Diminutives and augmentatives in Beja (North-Cushitic)

Abstract The evaluative morphology of Beja consists of four devices: gender shift to feminine on nouns, and sound change (r>l) on nouns, verbs and adjectives form the diminutives. A suffix -loːj on adjectives, and -l on Manner converbs, form the augmentatives. The analysis focuses on the evaluative, emotional and other pragmatic values associated with these morphemes, size, endearment, praise, romantic love, contempt, politeness and eloquence. When relevant, the links to the general mechanism of semantic change, lambda-abstraction-specification proposed by Jurafsky (1996), is discussed. This paper also discusses productivity, cases where the evaluative device has scope over an adjacent noun instead of its host, the distribution of values across semantic domains and genres, and cases of lexicalization. The corpus analysis shows that the proportional frequency of pragmatic expressive connotations compared to the denotational meaning is higher for diminutives than for augmentatives. Further, with diminutives, positive emotional values are more frequent than negative ones, while with augmentatives attested pejorative values are very rare. The analysis is set within a typological framework.

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Lexical change often begins and ends in semantic peripheries

Pragmatics & Cognition ◽

10.1075/pc.00005.vej ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

pp. 50-85 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Susanne Vejdemo

Keyword(s):

Color Naming ◽

Semantic Change ◽

Linguistic Development ◽

Lexical Change ◽

Germanic Languages ◽

Semantic Domains

Abstract The article discusses semantic change and lexical replacement processes in the color domain, based on color naming studies in seven Germanic languages (where diachronic intra-linguistic development is inferred from cross-linguistic synchronic studies) and from different generations of speakers in a single language (Swedish). Change in the color domain often begins and ends in conceptual peripheries, and I argue that this perspective is suitable for other semantic domains as well.

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Latviešu 20. un 21. gadsimta dzejas vārdu krājumi statistiskā griezumā: pētījuma metodoloģija un provizoriskie rezultāti

Letonica ◽

10.35539/ltnc.2017.0035.ab.82.103 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 82-103

Author(s):

Anda Baklāne

Keyword(s):

Corpus Analysis ◽

Natural Phenomena ◽

Prior Training ◽

Semantic Change ◽

Computational Tools ◽

Web Based ◽

Current Trends ◽

Text Reading ◽

Emotion Concepts ◽

Analysis Environment

The paper discusses an ongoing study of Latvian poetry of the 20th and 21st century, explains its methodology and interprets some preliminary results. The aim of the study is to explore the dynamics of usage of common poetic concepts (such as natural phenomena, concepts of emotions etc.) and look for other patterns of lexical and semantic change that have occurred in the course of time. The study is conducted by statistically analysing a digital corpus of Latvian poetry. The paper shortly discusses current trends in digital humanities and argues that, although computational methods can prove to be forbiddingly difficult to use, there are tools that are comparatively accessible even without prior training in computer programming. In addition to that, even simple inquiries in the statistics of word usage can provide interesting results and allow building a case for further research. Three computational tools have been used for this paper—Stylo package for stylometric analysis, web-based text reading and analysis environment Voyant, and the corpus analysis toolkit AntConc. The results of statistical analysis suggest that certain trends in the dynamics of usage of concepts in the 20th century can be identified. Among the concepts of meteorological phenomena, ‘wind’ has been by far the most popular concept; furthermore, the usage of meteorological and emotion concepts most prominently fluctuates in the early 1950s and after 1990, indicating the change of poetic paradigms.

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Évolution sémantique des prépositions spatiales de l’ancien au moyen français

Lingvisticae Investigationes ◽

10.1075/li.25.2.07fag ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 25 (2) ◽

pp. 311-338

Author(s):

Benjamin Fagard

Keyword(s):

Partial Answer ◽

Semantic Change ◽

Middle French ◽

Starting Point ◽

Semantic Development ◽

Corpus Data ◽

Semantic Domains

Summary The aim of this paper is to investigate a particular aspect of semantic change. Many theories have tried to capture the regularity in semantic change. In this respect, some linguists have claimed that space is the necessary starting point of any semantic development, and others have stated that space is situated at the same distance from the “semantic core” of a given lexeme as other semantic domains, such as time. I will formulate a partial answer to the question of the primacy of space. Using diachronic corpus data, I will examine prepositions in Old and Middle French (11th to 16th centuries). The prepositions I have focused on are vers, envers, devers, and pardevers, chosen from a wider corpus of prepositions (which I have studied in the same way) because of their semantic behavior, which is particularly complex, and which I try to explain here in detail.

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Results and Prospects in the Study of Semantic Change: A Review of From Polysemy to Semantic Change (2008)

Journal of Language Contact ◽

10.1163/19552629-006001004 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 180-196

Author(s):

Patrick McConvell ◽

Maïa Ponsonnet

Keyword(s):

Language Contact ◽

General Framework ◽

Semantic Theory ◽

Review Article ◽

Semantic Change ◽

General Evaluation ◽

The Impact ◽

The Relationship ◽

And Diffusion ◽

Semantic Domains

The topic of this review article is a volume addressing the relationship between polysemy and semantic change, a relationship which has been important in discussions of semantic theory and method particularly in recent years, and which has the potential to unite synchronic and diachronic approaches. The first part of this article consists of thorough reviews of the fourteen chapters in the volume, entitled From Polysemy to Semantic Change, edited by Martine Vanhove (2008). We review each of them in turn, providing a brief summary of the content of each chapter, as well as comments on the impact of the contribution to the study of polysemy and semantic change, and/or on its limits. The second part of the article presents a general evaluation of the volume, and reflects upon the achievements, limits and perspectives of the study of polysemy and semantic change. Some of the chapters demonstrate that a degree of generalization can be reached on these questions, and provide new and potentially productive ways forward in theory and method; others either do not have such aims, or struggle to provide a useful general framework. We consider why this may be the case, and suggest hypothetical solutions. In particular, we examine the difficulty met with drawing conclusions across semantic domains, and the lack of a framework taking language contact and diffusion into account in the study of semantic change.

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Diachronic Corpora as a Tool for Tracing Etymological Information of Indonesian-Malay Lexicon

10.18326/rgt.v13i1.153-182 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 153-182

Author(s):

Kamal Yusuf ◽

Dewi Puspita

Keyword(s):

Corpus Analysis ◽

Word Form ◽

Semantic Change ◽

Semantic Level

Indonesian lexicon comprises numerous loanwords which some of them already exist since the 7th century. The large number of loanwords is the reason why many dictionaries of Indonesian etymology available today contain merely the origin of the words. Meanwhile, there are several aspects in a word etymology that can be studied and presented in a dictionary, such as the change in a word form and in its meaning. This article seeks to demonstrate the use of corpora in identifying the etymological information of Malay words from diachronic corpora and to figure out the semantic change of the Malay words undergo from time to time until they turn out to be Indonesian lexicon. More specifically, two selected Malay words were examined: bersiram and peraduan. By exploring data resources from the corpus of Malay Concordance Project and Leipzig Corpora, this study attempts to collect etymological information of Indonesian lexicon originated from Malay by employing a corpus based research. The findings show that the examined words have changed in meaning through generalization and metaphor. However, unlike the word bersiram, the change that the word peraduan happened only occurs in semantic level. This information, ultimately, can be used as informative data for a more comprehensive Indonesian etymology dictionary. Drawing on corpus analysis, this paper addresses the importance use of diachronic corpora in tracing words origin.Keywords: diachronic corpora, etymology, corpus analysis, semantic change, Malay-Indonesian

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