•
The first serious discussion is in Plato's Cratylus; many of the
suggested etymologies there are illogical, but a number of them
are basically correct. Part of the difficulty for the layman is that
words are often not what they seem.
Gooseberry
has nothing to
do with
geese
, and
strawberry
is not directly connected with the
use of
straw
. But few would expect hysterical to be connected
with
womb
(in Greek) or the words
lord
and
lady
have anything
to do with
loaf
(of bread).
•
Etymology, even if it has curiosity value but there should be no
place for it in dictionaries.
E
t
y
m
o
l
o
g
y
•
The chief difficulty is that there can be no or 'original' meaning
since human language stretches back too far like:
•
nice
used to mean
precise
, but a study of its history shows that it
once meant ‘
silly
' (Latin nescius
'ignorant
’), and earlier it must
have been related to ‘
ne
’ not and ‘
sc
’ probably meaning
'cut
' as
in scissors . And before that? We cannot know. Clearly, then, no
serious discussion of etymology is required here.
E
t
y
m
o
l
o
g
y
•
A distinction made explicit by de Saussure (1916:
117[1959:81]) between
diachronic
and
synchronic
linguistics:
•
The diachronic:
concerned with language through time.
•
The synchronic :
concerned with language as it is, or as it was at
a particular time.
•
Linguists have in years concentrated on the synchronic study of
language .because synchronic study must precede the
diachronic study, for we cannot study change in a language until
we have first established what the language was like at the time
during which it changed.
P
a
r
a
d
i
g
m
a
t
i
c
a
n
d
s
y
n
t
a
g
m
a
t
i
c
•
The paradigmatic relations
are those into which a linguistic unit
enters through being contrasted or substitutable, in a particular
environment, with other similar units. (vertical).
•
The Syntagmatic relations
are those that a unit contracts by virtue of
its co-occurrence with similar units. (horizontal).
ex:-
•
Red door
paradigmatic relation between the words
red
and
green
•
Green door
Syntagmatic relation between the words
green
and
door
P
a
r
a
d
i
g
m
a
t
i
c
a
n
d
s
y
n
t
a
g
m
a
t
i
c
•
Many of the basic ideas derive from de Saussure's notion of
value. He pointed out (1916: 153 (1959: 110) that :
•
a
knight
on a chess board is a knight not because of inherent
quality (shape, size, etc.), but because of what it can do in
relation to the other pieces on the board.
He stressed this relational aspect of language. For instance, he
argued that
sheep
in English has a different value from
mouton
in French because English has also the word
mutton
.
P
a
r
a
d
i
g
m
a
t
i
c
a
n
d
s
y
n
t
a
g
m
a
t
i
c
•
Similarly plural in Sanskrit has a different value from plural in
French (or English), because in Sanskrit it belongs to the three-
term system singular, dual, plural, while in French it belongs to
a two-term system of singular and plural only.
D
e
i
x
i
s
•
Deixis:
are elements of language that are so contextually bound.
ex: here, there, I and we etc..
•
The original form of the word is ( deictic) from the noun deixis
that comes (from the Greek
deiknymi
) which means to show or
to point out .
D
e
i
x
i
s
/
S
p
a
t
i
a
l
d
e
i
x
i
s
:
•
The deictic devices in a language commit a speaker to set up a frame
of reference around herself .
To take a simple example, adverbs of location can be used deictically
as
:
•
Ex: it's too hot
here
in the sun, let's take our drinks into the shade over
there
.
•
The adverbs
here
and
there
pick out places according to their
proximity to the location of the speaker. We can see this because, of
course, if the speaker moves, the interpretation of the adverbs will
change. When the speaker and her addressee have moved , they can
call the shade
here
and in the sun
there
•
Ex: I’m glad we moved
here
, I was melting over
there
.
D
e
i
x
i
s
/
S
p
a
t
i
a
l
d
e
i
x
i
s
:
•
While languages contain such deictic divisions of space, their
use has to be calculated by the participants in actual contexts.
For example, how big an area is meant by
here
depends on
context :
•
A speaker might use
here
to refer to a country, a city, a room
and so on.
•
Deixis may include information about motion toward or away
from the speaker .
•
Ex:
- Don’t come into my bedroom
- Don’t go into my bedroom
D
e
i
x
i
s
/
p
e
r
s
o
n
d
e
i
x
i
s
:
•
Person deixis
: deictic system grammaticalizes the role of
participants if it was the current speaker , addressee or others by
pronouns :
•
First person singular pronoun for speaker
•
Second person pronoun for addressee
•
Third-person category for neither the speaker nor addressee
•
Singular
plural
singular or plural
I we you
he they
she
D
e
i
x
i
s
/
s
o
c
i
a
l
d
e
i
x
i
s
:
•
social deixis:
deictic system grammaticalizes the social
identities or relationships of the participants in the conversation
.
