PATTERNS OF SEMANTIC CHANGE IN FORMATION OF ENGLISH …
Transcript of PATTERNS OF SEMANTIC CHANGE IN FORMATION OF ENGLISH …
LITHUANIAN UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES FACULTY OF PHILOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH PHILOLOGY
KAMILIA PUNCEVIČ
PATTERNS OF SEMANTIC CHANGE IN FORMATION OF ENGLISH SYNONYMS
MA THESIS
Academic advisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eglė Petronienė
Vilnius, 2016
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LIETUVOS EDUKOLOGIJOS UNIVERSITETAS FILOLOGIJOS FAKULTETAS
ANGLŲ FILOLOGIJOS KATEDRA
ANGLŲ KALBOS SINONIMŲ REIKŠMIŲ KAITOS DĖSNINGUMAI
Magistro darbas
Magistro darbo autorė Kamilia Puncevič Patvirtinu, kad darbas atliktas savarankiškai,
naudojant tik darbe nurodytus šaltinius
(Parašas, data)
Vadovas doc. dr. Eglė Petronienė
(Parašas, data)
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CONTENTS
ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………….4
INTRODUCTION…………………...……………………………………………….5
1. KEY CONCEPTS IN THE STUDIES OF SYNONYMY………………………...7
1.1. The Concept and Criteria of Synonymy in English...……………..……..9
1.2. Classification of Synonyms………...……………………………………12
1.3. Sources of Synonyms…..…………………………………………….….15
2. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE………..….17
3. SEMANTIC CHANGE IN ENGLISH………………………………………..…..20
3.1. The Concept of Semantic Change..…………..………………………….20
3.2. Causes of Semantic Change.....………………….………………………21
3.3. Classifications of Semantic Change....…………………………….…….21
4. ANALYSIS OF SEMANTIC CHANGE IN SYNONYMY……..……………….25
4.1. Quantitative analysis…………………………………………………….26
4.2. Qualitative analysis……………………………………………….……..39
4.2.1. Semantic changes of OFFER, READ and their synonyms……39
4.2.2. Semantic changes of LARGE, GREAT and their synonyms.....42
4.2.3. Semantic changes of WORLD, TIME and their synonyms.......45
4.2.4. Patterns of formation of meaning……………………………..48
CONCLUSIONS……………………………...……………………………………..53
SUMMARY…………………………………………………………………………54
REFERENCES...……………………………………………………………………55
APPENDICES …………......……………………………………………………….58
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Abstract
The development of a language is stimulated by linguistic, historical and social causes
and results in changes at all language levels. Language contact and loanwords basically cause
the formation of synonyms. English synonyms not only vary etymologically, but also exhibit
a variety of semantic changes they underwent to be anchored in the English
vocabulary. This paper addresses the question what is the relationship between the origin of
words, the period of time, part of speech the words within synonymic group belong to and the
type of semantic changes the words undertake. To test the relationship, the most frequently
used twenty-three headwords of the English language were chosen from the wordlist in the
British National Corpus. The twenty-three synonymic groups made total of 122 words. The
paper set out to point out their diachronic features and analyze the formation of meaning of
words within a synonymic group. The aim of the research was achieved by employing
qualitative and quantitative research methods. The research focused on two traditions
of changes in meaning - amelioration and pejoration as well as broadening and narrowing --
proposed and defined by a number of linguists: Kleparski (1988), Kiełtyka (2006), Grygiel
and Kleparski (2007) Yu, Ren (2013). After the primary meanings of the words were found
out, changes in the meanings of synonymous words by comparison to the modern meanings
were identified; then, the patterning of the changes of word meanings within a synonymic
group was established. Chai square and ANOVA quantitative methods were used to identify
and compare the semantic changes the synonymous words originating from one and the same
language underwent. The analysis has revealed the archetypal patterns of semantic change
relating to the period of time when the words within synonymic groups started functioning in
the English language. Also, the analysis showed that there is a tendency of broadening of
meaning of words within synonymic groups in English.
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Introduction
The theory of Semantic Change explains how linguistic expressions may change their
meaning over time. It was the principal achievement of the 19th century linguists when they
not only realized the importance of linguistic change more clearly than their predecessors, but
also put its scientific investigation by means of the comparative method (Ivic, 2015). Some
linguists in the early 20th century maintained an active interest in language change of various
forms including semantic (Riddel, 1999). Evaluating the history of the English language it can
be inferred that from the semantic point of view, the influence of other languages on English
resulted in formation of synonyms; besides other effects on vocabulary. Native lexical items
and borrowings undergo particular changes in meaning to function in the language and thus
enter synonymic word groups. Semantic changes have long been studied to identify their
causes and classify the types (Riddel, 1999); however, this research focuses only on two
traditions that distinguish the following changes in meaning: amelioration and pejoration;
broadening and narrowing. These particular changes are chosen for the analysis as some
scholars reckon that ‘broadening’ and ‘narrowing’ are the main kinds of semantic change;
while others (e.g. metonymy, litotes, pejoration, amelioration etc.) are merely subtypes
(Campbell, 2004). As far as changes in meanings such as ‘pejoration’ and ‘melioration’ often
excite people (e.g. silly which meant ‘happy, innocent, pitiable’ but later came to mean
‘foolish, stupid’); these semantic changes were chosen for the analysis as separate kinds of
semantic change (Campbell, 2004). Taking into consideration that the language evolves
slowly, but it is a continuous and unavoidable process, there is necessity of more extensive
investigations on semantic change (Riemer, 2010). Consequently, the research question
guiding this study is:
• What is the relationship between the origin of a word and the types of semantic
change the word undergoes?
• What is the relationship between the part of speech of a word and the types of
semantic change the word undergoes?
• What is the relationship between the time (historical period) a word enters the
language and the types of semantic change the word undergoes?
The aim of the research is to set the patterns of the development of meaning of words
within a synonymic group. To achieve the aim, the following objectives of the research were
set:
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• to reveal the etymological variety of English synonyms,
• to determine the semantic changes words of similar meanings undergo in their
historical development,
• to establish the factors determining the change of meaning of words having similar
meanings.
Novelty of the research
The research is topical because it is intended to add a new dimension to the
investigation of English synonyms: by incorporating the two approaches – synchronic and
diachronic – the analysis reveals the sources, relationship and patterns of development of
meaning of words within synonymic groups in the English language.
Significance of the research
The research contributes to the historical semantics studies of language by reviving the
ways of how the meaning of the lexicon of a language develops. The results of this study can
be used as the background material for further research into synonymy and semantic change.
From the practical point of view, this study could be useful for teaching semantic potential of
the language.
Methods of the research
The analysis sets out to analyze English synonyms from the diachronic point of view.
The aim of the research is achieved by employing qualitative and quantitative research
methods. First of all, the analytical-descriptive method is used as the entries are analyzed and
their origin and development of their meanings is described. Then, the quantitative method is
adopted, which helps to establish the most common patterns of formation of meaning of
synonymy in English and relationship between semantic changes and such variables as parts
of speech, origin, the period of time.
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The scope of the research
The research is based on 23 headwords, which were chosen according to their frequency
of occurrence from the list in the British National Corpus. The headwords were derived from
the research-based project Word Frequencies in Written and Spoken English: Based on the
British National Corpus (Leech, Rayson & Wilson, 2001). On the list of the most frequently
used words in English, the development of meaning throughout the history of some words
was unknown; for this reason, these words were omitted. As a result, the selected 23 words
include the following notional parts of speech: nouns, verbs and adjectives. Their synonyms,
which count 99 words, are derived from Webster’s New Dictionary of Synonyms and Oxford
Learner’s Thesaurus. The qualitative analysis of all 23 synonymic groups is carried out. The
Etymological dictionary (www.etymonline.com) is used for the analysis of development of
meaning of 23 synonymic groups (all in all 122 words). 23 synonymic groups appeared to be
enough and were chosen in order to obtain tangible results and to establish the prevailing
patterns of semantic change and relationship between semantic changes and such variables as
parts of speech, origin, the period of time.
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1. KEY CONCEPTS IN THE STUDIES OF SYNONYMY
In language study, there are numerous terms to consider. The present work is related to
lexicology, historical linguistics, synonymy, semantics and linguistic change. Lexicology
combines a number of different areas of interest; consequently, it is closely connected with
historical linguistics as it is focused not only on the study of the relationships between various
words and the labeling of types of words but also on the evolution of a word and language use
which occurs over time. Historical linguistics looks at the history of words, exploring their
origins and seeing how their usage has deviated from their original meaning. If we look at
synonymy from diachronic angle, it becomes apparent that synonymy is closely related to the
phenomenon of linguistic change. The relationship between linguistic change and synonymy
is well explained by Haase who claims that one of the causes of linguistic change is the
existence of synonymic groups (1874 cited by Geeraerts, 2010). Sturtevant (1965, 99) makes
a straightforward and accurate statement, which can be called as a language economy
principle, that unless synonyms come to be differentiated in meaning at some point of their
history, one of them is usually lost.
