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Questions:

  1. How can we observe the results of semantic change?

  2. How can denotational meaning change? Give examples.

  3. How can connotational meaning change? Give examples.

Historical Changeability of Semantic Structure

R.S. Ginzburg, A Course in Modern English Lexicology, §29. Historical Changeability of Semantic Structure [pp. 36-37]

From the discussion of the diachronic and synchronic approach to polysemyit follows that the interrelation and the interdependence of individual meanings of the word may be described from two different angles. These two approaches are not mutually exclusive but are viewed here as supplementing each other in the linguistic analysis of a polysemantic word.

It should be noted, however, that as the semantic structure is never static, the relationship between the diachronic and synchronic evalua­tion of individual meanings may be different in different periods of the historical development of language. This is perhaps best illustrated by the semantic analysis of the wordrevolution. Originally, when this word first appeared in ME. 1350—1450 it denoted 'the revolving motion of celestial bodies' and also 'the return or recurrence of a point or a period of time'. Later-on the word acquired other meanings and among them that of 'a complete overthrow of the established government or regime' and also 'a complete change, a great reversal of conditions'. The meaning 'revolving motion' in ME. was both primary (diachronically) and central (synchronically). In ModernEnglish, however, while we can still diachronically describe this meaning as primary it is no longer synchronically central as the arrangement of meanings in the semantic structure of the wordrevolution has considerably changed and its central and the most frequent meaning is 'a complete overthrow of the established government or the regime'. It follows that the primary meaning of the word may become synchronically one of its minor meanings and diachronically a secondary meaning may become the central meaning of the word. The actual arrangement of meanings in the semantic structure of any word in any historical period is the result of the semantic development of this word within the system of the given language.

Questions:

  1. Give example proving that semantic structure of a word may change in the course of time.

  2. What determines the actual arrangement of meanings in the semantic structure of any word?

Tasks:

  1. Where do we observe a) the conflict of synonyms b) the linguistic analogy c) linguistic ellipsis?

sky – heavens

finals (последние экзамены)

to catch, to get, to grasp = to understand

the Kremlin

  1. What type of the similarity of the metaphor do we observe here?

head of cabbage

the key of the mystery

a book-worm

the foots of mountains

orange violet

the eye of a needle

  1. What type of the metonymies do we observe here?

glass, china, silver

the Board

the first violin

sandwich, Disney

to eat a whole plate

China

  1. Where do we observe hyperbole and where - litotes?

I have not seen you for ages!

Not bad

T hate doing it

We are dead

No coward

To make a mountain out of a molehill

No fool

Seminar 5

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