•
Ex
:
familiar
and
polite
pronouns in many European languages .
Ex: French :
tu/ vous
•
s'il
vous
plaît
•
s'il
te
plaît
*
Tu
is often referred to as the familiar form, and
vous
as
the formal or polite form.
R
e
f
e
r
e
n
c
e
a
n
d
c
o
n
t
e
n
t
•
Much of reference rely on context, a clear example is what
Clark (1978) calls
shorthand,
which is a type of reference that
relies on the context .
•
Ex: I am looking for
the new wolf
i.e.(Wolfe)
•
Here the speaker felt that
the new Wolfe
will be absolutely sufficient for
the book seller to identify the new book by Tom Wolfe
•
Ex: He is here for
a month
He is here for
the month
Sense and reference
•
Sense
: is the relationship inside language, the relationship
between the words phrases and sentences .
•
Reference
: is the relationship between language and outside
world .
•
Ex:
Eiffel tower
/ refers to a tower in Paris
Taj Mahal
/ refers to a beautiful marble building at Agra in
India .
However, there are words in every language that do not refer to
anything in the world . Words like
and
,
or
,
if
and
almost
there
words have sense but don’t have reference.
References
•
Saeed, J. (2009). Semantics. 4
th
edition. Blackwell.
•
Palmer, F.R. (1981). Semantics. 2
nd
edition. Cambridge
University Press.
•
Thakur, D. (1999). Linguistics Simplified Semantics.
Bharati Bhawan.
•
Riemer, N. (2010). Introducing Semantics. Cambridge
University Press.
•
http://www.french-
linguistics.co.uk/grammar/tu_and_vous.shtml
•
https://french.stackexchange.com/questions/8052/usage-of-
veuillez-and-sil-vous-plaît
Historical semantics delves into the evolution of word meanings, tracing changes like narrowing, widening, metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, hyperbole, and more. It examines reasons for semantic shifts, such as taboo, new needs, and sound laws, aiming to establish linguistic connections and reconstruct language histories.
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SEMANTICS As defined by Palmer it is the study of meaning of words, phrases and sentences as found in the lexicon .
Historical semantics It was noted earlier that that the term semantics was first used to refer to the development and change of meaning. The great American linguist, Bloomfield (1933:427-7) , noted a number of types , each given a traditional name as shown below: Narrowing: meat food Widening: bird nestling Metaphor: bitter biting Metonymy: jaw cheek
Historical semantics Synecdoche (whole / part relation ) : town fence Hyperbole (stronger to weaker meaning ) : astound strike with thunder Litotes ( weaker to stronger meaning ) : kill torment Degeneration: knave boy Elevation: knight boy
Historical semantics We shall also try to find reasons for the changes. The word money is related to Latin moneo which means 'warn' (cf. admonish) used at wars to scare the Germans . Other changes arise from new needs: The word car was an obsolete poetic word for chariot', until the motor-car was invented.
Historical semantics A cause of last change is taboo , a word that is used for something unpleasant is replaced by another and that too is again had the terms privy, W.C., lavatory, toilet, bathroom, and more recently, loo. Historical change is what is more commonly called comparative philology, which attempts both to reconstruct the history of languages and to relate language apparently coming from a common ancestor .
Historical semantics One of the aims of this subject is to establish sound laws . Sound laws: the relation between words that have the same origin . we find words that according to the sound laws are related, and then look for a reasonable semantic relationships but, Unhappily this is not possible with all languages because we have no ancient records for all languages around the world .
Historical semantics There are attempts have been made to relate words from different African languages because of some phonetic similarity, with no sound laws, on the basis of the meanings like: 'day', 'sun', fire , and, similarly, 'sky', 'above', 'rain'. But such identifications are not very persuasive.
Etymology Etymology: is the discovery of earlier meanings of words. The first serious discussion is in Plato's Cratylus; many of the suggested etymologies there are illogical, but a number of them are basically correct. Part of the difficulty for the layman is that words are often not what they seem. Gooseberry has nothing to do with geese, and strawberry is not directly connected with the use of straw . But few would expect hysterical to be connected with womb (in Greek) or the words lord and lady have anything to do with loaf (of bread). Etymology, even if it has curiosity value but there should be no place for it in dictionaries.