In semantics and historical linguistics, semantic change refers to any change in the
meaning of a word over the course of time but it does not deal with change in the phonetic
form of the word; also, called semantic shift (Campbell, 2004). The most common types of
semantic change include amelioration, pejoration, broadening, semantic narrowing,
synecdoche, hyperbole, litotes, metaphor and metonymy (Campbell, 2004). Semantic change
may also occur when native speakers of another language adopt English expressions and
apply them to activities or conditions in their own social and cultural environment (Campbell,
2004).
In this research we are more interested in lexical meaning (each word has a unique
meaning). Lexical meaning is divided into denotative meaning and connotative meaning.
Denotative meaning is a primary meaning which names objects, things spoken about and is
the same for all words. Connotative meaning is a secondary (additional) and it denotes a
speaker’s feelings as well as deals with an effect on the listener (Arnold, 1986). Arnold
suggests 4 types of connotative meaning:
1) Stylistic – it depends on the stylistic features of the word (colloquial or formal), e.g. a
chap – a boy; in this case chap is an informal word, while boy is more formal word.
2) Emotional – it helps to express emotions, e.g. beseech, which expresses anxiety,
desperate wish of something.
3) Evaluative – it expresses approval or disapproval, e.g. It’s magic/ Oh it’s witchcraft;
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the first example presents a positive evaluation, while the other example a negative
one.
4) Expressive – it underlies the intensity of the utterance, e.g. beastly weather (negative
emotion, expressive, informal or even old-fashioned word).
A characteristic feature of a vocabulary of any language is the existence of synonyms.
English has the largest vocabulary and the most synonyms of any language in the world
(Antrushina, Afanasyeva, Morozova, 1985). This richness is due to the fact that the English
language has grown over the centuries by constantly incorporating words from other
languages. Even before the Norman Conquest, the Anglo-Saxon vocabulary included words
borrowed from Latin, Greek and Scandinavian. After the Norman Conquest, the English
vocabulary was virtually doubled by the addition of French words. Also, many words
introduced into the language during the Renaissance and later periods. Synonyms in English
therefore originate from a variety of languages: Anglo-Saxon, French, Latin, Greek, Spanish,
South American, Indian, etc.
1.1. The Concept and criteria of Synonymy in English
The word synonym originates from Greek and means ‘same name’ (Crystal 1995, 164).
The definition of synonymy is often difficult to grasp, due to sometimes vague explanations
given by different linguists. The fact is that many researchers do not agree with the simple
explanation, that “synonyms are two or more forms with very closely related meanings, which
are often, but not always, intersubstitutable in sentences” (Yule 1996, 118).
Whereas this definition would be useful for most beginners of linguistic studies,
Crystal argues that the definition of synonymy depends much on the individual lexemes: “it is
usually possible to find some nuance which separates them, or a context in which one of the
lexemes can appear but the other(s) cannot” (1995, 164). The problem is then that it is
downright difficult to stake out what a synonym is and what it is not; the question is whether
there are any ‘real’ synonyms? However, synonyms appear because there is a need for
another word that expresses the same thing as the first word or because two languages are in
contact (Campbell, 2004). The appearance of synonyms also concerns the difference between
speech and writing. As noted by Saeed (2003, 65-66), “the synonyms may portray positive or
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negative attitudes of the speaker [...] formality is another factor: many of these words are, of
course, slang terms used in colloquial context”.
Arnold (1986, 195) states that "synonyms are two or more words of the same
meaning, belonging to the same part of speech, possessing one or more identical meaning,
interchangeable at least in some contexts without any considerable alteration in denotational
meaning, but differing in morphemic composition, phonemic shape, shades of meaning,
connotation, affective value, style, emotional coloring and valency peculiar to one of the
elements in a synonymic group". This definition of synonyms is very accurate, detailed and
gives a full understanding of the phenomenon. Charles J. Smith defined synonyms as "words
which agree in expressing one or more characteristic ideas in common" (Webster's Dictionary
of Synonyms, 1968, 24a). However, Charles J. Smith’s definition is too general and it is not
as informative as the one of Arnold. From the given definitions synonymy can be described as
a semantic relation that means sameness of meaning. Synonyms are similar, but not identical.
In other words, a synonym is a word with a meaning identical or very similar to that of
another word. Traditionally, synonyms can be nouns, adverbs, verbs or adjectives, as long as
words are of the same part of speech. For example, smart and intelligent, baby and infant, etc.
As it was mentioned above, the question of synonymy has always been a hotly
discussed area in which different linguists have proposed a variety of claims and hypotheses.
Breal (1897 cited by Geeraerts, 2010) argued that synonyms are not tolerated as the very
existence of synonymy contradicts the internal economy of the language system and,
therefore, language users spread them over different semantic domains and registers. It was as
early as the 19th century that Reisig (1890 cited by Geeraerts, 2010) dealt with synonyms,
stressing the importance of a new branch of study called synonymology, which would study
synonyms. In present-day Linguistics, synonyms are defined as follows: linguists such as, for
example, Rayevska (1979, 183) identifies synonyms as words different in sound but identical
or similar in meaning; similarly, Burkhanov (1998, 230–234) states that “synonyms are
linguistic signs connected by the paradigmatic relationship of sameness or strong similarity of
meaning”. Naturally, a number of features may be attributed to groups of synonymous
expressions. Burkhanov (1998, 230) lists the following ones:
1. Two and more lexical items that belong to the same part of speech and are related
onomasiologically to one and the same conceptual category, or various aspects of the same
conceptual category are called synonyms, e.g. farmer/dirt farmer.
2. The term synonymy may also denote a cluster of lexical items belonging to the same
part of speech and designating the same concept, but different in expressive meaning, e.g.
peasant (evaluatively neutral) yokel (derogatory).
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3. The term synonymy is also used in reference to syntactic constructions that can be
characterised in terms of the same – or almost the same – semantic features, e.g. They kept
tabs on the Negroes/The Negroes were kept tabs on.
Although a myriad of views on synonymy are provided, it is essential to note that all
the definitions are reasonable and it depends on the researcher and the peculiarities of his
research which definition of synonymy to consider. In this research synonyms are considered
to belong to the same part of speech, the words that are not necessarily the same in meaning
but relating to the same concept; and might have different expressive meaning.
Many theories of grammar even do not acknowledge the concept of synonymy at all.
An opinion prevails that a difference in form should necessarily correspond to a difference in
meaning. While analyzing scientific literature, the conclusion was made that there are no
identical forms in every aspect of meaning so that the two words can be applied
interchangeably. The only true synonyms are thought to be words having precisely the same
denotation, connotation and relevancy (Greenbaum, 1996, 409; Crystal, 2003, 450). Most
often, these true synonyms are concrete words that come from linguistically different sources.
A good example of such a pair is car (from Latin) and automobile (from French). This pair of
words has precisely the same denotations, connotations and they are used in identical
contexts.
From the given definitions of synonyms it follows, that there are some criteria of
synonymy. According to Antrushina, Afanasyeva, Morozova (1985, 145), a notional criterion
is used. In terms of this criterion, synonyms are described as words belonging to the same part
of speech, having the same idea (notion) but differing in shades of meaning or stylistic
characteristics. Also, semantic criterion was mentioned in "Webster's Dictionary of
Synonyms". Webster's Dictionary of Synonyms asserts that synonyms are words with the
same denotative component but different in connotative components. Moreover, a criterion of
interchangeability was distinguished and according to the latter, synonyms are described as
words that are interchangeable at least in some contexts (Riemer, 2010).
All these criteria have been criticized as each of them has their advantages and
disadvantages. The term of synonym lacks one and exact definition, so it is impossible to
distinguish criteria as each criterion should be applied for all synonyms.
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1.2. Classification of Synonyms
Most of the students of language who confront the issue of synonymy recognize the
existence of two major categories that are absolute synonyms and partial synonyms.
The concept of absolute synonymy covers those clusters of expressions that share one
and the same set of semantic features, i.e. their descriptive, social and affective meanings are
identical, and such synonyms are interchangeable in all possible contexts. The prevailing view
among linguists is that such absolute synonyms are either an extremely rare occurrence or –
according to the majority of linguists – their existence is altogether questionable.
Some scholars, like Bloomfield (1933), who went as far as to claim that absolute
(perfect) synonymy is hard to obtain in language; the fundamental hypothesis of the great
American scholar implies that each linguistic form has a invariable and definite connotation.
Many other linguists felt equally pessimistic about the existence of absolute synonymy. Nida
(1975, 151) complements Bloomfields statement by saying that no morphemes or
combinations of morphemes are identical in meaning and hence there are no real synonyms.
To illustrate this Nida (1975) discusses words: peace and tranquillity. These words are
regarded as synonyms, but they are hardly identical in meaning. One may speak of a peace
conference, but the expression tranquillity conference is certainly not an identical equivalent.
Stern (1931, 226) seems to be pessimistic about the existence of absolute synonyms as
well. He formulates an extremely right belief that: “[...] synonyms may by defined as words
with identical or partly identical referential rage, but different semantic ranges. That is to say,
they denote the same referents, but each word denotes it in an aspect that somehow differs
from the others. When a speaker wants to denote a referent, he is practically always seeing it
in a peculiar context, into which one of the synonyms may fit, but not necessarily the others.”
Ogden and Richards (1923) noticed that two words may have exactly the same
referential meaning, but differ in terms of emotive charge they carry, for instance such pairs
as horse and steed. Similarly, Brook (1958, 168–169) states that the emotive content of words
is one of the main reasons why there are so few absolute synonyms in any language.
Likewise, Ullmann (1957, 108) sees emotive overtones as one of the main forces, which
alleviate against absolute synonymy.
In contrast to the pessimistic opinions mentioned, Cruse (2004) argues that synonyms
do not necessarily have to express the same meaning in every context. His observations are
not less correct and accurate than those of Ogden and Richards, Brook, Ullmann, Stern and
Nida. He describes three subtypes of synonymy. First of all there are absolute synonyms,
which are completely identical in their meaning (Cruse 2004, 154). Examples of this very
rarely occurring semantic phenomenon are kick the bucket, die and pass away – all of them
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express ‘the dying of a living thing’. But when we have to use one of the synonyms in order
to express our condolences to the bereaved at a funeral, only pass away seems suitable. So,
even those absolute synonyms differ in their stylistic characteristics and in the appropriateness
in various contexts. It seems as if real absolute synonyms, which can be exchanged in every
imaginable context and situation, are very hard to find.
The second subtype by Cruse is called propositional synonymy (2004, 155). This type is
not restricted to single words and their meanings; it rather refers to the meanings of whole
phrases or sentences. Whenever items of a sentence can be exchanged without changing the
meaning of the sentence, we speak about propositional synonyms. Hence, the nouns violin
and fiddle are propositional synonyms in the sentence e.g. He is tuning his violin/fiddle.
Although, both nouns refer to the same musical instrument they cannot be regarded absolute
synonyms, due to their different degree of formality.
Cruse mentions a third type of synonymy: near-synonymy. It is difficult for him to
define this term, however, because as he explains, “it is not obvious what principle underlies
the distinction [between near-synonymy and non-synonymy]” (2004, 156). Apparently, it is
up to the intuition of the speaker to make this distinction. In this paper near-synonyms will be
referred to as lexical groups of words that have very similar denotative meaning, but which
may differ in colloquial behavior and are restricted to certain stylistic, conceptual or
contextual conditions. Examples of near-synonyms are the adjectives pretty and handsome.
Although both mean ‘good looking’, they can neither be regarded as absolute synonyms nor
as propositional synonyms, because they refer to different concepts. In reference to human
beings, handsome is bound to men, whereas pretty is basically used in reference to women.
This classification of synonymy seems to be the most accurate of all. For this reason, in this
paper I will rely on the classification of Cruse.
Another proper classification of synonyms is introduced by Rayevska. According to
Rayevska (1979, 187), synonyms can be divided into two major categories - ideographic
(relative) synonyms and stylistic synonyms. The concept of ideographic synonymy implies
contrasting shades of meaning or diverse degrees of a given quality, for instance beautiful/
fine/ handsome/ pretty, great/ huge/ tremendous/ colossal. The members of groups of
ideographic synonyms are almost equivalent in one or more denotative senses; therefore, they
can be used at least in some contexts. A great number of ideographic synonyms have the same
meaning in certain collocations and another one in other contexts. Words of this group belong
to the same stylistic type, for instance when we consider a pair of synonyms wild/savage we
see that we may say wild berries and wild animals, but we can hardly say savage berries or
savage animals. On the contrary, stylistic synonyms vary not so much in meaning as in either
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emotive value or stylistic sphere of application. It is important to note that pictorial language
often uses emotive words as stylistic alternatives of neutral ones, for instance eve/evening,
lone/lonely.
Antrushina, Afanasyeva and Morozova complement the theory of Rayevska by adding
additional categoties of synonyms. According to Antrushina, Afanasyeva, Morozova (1985,
148), the only classification of synonyms was suggested by V.V. Vinogradov and he presents
three types of synonyms: ideographic, stylistic and absolute synonyms. Ideographic
synonyms are those of the same notion but with different shades of meaning (e.g. to love – to
like). Stylistic synonyms are those words that belong to different styles (neutral, formal,
informal). Good examples for this type of synonyms are the following pairs: to begin (neutral)
and to commence (formal), a meal (formal) and a bite (informal). The words that are identical
in meaning and style are called absolute synonyms (e.g. baggage - luggage). Also, the authors
claim that some of the words become synonyms only in a particular environment (context)
and they are called contextual (e.g. to buy – to get (some bread)).
Many authors, such as Crystal (1995) and Rayevska (1979) have attempted to list the
factors that distinguish members of synonymic clusters. Crystal (1995, 164) presents
differences between synonyms, such as:
1. Dialectal difference – sandwich/butty are synonymous in Britain, but the former is standard
while the latter is regional, autumn/fall are synonymous, but the former is British English
while the latter is American English.
2. Stylistic difference – salt/sodium chloride are synonymous, but the former is an everyday
standard word while the latter is technical, insane/ loony are synonymous, but the former is
formal while the latter is informal.
3. Collocational difference – rancid/rotten are synonymous, but the former is used only of
butter or bacon, kingly/royal are synonymous, but the mail has to royal in the UK.
4. Difference of emotional feeling or connotation – youth/youngster are synonymous, but the
referents of youths are felt to be less pleasant than those of youngsters.
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1.3. Sources of Synonyms
It is of high importance to discuss the origins of the synonymous expressions.
Rayevska (1979, 196–197) proposes a detailed account of the sources of synonyms and
discriminates between the following etymological types:
1. Groups of synonymic expressions, which originate from the native element denoting
different shades of denotative meaning, e.g. fast/ speedy/ swift, handsome/ pretty/
lovely, bold/manful/steadfast.
2. Groups of synonyms the elements of which are found in dialectal usage, e.g. child/bairn
(Scot.), long ago/langsyne (Scot.), mother/minny (Scot.).
3. Groups of synonyms, which have foreign lexical sources because of the contact with other
languages, e.g. begin/commence (Fr.), eaven/sky (Old Norse).
4. Groups of synonyms, which stem from the non-literal figurative use of words in pictorial
language, e.g. walk of life/occupation, star-gazer/dreamer, pins and needles/the creeps.
5. Synonymic groups originated in euphemistic and vulgar use employed for stylistic
purposes, e.g. die/to pass away/to kick the bucket.
Palmer (1981, 89) argues that English is rich in synonyms for several reasons. Firstly,
synonyms may belong to different dialects of the language. The Americanisms used in British
English also results in the formation of synonymous pairs, where one is a traditional Briticism
and the other an American loan, e.g. fall (AmE)- autumn (BrE). Another source of synonymy
is the process of euphemism, which can be described as a way of avoiding unpleasant, rude
words or socially distasteful subjects by replacing with inoffensive ones, e.g. I’m going to
powder my nose. The other reason is that English borrowed foreign words from almost every
country in the world, e.g. words of music, architecture and poetry were taken from Italy which
was the center of European Culture for so long. French also had an influence on English
because it was at the height of prestige; therefore, most of the legal words or those that refer to
fashion and meals are French.
Borrowings have made English word-stock extremely rich in synonyms, e.g. the
general idea of "thief" has thirty-seven synonyms (robber, burglar, plunderer, cracksman,
house breaker, pick pocket, cut-purse, stealer, etc.) (Eckersley, 1960, 432).
Synonyms in English are organized according to 2 basic styles. One of them involves
double, the other a triple scale. In English there are numerous pairs of synonyms where a
native term is opposed to one borrowed from French, Latin, and Greek. In most cases the
native word is more spontaneous and colloquial, whereas the foreign one is formal. Double
scale synonyms is a pair of words in which one word is native and the other one borrowed,
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e.g. bodily - corporal, inner - internal, friendship - amity, world – universe, answer - reply,
buy - purchase. (Arnold, 1986)
Triple synonyms consist of one native, one French and a Latin word, for instance:
NATIVE FROM FRENCH FROM LATIN
to ask to question to interrogate
to end to finish to complete
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2. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Every living language changes through time and it is a natural process. Rastorguyeva
(1983, 14) claims that “it has long been recognized that a living language can never be
absolutely static; it develops together with the speech community, that is, with the people who
speak it”. This statement proves that evolution of language exists and that language is
influenced by different processes connected with human beings, as language lives as long as
people speaking it live. Also, it is important to mention that language evolves slowly, but its
change is continuous and unavoidable.