Etymology The chief difficulty is that there can be no or 'original' meaning since human language stretches back too far like: nice used to mean precise, but a study of its history shows that it once meant silly' (Latin nescius 'ignorant ), and earlier it must have been related to ne not and sc probably meaning 'cut' as in scissors . And before that? We cannot know. Clearly, then, no serious discussion of etymology is required here.
Etymology A distinction made explicit by de Saussure (1916: 117[1959:81]) between diachronic and synchronic linguistics: The diachronic: concerned with language through time. The synchronic : concerned with language as it is, or as it was at a particular time. Linguists have in years concentrated on the synchronic study of language .because synchronic study must precede the diachronic study, for we cannot study change in a language until we have first established what the language was like at the time during which it changed.
Paradigmatic and syntagmatic The paradigmatic relations are those into which a linguistic unit enters through being contrasted or substitutable, in a particular environment, with other similar units. (vertical). The Syntagmatic relations are those that a unit contracts by virtue of its co-occurrence with similar units. (horizontal). ex:- Red door paradigmatic relation between the words red and green Green door Syntagmatic relation between the words green and door
Paradigmatic and syntagmatic Many of the basic ideas derive from de Saussure's notion of value. He pointed out (1916: 153 (1959: 110) that : a knight on a chess board is a knight not because of inherent quality (shape, size, etc.), but because of what it can do in relation to the other pieces on the board. He stressed this relational aspect of language. For instance, he argued that sheep in English has a different value from mouton in French because English has also the word mutton.
Paradigmatic and syntagmatic Similarly plural in Sanskrit has a different value from plural in French (or English), because in Sanskrit it belongs to the three- term system singular, dual, plural, while in French it belongs to a two-term system of singular and plural only.
Deixis Deixis: are elements of language that are so contextually bound. ex: here, there, I and we etc.. The original form of the word is ( deictic) from the noun deixis that comes (from the Greek deiknymi) which means to show or to point out .
Deixis / Spatial deixis : The deictic devices in a language commit a speaker to set up a frame of reference around herself . To take a simple example, adverbs of location can be used deictically as : Ex: it's too hot here in the sun, let's take our drinks into the shade over there. The adverbs here and there pick out places according to their proximity to the location of the speaker. We can see this because, of course, if the speaker moves, the interpretation of the adverbs will change. When the speaker and her addressee have moved , they can call the shade here and in the sun there Ex: I m glad we moved here, I was melting over there .
Deixis / Spatial deixis : While languages contain such deictic divisions of space, their use has to be calculated by the participants in actual contexts. For example, how big an area is meant by here depends on context : A speaker might use here to refer to a country, a city, a room and so on. Deixis may include information about motion toward or away from the speaker . Ex: - Don t come into my bedroom - Don t go into my bedroom
Deixis / person deixis : Person deixis : deictic system grammaticalizes the role of participants if it was the current speaker , addressee or others by pronouns : First person singular pronoun for speaker Second person pronoun for addressee Third-person category for neither the speaker nor addressee Singular plural singular or plural I we you he they she
Deixis / social deixis : social deixis: deictic system grammaticalizes the social identities or relationships of the participants in the conversation . Ex: familiar and polite pronouns in many European languages . Ex: French : tu/ vous s'il vous pla t s'il te pla t *Tu is often referred to as the familiar form, and vous as the formal or polite form.
Reference and content Much of reference rely on context, a clear example is what Clark (1978) calls shorthand, which is a type of reference that relies on the context . Ex: I am looking for the new wolf i.e.(Wolfe) Here the speaker felt that the new Wolfe will be absolutely sufficient for the book seller to identify the new book by Tom Wolfe Ex: He is here for a month He is here for the month
Sense and reference Sense: is the relationship inside language, the relationship between the words phrases and sentences . Reference: is the relationship between language and outside world . Ex: Eiffel tower / refers to a tower in Paris Taj Mahal / refers to a beautiful marble building at Agra in India . However, there are words in every language that do not refer to anything in the world . Words like and, or, if and almost there words have sense but don t have reference.
References Saeed, J. (2009). Semantics. 4th edition. Blackwell. Palmer, F.R. (1981). Semantics. 2ndedition. Cambridge University Press. Thakur, D. (1999). Linguistics Simplified Semantics. Bharati Bhawan. Riemer, N. (2010). Introducing Semantics. Cambridge University Press. http://www.french- linguistics.co.uk/grammar/tu_and_vous.shtml https://french.stackexchange.com/questions/8052/usage-of- veuillez-and-sil-vous-pla t