It should be acknowledged that many causes of language development are only
interpretations and linguists do not have a definite answer. Rastorguyeva (1983, 22)
distinguishes external (extra-linguistic) and internal (intra-linguistic) factors of language
development. Firstly, extra-linguistic factors are numerous circumstances and events closely
associated with human life. External factors include language contact, political and economic
aspects of the society, geographical division, the progress of science. Secondly, internal
factors are related to the wish to improve the language, the principle of analogy, interaction of
changes at different language levels and randomness – sometimes language change is
unpredictable and cannot be explained.
The history of the English language begins with the invasion of the British Isles by
Germanic tribes in 5th century or with oldest written records about 7th century (Shay, 2008). It
is possible to reconstruct some of the prehistory before that time, but the further back in time
we go, the less certain we can be about what the language was like. Traditionally, the history
of English is divided into three periods: Old English, Middle English and Modern English
(Algeo, 2010, 10).
As it was mentioned the earliest period begins in the fifth century around 449 A.D. with
the migration of three Germanic tribes (the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes) who crossed the
North Sea from what today is Denmark and northern Germany. At that time Celts, the
inhabitants of Britain, spoke Brythonic and Gaelic dialects. Most of the Celtic speakers were
pushed west and north mainly into what is now Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The invading
Germanic tribes spoke Kentish, West Saxon, Mercian and Northumbrian, which developed
into Old English. The language in this form was used for over 600 years and during that time
it was constantly changing. Old English did not sound or look like English today (Shay 2008,
83). The vocabulary of Old English contained a small number of borrowings; mainly it
consisted of native words inherited from Proto-Germanic. Foreign elements in the Old
18
English vocabulary came from Celtic and Latin.
In 1066 William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy, invaded and conquered
England; consequently, it lead to the development of the English language, as it was
influenced by French. Normans brought with them a kind of French, which became the
language of the Royal Court, and the ruling and business classes. For a period there was a
kind of linguistic class division, where the lower classes spoke English and the upper
classes spoke French. In the 14th century English became dominant in Britain again, but
with many French words added. This language is called Middle English. Main sources of
loanwords in Middle English are Scandinavian, French, Latin and Greek languages
(McIntyre, 2009). Latin and Greek borrowings came to the language from French or as a
result of translation of classical works during the age of Renaissance. The presence of
Scandinavians in the British Isles is indicated by a large number of place names and other
words connected with every day life. Scandinavian words were the synonyms of the native
ones. As Old Scandinavian and Old English were closely related (both developed from
Proto-Germanic, but one belongs to East Germanic, other to West Germanic branch)
Scandinavian words were very similar to native ones. For this reason some borrowings
either disappear, or replace native ones, were restricted to dialectal use, or borrowed both
but slight difference in meaning appeared (McIntyre, 2009).
Early Modern English might be said to begin in 15th century. It is thought to begin with
the invention of printing in 1476. From the 16th century the British had contact with many
peoples from around the world and this means that many new words entered the language. By
the beginning of the eighteenth century, period of late Modern English starts (Shay, 2008).
The main difference between Early Modern English and Late Modern English is vocabulary.
Late Modern English has many more words, arising from two principal factors: firstly, the
Industrial Revolution and new technologies created a need for new words, especially
scientific vocabulary; secondly, the British Empire at its height covered one quarter of the
earth's surface, and the English language adopted foreign words from many languages like
French, Italian, Dutch, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Persian, Chinese, Hungarian and others
(McIntyre, 2009).
Looking at these periods it is obvious that etymologically the vocabulary of the
English language is not homogeneous. It consists of the native and the borrowed word-stock.
In fact, there are more borrowed words than native ones. Native words make up only 30 % of
the total number of words in the English vocabulary (Antrushina, Afanasyeva, Morozova
1985, 40). The languages whose big number of words English has borrowed are French,
19
Latin, Scandinavian, Greek and many other languages. As a result of these borrowings many
changes of meaning of English word-stock occurred. The process of semantic change is also
referred to as semantic shift and it is going to be discussed in the following section.
20
3. SEMANTIC CHANGE IN ENGLISH
3.1. The Concept of Semantic Change
Many approaches to semantics, the study of meaning, are introduced; for this reason in
the following paragraphs the attempt is made to present a traditional classification of kinds of
semantic changes and more recent tendencies in change of meaning.
In the course of time, changes in the meaning of a word occur and it is an unavoidable
and continuous process (Yu, Ren, 2003). Semantic change is a common phenomenon in all
the languages (e.g. Spanish estar ‘to be’ meant ‘to stand’; Finish raha ‘money- the only
meaning now’ used to mean ‘a fur-bearing animal’ etc.) (Campbell, 2004). In the course of
time, the meaning of many words has changed and the new meaning has been extended based
on the original meaning. As a result of semantic change, not only a new meaning is added to
the certain word, but the meaning also changes (Yu, Ren, 2003). Based on the latter, semantic
change can be explained as the process when the word loses its original meaning and a new or
modified meaning is endowed. The factors, such as the change of people’s living
environment, the society, the progress of technology may contribute to the semantic change
(Yu, Ren, 2003).
As noted by Hudson (2000):
“ ...it is rarely noticeable within one generation, but we are often aware that generations
before and after ours speak differently, preferring forms and rules different from those we
prefer and even having some different ones. Whenever a language at some point in time is
compared with its descendant language even a few hundred years later, the change is
obvious.”
From the latter it follows that the changes of meanings of words can be identified applying
comparative method where meanings or contexts of words in different periods of time are
compared.
The differentiation of synonyms is a result of the semantic change. This is a gradual
process, which is observed in the course of history of any language during which loan words are
very often conformed (Campbell, 2004). For instance, the words time and tide. These words used
to be synonyms; however, in course of time the meaning of tide narrowed to ‘periodically
shifting waters’, while time has a more general sense (Borkowska, Kleparski, 2007). Meaning
change is one of the most obvious facts about meaning of the words and no words are immune
from this process (Riemer, 2010). Thus, it can be concluded, that we live in a constantly
21
changing and fluctuating world and languages are not excluded from this process. Language
instability contributes to the expansion of the vocabulary stock and the modification of
meanings of individual lexical items (Yu, Ren, 2013).
3.2. Causes of Semantic Change
Some causes of semantic change might be distinguished and explained. The latter can
be divided into extra-linguistic and linguistic causes. Extra-linguistic causes refer to the
changes that happened as a result of external factors such as environment, social and historical
reasons (Yu, Ren, 2003). In other words, the latter supports the statement that all the languages
are affected by political, social, cultural, economic and technical change. Extra-linguistic
causes of semantic change are very much connected with the development of the human mind
as it shapes the new reality to satisfy its needs (Yu, Ren, 2003). On the other hand, semantic
causes might be linguistic, e.g. the conflict of synonyms when an exact synonym of a native
word is borrowed from the other language; as a result, one of them may specialize in its
specific meaning (Yu, Ren, 2003).
According to Meillet (1974), it is important to underline social and dialectical factors
in the process of meaning change (Riemer, 2010). The author claims that language is entirely
dependent on the social group, which uses the language for communication. Consequently,
there might be distinguished three causes of semantic change: changes due to historical
causes, changes due to linguistic causes and social stratification (Borkowska, Kleparski,
2007).
Ullmann (1957) introduced two major categories of causes of semantic change:
changes due to linguistic innovation and changes due to linguistic conservatism. Ullmann
(1957) claimed that the tendency is to preserve words in particular uses; meanwhile, the
things to which they refer change in the course of time.
3.3. Classifications of Semantic Change
The presence of many classifications of semantic changes is due to the fact that
different linguists putting their scientific investigations and interests on meaning changes
introduce their classifications based on different frames. Points of view regarding the
22
classification of the semantic changes are scattered through a number of linguistic works and a
joint theory have not been introduced and accepted yet.
Before classifications of meaning change will be overviewed, it is important to
mention the following:
• traditional classifications cannot be applied to all the changes;
• sometimes we can apply two or even more labels to a single change, depending on
which aspect of the change we choose to use as the basis of the classification (Yu,
Ren, 2003).
Some researchers of diachronic semantics employ sociological, axiological or logic
based standpoints; while others employ historical, linguistic or psychological standpoints in
formulation of classifications (Kleparski, 1997). Semantic changes have been looked at from
a variety of angles; however, the most complete classification was suggested by Herman Paul
in his work piece “Prinzipien des Sprachgeschichte”. This classification is based on the
logical principle (Kleparski, 1997). Herman Paul distinguishes two main ways:
1. gradual (specialization and generalization); two momentary conscious
semantic changes (metaphor and metonymy);
2. gradual (elevation/amelioration and degradation/pejoration); momentary
(hyperbole and litote) (Kleparski, 1997).
In the light of numerous standpoints regarding semantic change, the taxonomies that
may be said to have had the biggest impact on the study of historical semantic changes will be
overviewed in the following paragraphs.
The earliest studies of semantic change set up very broad categorization of semantic
changes. Breal (1897) in his work categorized semantic changes into weakening’ and
‘strengthening’ and these labels or categories of change are considered very vague (Riemer,
2010). The main four traditional categories of semantic change are specialization,
generalization, pejoration and amelioration (Riemer, 2010). For this reason this research is
based on these categories of semantic change.
According to Stern (1931), seven types of meaning change were distinguished, such as
substitution, analogy, shortening, nomination, regular transfer, permutation and adequation.
23
In addition, according to Ullmann (1957), a mutual relationship exists between a name and a
sense. The author states that:
“a semantic change will occur whenever a new name becomes attached to a sense and a new
sense to a name” (Ullmann, 1957).
Warren (1992) claims that in case a word is treated as a name and sense (content),
then either the name or the sense of the word can change.
Paul (1880) introduced logico-rhetorical classification of semantic change in his work
and it is one of the earliest attempts to classify historical semantic changes. Based on the
classification proposed by Paul (1880) the following changes of meaning can be
distinguished: widening, narrowing and transfer of meaning.
The process of widening of meaning, (also called broadening or generalization of
meaning), is the reason of the qualitative change of the English word stock. Rayevska (1979,
130) claims that this process is common within the words that have exact denotation (in other
words, specific or exact meaning); however, in the course of time the words loose their
denotative meaning and it extends or undergoes generalization. According to Riemer (2010)
in broadening the tendency is that words meaning changes so that it embraces a wider range
of referents. For example, the adverb very lost the connection with the original meaning
“cruelly” and was subjected to an extreme generalization of meaning (Riemer, 2010).
As noted by Rayevska (1979, 145-147), narrowing of meaning (also called
specialization) is defined as a process when words which regularly were used under one
conditions start to be used in a specific context. Such words attain a narrower meaning;
consequently, these words may be applied only in some of the contexts. According to Riemer
(2010) in narrowing of meaning a word narrows its range of reference; for example, the word
liquor used to refer to any liquid but nowadays it refers to a specific kind of alcohol.
The transfer of meaning is explained as a type of development of meaning (Rayevska,
1979). This process contributes to adoption of a new meaning. The feature of this process is
the connection of the new sense with the old sense of the word (Rayevska, 1979). Kiełtyka
(2006), Grygiel and Kleparski (2007) argue that two more types of semantic changes can be
distinguished: amelioration (elevation) and pejoration (degradation). According to
Rayevska (1979, 149), the process of amelioration takes place when word’s meaning changes
from a position of lower to higher significance. In the literature it is discussed that society is a
factor influencing acquisition of ameliorative or pejorative denotative meaning of words
24
(Riemer, 2010). All the societies change over the course of time, and the word stock, which
was unacceptable, may change its status and gain social favor.
Briefly speaking, the first traditional typology of semantic changes is the division into
changes, whose result is a more positive meaning known as amelioration and those which
give a more negative meaning known as pejoration (Yu, Ren, 2013). These semantic changes
are related to the change of word’s evaluative force. In case of amelioration, the word changes
so that the word is valued more positively (Riemer, 2010). In contrary, in pejoration a word
takes a derogatory meaning what means that the word is valued more negatively and even
insultingly (Riemer, 2010). The second traditional classification of changes in meaning is in
terms of whether it becomes broader or narrower (Yu, Ren, 2013). In linguistics and other
sciences, several different terms often mean the same due to the different naming by different
scientists. The development of meaning when the meaning changes from concrete to abstract
or from the specific to general is known as generalization, widening or broadening. In this
research the term ‘broadening’ is used. The opposite of generalization of meaning is
specialization (also known as narrowing) (Yu, Ren, 2013). Another dimension on which
certain semantic changes may be classified is whether they result from metaphor or
metonymy. In metaphorical changes of meaning, similarity between one concept and another
concept is perceived and the word for one concept is used to talk about another concept (Yu,
Ren, 2013). On the other hand, metonymy, like metaphor, involves some kind of connection
between concepts; thus in this case no similarity between the concepts exists, but they are
closely linked in the other way (for example, one is part of or contains the other) (Yu, Ren,
2013). In the light of this, the main purpose of this research is to delve into the question of the
following types of semantic changes of meaning known as pejoration, amelioration,
broadening and narrowing of meaning. This reason this research is based on these four
semantic change types because they are traditional categories of semantic change as stated by
Riemer (2010).
All in all, semantic change is a common phenomenon in the languages all around the
world (Yu, Ren, 2013). When a word loses its original meaning, and refers to other things,
this may lead to the semantic change (Yu, Ren, 2013). Even nowadays it is possible to track
semantic changes of words of modern English, which acquired new meanings that has been
extended based on the original meaning (Yu, Ren, 2013). Understanding the types and history
will help to understand how language behaves. Also, it is essential to mention that knowing
the changes of meaning the words underwent will not explain the reasons of the latter.
25
4. ANALYSIS OF SEMANTIC CHANGE IN SYNONYMY
In order to achieve the aim of the research and to ensure the success, accuracy and
reliability of the research, the following procedures of the data collection and methods for
processing the data were used.
The analysis is based on the data extracted from Webster’s New Dictionary of
Synonymy (1984) and Online Webster’s New Dictionary of Synonymy. Some synonymic
groups were also taken from the Oxford Learner’s Thesaurus.
Mixed research data was chosen which means that the data present different parts of
speech such as nouns, verbs and adjectives. Only these parts of speech were chosen to be
analyzed as it is easier to track the development of their meaning. The research is based on 23
word groups (8 nouns, 8 verbs and 7 adjectives) which synonyms were taken from the
mentioned sources. The 23 headwords were chosen according to their frequency of
occurrence in the British National corpus. The research paper draws frequency data from
research-based project Word Frequencies in Written and Spoken English: based on the British
National Corpus by Geoffrey Leech, Paul Rayson and Andrew Wilson. The frequency data is
reliable as it is based on the British National Corpus and it is important to note that all
frequencies are per million words. This BNC project was carried out and is managed by an
industrial academic consortium lead by Oxford University Press, of which the other members
are major dictionary publishers Addison-Wesley Longman and Larousse Kingfisher
Chambers. Also, academic research centers at Oxford University Computing Services,
Lancaster University’s Centre for Computer Corpus Research on Language, and the British
Library’s Research and Innovation Centre contributed to this project, so these data can be
trusted. To draw far-reaching results of the origin of 23 synonymic groups, all in all 99 words
were chosen.
After 23 synonymic groups were chosen, lexical information was collected and
studied. Main sources of the data were Webster’s New Dictionary of Synonyms (1984),
Oxford Learner’s Thesaurus and Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Furthermore, the
etymological description of the selected synonymic groups was made with the help of Online
Etymology Dictionary.
In this paper different methods were applied for processing the data. The quantitative
method was used in order to investigate the most frequent patterns of semantic change in
synonymy and to establish relationships between semantic changes and such variables as parts
of speech, origin and the period of time. The quantitative calculations are followed by a
detailed qualitative analysis of the selected synonymic groups.
26
4.1. Quantitative analysis
In this section the quantitative analysis is presented. The origin of the selected words
(23 synonymic groups) was analyzed and semantic changes were identified.
The research is based on 23 word groups (8 nouns, 8 verbs, 7 adjectives) which were
drawn from research-based project Word Frequencies in Written and Spoken English: based
on the British National Corpus by Geoffrey Leech, Paul Rayson and Andrew Wilson. The
frequency of occurrence within noun, verb and adjective class in the whole corpus is provided
in Appendix 7. The synonyms of these headwords were taken from Webster’s New Dictionary
of Synonyms (1984) and Online Webster’s Dictionary of Synonyms.
The following chart (see Figure 1) reveals the origin of synonymy of the 23
headwords. It shows that 44% of the synonyms analyzed are of Latin origin; 36% of
Germanic origin which includes Anglo-Saxon, Middle Dutch, Old Norse languages; 9% of
Greek origin; 9% of French origin; 2% of unknown origin.
The findings of previous research revealed that the most frequently used words in
English are of Germanic (Anglo-Saxon) origin and the biggest part of them has synonyms of
Latin origin. Furthermore, the findings illustrated in the chart below show the distribution of
origin of words in English. In might be concluded that words of Latin (44% / 54 words) and
Germanic (36% / 44 words) origin prevail.
Figure 1. Origin of synonymy (122 words)
In this section, Hypothesis 1 and Hypothesis 2 were set. Then, the dependent variables
(broadening, narrowing, pejoration, amelioration, no change) and independent variables (parts
of speech and origins of words) were identified. Both the dependent and independent
Latin44%
Germanic36%
Greek9%
French9%
Unknown2%
27
variables are categorical so a chi-square test is appropriate and was applied to identify the
statistical significance of the findings.
Figure 2 shows that most of the words analyzed underwent broadening of meaning
(71%), 15% of words underwent narrowing of meaning, 9% of words had no change of
meaning, 3% of words underwent pejoration and only 2% of words underwent amelioration.
Figure 2. Semantic changes within synonymic groups
The following section provides an analysis of Hypothesis 1, which is the following:
Hypothesis 1: Semantic change in synonymy is related to the part of speech, which the word
represents.
Hypothesis 1a: Semantic change in synonymy is not related to the part of speech, which the
word represents.
In order to test Hypothesis 1, whether semantic change in synonymy is related to the
part of speech to which the word belongs to, types of changes, which occurred in synonymic
groups within noun, verb and adjective groups were identified. As Table 1 shows, in noun
Broadening71%
Narrowing15%
Pejoration3%
Amelioration2%
Nochange9%
28
group there were found 34 cases of broadening, 3 cases of narrowing, 3 cases of pejoration, 3
cases of no change and 0 cases amelioration. As for verb group: 21 word underwent
broadening of meaning, 12 cases of narrowing, 1 case of pejoration, 1 case of amelioration
and 4 cases of no change of meaning. In adjective group of synonymy 31 case of broadening,
3 cases of narrowing, of cases of pejoration, 2 cases of narrowing and 4 cases of no change of
meaning were found. The findings suggest that in most of the cases words undergo
broadening of meaning. Also, narrowing, pejoration and amelioration are not very frequent
changes; however, synonyms belonging to verb group underwent narrowing of meaning more
frequently (12 cases were identified while nouns and adjectives have only 3 cases of
narrowing of meaning). Furthermore, there is no significant difference in no change of
meaning of synonymy within the parts of speech. Out of 122 words 111 words experienced
particular changes of meaning and 11 words retained their original meanings. Summing up,
the findings suggest that words are more likely to change their meanings rather than stay
stable and preserve their original meanings.
Table 1. A table of observed values
Observed Broadening Narrowing Pejoration Amelioration No
change Total
Nouns 34 3 3 0 3 43
Verbs 21 12 1 1 4 39
Adjectives 31 3 0 2 4 40
Total 86 18 4 3 11 122
In order to test hypothesis 1, firstly, observed values were identified (see Table 1),
then expected counts were computed for each category, assuming that the null hypothesis is
true (see Table 2). Thirdly, the requirements for the goodness-of-fit were tested (all expected
counts are bigger than or equal to 1). Furthermore, the critical values and the critical region
were determined (degree of freedom) (see Table 3). Then, the test statistics was computed
according to the formula presented below:
29
Table 2. A table of expected values
Table 3 shows the results of the computation of observed and expected values. Chi-
square total (x2) equals 17.6. In order to determine p-value degree of freedom (df) was
identified according to the following formula: df= (# of chart rows -1) x (#of chart columns -
1). Accordingly, degree of freedom equals 8 (df= (3-1) x (5-1) = 2 x 4 = 8). After chi-square
value and degree of freedom were identified chi-square significance chart (see Appendix 1)
was consulted to determine whether the chi-square statistics obtained is significant at the
p≤0.05 (p≤0.05 stands for the standard p-value required in the humanities and social
sciences). With our chi-square value of 17.6 we go above and beyond this requirement, and
thus statistically significant findings can be claimed. P-Value is 0,024434 so the result is
significant at p≤0,05. The latter findings mean that there is quantitative support for the
experimental hypothesis (Hypothesis 1) that the part of speech, which the word represents,
affects semantic change in synonymy.
Expected Broadening Narrowing Pejoration Ameliorati
on No change Total
Nouns (43x86)/122=
30.3
(43x18)/122=
6.3
(43x4)/122=
1.4
(43x3)/122
=1.1
(43x11)/122=
3.9 43
Verbs (39x86)/122=
27.5
(39x18)/122=
5.8
(39x4)/122=
1.3
(39x3)/122
=1
(39x11)/122=
3.5 39
Adjective
s
(40x86)/122=
28.2
(40x18)/122=
5.9
(40x4)/122=
1.3
(40x3)/122
=1
(40x11)/122=
3.6 40
Total 86 18 4 3 11 122
30
Table 3. Critical values
Category (Obs - Exp)2 Exp
Nouns 5.3
Verbs 8.3
Adjectives 4
Total 17.6
The following section provides an analysis of observed semantic changes within
synonymy in regard to its origin and the analysis of Hypothesis 2, which is the following:
Hypothesis 2: Semantic change in synonymy is related to the origin of the word.
Hypothesis 2a: Semantic change in synonymy is not related to the origin of the word.
In order to test Hypothesis 2, whether semantic change in synonymy is related to the
origin of the word, there were identified types of changes, which occurred in synonymic
groups whose origin is the following: Latin (54 words), Germanic (44 words), French (11
words), Greek (11 words) and Unknown (2 words).
As Table 4 shows and supports statements mentioned in previous paragraphs,
semantic change such as broadening is the most common. The results reveal (see Table 4) that
out of 54 words of Latin origin - 39 words underwent broadening of meaning; the same result
is of the words of Germanic origin where out of 44 words - 29 words underwent broadening
of meaning (the proportion is the same). However, differences in change of meaning of the
rest of words exist. The words of Germanic origin more often undergo narrowing of meaning
(8 words) while words of Latin origin have only 6 cases of narrowing. Also, it is essential to
mention that meaning of Latin words is more stable in comparison to words of Germanic,
Greek, French and unknown origin as there were found 6 words that haven’t changed their
meaning in the course of time; then 3 words haven’t changed their meaning in Germanic
words; and only 1 word of French and Greek origin hasn’t changed its meaning. Finally, the
words of unknown origin underwent broadening and narrowing only.
31
Table 4. A table of observed values
Observed Broadening Narrowing Pejoration Amelioration No
change
Total
Latin 39 6 1 2 6 54
Germanic 29 8 3 1 3 44
Greek 9 1 0 0 1 11
French 8 2 0 0 1 11
Unknown 1 1 0 0 0 2
Total 86 18 4 3 11 122
Also, Table 4 illustrates the most frequently occurring semantic changes within words
of Latin, Germanic, Greek, French and unknown origin. The findings suggest that the most
common semantic change is broadening of meaning (86 words out of 122); as the second
most common semantic change is narrowing of meaning (18 words out of 122); third most
common is no change of meaning (11 words out of 122); then goes pejoration (4 words out of
122) and the least frequent semantic change is amelioration (3 words out of 122).
Further more, after the distribution of semantic changes in words of such origin as
Latin, Germanic, Greek, French and unknown was identified (Table 4). In order to test
Hypothesis 2, expected counts were computed for each category, assuming that the null
hypothesis is true (see Table 5). Then, the requirements for the goodness-of-fit were tested;
however, not all expected counts are bigger than or equal to 1, for this reason the results
might be not exact (despite the fact that there are more than 100 words analyzed) as there was
not enough number of words representing semantic changes as pejoration and amelioration.
Furthermore, the critical values and the critical region were determined (degree of freedom)
(see Table 6). Then, the test statistics was computed according to the formula presented
below:
32
Table 5. A table of expected values
Expecte
d
Broadening Narrowing Pejoration Ameliorati
on
No change Tot
al
Latin (54x86)/122=
38.1
(54x18)/122
=8.0
(54x4)/122=
1.8
(54x3)/122=
1.3
(54x11)/122
=4.9
54
Germa
nic
(44x86)/122=
31.0
(44x18)/122
=6.5
(44x4)/122=
1.4
(44x3)/122=
1.1
(44x11)/122
=4.0
44
Greek (11x86)/122=
7.8
(11x18)/122
=1.6
(11x4)/122=
0.4
(11x3)/122=
0.3
(11x11)/122
=1.0
11
French (11x86)/122=
7.8
(11x18)/122
=1.6
(11x4)/122=
0.4
(11x3)/122=
0.3
(11x11)/122
=1.0
11
Unkno
wn
(2x86)/122=1.
4
(2x18)/122=
0.3
(2x4)/122=0
.1
(2x3)/122=0
.4
(2x11)/122=
0.2
2
Total 86 18 4 3 11 122
Table 6 shows the results of the computation of observed and expected values. Chi-
square total (x2) equals 8.3. In order to determine p-value degree of freedom (df) was
identified according to the following formula: df= (# of chart rows -1) x (#of chart columns -
1). Accordingly, degree of freedom equals 16 (df= (5-1) x (5-1) = 4 x 4 = 16). After chi-
square value and degree of freedom were identified, chi-square significance chart (see
Appendix 1) was consulted to determine whether the chi-square statistics obtained is
significant at the p≤0.05 (p≤0.05 stands for the standard p-value required in the humanities
and social sciences). With the chi-square value of 8.3 we go below the requirement, and thus
statistically not significant findings can be claimed. P-Value is 0,939429 so the result is not
significant at p≤0,05. The latter findings mean that there is no quantitative support for the
experimental hypothesis (Hypothesis 2) that the origin affects semantic change in synonymy.
33
Table 6. Critical values
Category (Obs - Exp)2 Exp
Latin 1.5
Germanic 2.5
Greek 1.1
French 0.8
Unknown 2.4
Total 8.3
As far as the findings of the statistical analysis regarding Hypothesis 2 were not
significant and it might have happened because of not enough number of words representing
semantic changes as pejoration and amelioration; ANOVA test was chosen to additionally test
and compare words of such origin as Latin, Germanic, Greek, French, Unknown in regard to
the semantic changes they undergone as this method is used to determine whether there are
any significant differences between the means of two or more independent groups (in this
case origin).
In order to obtain appropriate test statistic the degree of freedom (df), mean and
standard deviation and other necessary calculations were calculated (see Table 7, Table 8).
Firstly, to count the mean, the simple average of the numbers was calculated. Secondly, to
count all the rest of calculations there were applied formulas presented in Appendix 2.
Table 7. Descriptives
Group N (Number of
subjects) Mean Standard Deviation
Latin 54 10.8 15.9279
Germanic 44 8.8 11.5844
Greek 11 2.2 3.8340
French 11 2.2 3.3466
Unknown 2 0.4 0.5477
34
The table below (Table 8) presents the output of the ANOVA analysis and whether
there is a statistically significant difference between semantic changes in words representing
origins such as Latin, Germanic, Greek, French and unknown. As Table 8 shows, the
significance level is 0.108 (p=0.108), which is above 0.05; therefore, there is no statistically
significant difference in undergone semantic changes of words belonging to different origin.
Table 8. ANOVA test results
Sum of
Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Between Groups
Within Groups
Total
1,291.538
19,475.815
20,767.353
4
117
121
322.885
166.460 1.940 0.108
In previous chapters it was proved with the help of statistical methods like Chi-Square
and ANOVA that the findings of the statistical analysis regarding Hypothesis 2 were not
significant. As far as one of the theories of these results is the possibility of not enough
number of cases of semantic changes such as pejoration and amelioration, consequently,
categories of origin were reconsidered (categorized into Germanic and Non-Germanic) what
increased the number of cases in each category of semantic changes. Furthermore, Hypothesis
3 was raised and Chi-Square test was applied to test it:
Hypothesis 3: Semantic change in synonymy is related to Germanic or Non-Germanic
origin of the word.
Hypothesis 3a: Semantic change in synonymy is not related to Germanic or Non-
Germanic origin of the word.
Furthermore, after the distribution of semantic changes in words of such origin as
Germanic and Non-Germanic was identified (Table 9). In order to test Hypothesis 3, expected
counts were computed for each category, assuming that the null hypothesis is true (see Table
10). Then, the requirements for the goodness-of-fit were tested; all expected counts are bigger
than or equal to 1, for this reason the results are reliable. Furthermore, the critical values and
the critical region were determined (degree of freedom) (see Table 11). Then, the test
statistics was computed according to the formula presented below:
35
Table 9. Table of observed values
Observed Broadening Narrowing Pejoration Amelioration No
change
Total
Germanic 29 8 3 1 3 44
Non-
Germanic
57 10 1 2 8 78
Total 86 18 4 3 11 122
Table 10 shows the results of the computation of observed and expected values. Chi-
square total (x2) equals 3.9. In order to determine p-value degree of freedom (df) was
identified according to the following formula: df= (# of chart rows -1) x (#of chart columns -
1). Accordingly, degree of freedom equals 4 (df= (2-1) x (5-1) = 1 x 4 = 4). After chi-square
value and degree of freedom were identified, chi-square significance chart (see Appendix 1)
was consulted to determine whether the chi-square statistics obtained is significant at the
p≤0.05 (p≤0.05 stands for the standard p-value required in the humanities and social
sciences).
Table 10. Table of expected values
Expecte
d Broadening Narrowing Pejoration
Amelioratio
n No change
Tot
al
German
ic
(44x86)/122
=31
(44x18)/122=6
.5
(44x4)/122=
1.4
(44x3)/122=
1.1
(44x11)/122
=4 44
Non-
German
ic
(78x86)/122
=55
(79x18)/122=1
1.7
(78x4)/122=
2.6
(78x3)/122=
1.9
(78x11)/122
=7 78
Total 86 18 4 3 11 122
36
Since the P-value (0.419709) is less than the significance level (0.05), the null
hypothesis or so called Hypothesis 3a cannot be rejected. Thus, it can be concluded that no
relationship exists between semantic changes and words belonging to Germanic and Non-
Germanic origin group.
Table 11. Critical values
Category (Obs - Exp)2 Exp
Germanic 2.45
Non-Germanic 1.4
Total 3.85~3.9
In the following section, Hypothesis 4 was set. Then, the dependent variables
(broadening, narrowing, pejoration, amelioration, no change) and independent variables (the
period of time: Old English, Middle English, Modern English) were identified. Both the
dependent and independent variables are categorical so ANOVA test is appropriate and was
applied to identify the statistical significance of the findings and differences of distribution of
changes within three periods of time.
The chart below (see Figure 3) illustrates the period of time when the words analyzed
started functioning in the English language. According to the chart, 23% of words (28 words)
came to English in the period of Old English; 25% (31 word) of words started functioning in
the English language in the period of Modern English and 52% of words (63 words) started
functioning in the English language in the period of Middle English. Based on the results
presented, it can be stated that a considerable number of words, more than a half, was
borrowed to English during the period of Middle English.
37
Figure 3. The period of time
Hypothesis 4: The semantic change in synonymy is related to the period of time when
the word started functioning in English Language.
Hypothesis 4: The semantic change in synonymy is not related to the period of time
when the word started functioning in English Language.
ANOVA test was chosen to test and compare words of such origin as Latin, Germanic,
Greek, French, Unknown in regard to the semantic changes they undergone and the period of
time when they started functioning in English language (Old English, Middle English,
Modern English) as this method is used to determine whether there are any significant
differences between the means of two or more independent groups (in this case the period of
time is considered).
In order to obtain appropriate test statistic the degree of freedom (df), mean and
standard deviation and other necessary calculations were calculated (see Table 12, Table 13).
Firstly, to count the mean, the simple average of the numbers was calculated. Secondly, to
count all the rest of calculations there were applied formulas presented in Appendix 2.
OldEnglish23%
MiddleEnglish52%
ModernEnglish25%
38
Table 12. Descriptives
The table below (see Table 13) presents the output of the ANOVA analysis and
whether there is a statistically significant difference between semantic changes in words
which started to function in English language in different period of time. As Table 13 shows,
the significance level is 0.025 (p=0.025), which is below 0.05; therefore, there is statistically
significant difference in undergone semantic changes of words and period of time (Old
English, Middle English, Modern English) when they started to function in English language.
Table 13. ANOVA test results
Sum of
Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Between Groups
Within Groups
Total
1,448.995
22,733.648
24,182.643
2
119
121
724.498
191.039
3.792 0.025
The data collected showed that the prevailing type of semantic change is broadening.
Moreover, the words that started functioning in the period of Middle English underwent the
biggest number and variety of changes of meaning.
Group N (Number of
subjects)
Mean Standard Deviation
Old English 28 5.6 10.35857
Middle English 63 12.6 17.28583
Modern English 31 5.8 6.6106
39
4.2. Qualitative analysis
In this section, a qualitative analysis of synonymic groups is carried out. Due to the
special limitations of this type of work and the previously conducted research by Puncevič
(2014) there are selected different aspects to be analyzed.
As far as in the previous research the origin and historical development of meaning of
7 randomly chosen words was analyzed; it would be valuable to reveal whether type of
semantic change depends of the time when the word came into the English language.
Consequently, in order to investigate this statement synonymic groups that undergone the
biggest variety of semantic changes are analyzed in the following chapters.
4.2.1. Semantic changes of OFFER, READ and their synonyms
The verb OFFER means to give someone the opportunity to accept or take something;
to say that you are willing to do sth; or, to make something available: to provide or supply
something (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The word has its roots in Latin language.
Latin offerre had the following meaning: "to present, bestow, bring before" (in Late Latin "to
present in worship"), The Latin word was borrowed by Germanic languages: Old Frisian offria,
Middle Dutch offeren, Old Norse offra. Its equivalent in Old English was ofrian, which had the
meaning "to offer, show, exhibit, sacrifice, bring an oblation" (Online Etymology Dictionary).
Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the headword underwent the broadening
of meaning.
The synonyms of OFFER: tender, proffer, present and give are comparable when they
mean to offer. The verb tender, stresses formality if the act of offering; often, it means “to
present for acceptance’, or “to offer in payment” (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). Tender
is derived from Middle French word tender, which in 11th century meant "to offer, hold forth".
However, the word originated from Latin tendere, which meant "to stretch, extend". The first
known use of the word was registered in 1540s and the meaning of the word was "to offer
formally" (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its
development, the word underwent the narrowing of meaning.
The verb proffer, carries the meaning very close to the one of the head word. Proffer
means “to offer or give (something) to somebody or to present for acceptance (Merriam-
Webster Online Dictionary). The verb proffer was derived to English in late 13th century with
40
a meaning: "to offer" from Anglo-French profrier. The verb has its roots in Latin offerre
carrying the meaning "to offer" (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of
meaning and its development, the word underwent the amelioration of meaning.
The verb present, carries the meaning “to give something to someone in a formal way
or in a ceremony or to make (something) available to be used or considered (Merriam-Webster
Online Dictionary). The verb was borrowed from Old French presenter and meant "to make a
formal presentation of; give as a gift or award; bestow". In 1300s the meaning "to introduce
(someone or something) formally or ceremonially" came into the language. Also from late 14
century the verb gained the meanings such as " to exhibit (something), offer for inspection,
display"; also, in law context the meaning broadened to "to make a formal complaint or charge
of wrongdoing" (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its
development, the word underwent the broadening of meaning.
The verb give, often means “to offer to the action of another”. The verb possesses a
big range of meanings (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The verb give, is derived from
Proto-Germanic geban (its cognates in other Germanic languages are the following: Old Frisian
jeva, Middle Dutch gheven, Dutch geven, Old High German geban, German geben, Gothic
giban), and it meant "to take, hold, have, give". In course of time the verb transformed into
yiven in Middle English, but changed to guttural "g" by influence of Old Norse gefa which
meant "to give". Old English equivalent for the verb give - giefan (West Saxon) meant "to
give, bestow, deliver to another; allot, grant; commit, devote, entrust" (Online Etymology
Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the headword underwent
the broadening of meaning.
The verb READ means to look at and understand the meaning of letters, words,
symbols etc.; or to read the words of the book, magazine etc; and to speak aloud the words of
something written (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The verb read is derived from Proto-
Germanic redan (the words cognates in Old Norse was raða, Old Frisian reda, Dutch raden,
Old High German ratan, German raten) and meant "to advise, counsel, guess". It is important
to mention that words from this root in most modern Germanic languages still have the
meaning "to counsel, advise". Old English equivalent for read - rædan (West Saxon), redan
41
(Anglian) meant "to advise, counsel, persuade; discuss, deliberate; rule, guide; arrange, equip;
forebode; read, explain; learn by reading; put in order". The transference to "understand the
meaning of written symbols" is unique to Old English and (perhaps under English influence) to
Old Norse raða. Most languages use a word rooted in the idea of "gather up" as their word for
"read" (such as French lire, from Latin legere) (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the
aspect of meaning and its development, the headword underwent the narrowing of meaning.
The synonyms of the verb READ: scan, skim and peruse are compatible when they
mean to look at, look over or read (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The verb scan
stresses quick reading process (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The verb scan originates
from Late Latin scandere which meant "to scan verse" and originally, in classical Latin the
meaning was "to climb, rise, mount". In late 14 century the meaning "to mark off verse in
metric feet" was recorded. Sense of "look at closely, examine minutely (as one does when
counting metrical feet in poetry)" was recorded for the first time in 1540s. While, the sense of
"look over quickly, skim" is attested for the first time in 1926 (Online Etymology Dictionary).
Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the word scan underwent the narrowing
of meaning.
The verb skim carries the meaning “to look over or read something very quickly so
that to find the main ideas” (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The verb skim has its roots
in Germanic source (Old High German scum). In early 15 century the meaning "to clear (a
liquid) from matter floating on the surface, lift the scum from" was recorded which was
borrowed from Old French escumer, which meant "remove scum". The meaning "to throw (a
stone) so as to skip across the surface of (water) is from 1610s; while, the meaning "to move
lightly and rapidly over the surface of" is from 1650s. Finally, the meaning "to glance over
carelessly" was recorded in 1799 (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of
meaning and its development, the word underwent the broadening of meaning.
The verb peruse, carries the meaning “to read something in an informal or relaxed way
or to examine or read something in a very careful way” (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary).
Peruse is from Middle English (per- meant "completely" + use). The meaning "to read
carefully" is first recorded in 1530s, but this could be a separate formation. The meaning "read
casually" is from 19th century (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of
meaning and its development, the word underwent the narrowing of meaning.
42
4.2.2. Semantic changes of LARGE, GREAT and their synonyms
The adjective LARGE has its roots in Latin. Latin equivalent for large- largus meant
"abundant, copious, plentiful; bountiful, liberal in giving". The word was borrowed from Old
French large which carried the meaning "broad, wide; generous, bounteous" and borrowed the
meaning "great in expanse". The main modern meanings such as "extensive; big in overall
size" emerged only in 14th century. An older sense of "liberated, free from restraining
influence" is still preserved in at large (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect
of meaning and its development, the headword underwent the broadening of meaning.
The synonyms of the adjective LARGE: big and great are comparable as all of them
have a meaning of “large in size”. Large means “great in size or amount or not limited in
importance, range etc.”; while, the adjective big means “large in size; large in number or
amount; or, involving many people or things”. Big has obscure origin probably Germanic (Old
Norse – bugge meant “great man”). The adjective emerged in northern Englands dialect in
1300s and meant "powerful, strong". Moreover, in Old English there was used a word micel
which was used in many of the same senses. The meaning that of "of great size" is from late
14th century; while, the meaning of "grown up" is attested from 1550s. Finally, the sense of
"important" is from 1570s (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning
and its development, the word big underwent the broadening of meaning.
The adjective great, carries the meaning “ notably large in size” or “large in number or
measure” (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). Great was derived from West Germanic
grautaz which meant "coarse, thick" (the cognates of the word are the following: Old Saxon
grot, Old Frisian grat, Dutch groot, German groß and the ment "great"). In Old English great
carried the meaning "big, tall, thick, stout, massive; coarse". It took over much of the sense of
Middle English mickle, and itself now is largely superseded by big and large (except in
reference to non-material things). Also formerly with a verb form, Old English greatian meant
"to become enlarged," in Middle English greaten meant "to become larger, increase, grow;
become visibly pregnant," which became archaic after 17th century (Online Etymology
Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the word great underwent
the process of amelioration of meaning.
The adjective GREAT has roots in Old High German. Formerly, the verb form in Old
English greatian meant "to become enlarged" and in Middle English greaten meant "to become
larger, increase, grow; become visibly pregnant" which became archaic after 17th century. In
the sense of "excellent, wonderful" great is attested from 1848. Throughout the history the
43
usage of the adjective broadened and it was used as Great White Way "Broadway in New York
City" from 1901, in reference to brilliant street illumination. Then the Great Lakes of North
America were so called from 1747 (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of
meaning and its development, the headword underwent the broadening of meaning.
The synonyms of the adjective GREAT: cool, fantastic, fabulous, terrific and briliant
are comparable as all of them have a meaning of “very good”. The adjective great has additional
meanings such as notably large in size; large in number or measure, predominant; markedly
superior in character or quality (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary).
The synonym of the headword cool, has its main meaning moderately cold and
informal meaning (slang) is very good, excellent, fashionable or hip (Merriam-Webster Online
Dictionary). The adjective cool is originated from Proto-Germanic koluz and its cognates in
Middle Dutch coel, Dutch koel, Old High German kuoli, German kühl meant "cool"; in Old
Norse kala meant "be cold". Old English col had the meaning "not warm" (not as severe as
cold); moreover, when speaking about persons it had the meaning "unperturbed,
undemonstrative". Since 1728 the word was applied to large sums of money to give emphasis
to amount; while, the meaning "calmly audacious" is from 1825. As far as slang meaning is
concerned and which is synonymous to the headwords of this synonymic group, it is from 1933
(originally African-American vernacular). The very modern use as a general term of approval
is from late 1940s, probably from bop talk and originally in reference to a style of jazz. It is
said to have been popularized in jazz circles by tenor saxophonist Lester Young (Online
Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the word cool
underwent the broadening of meaning.
The adjective fantastic carries the meaning extremely good; very strange, unusual on
unlikely; extremely high or great (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). Fantastic originated
from Late Latin phantasticus, which meant "imaginary" and even earlier from Greek
phantastikos which carried the meaning of " being able to imagine" and was derived from
phantazein having the meaning " to make visible" (Online Etymology Dictionary). The
meaning "existing only in imagination" is recorded in English in late 14th century and was
borrowed from Middle French fantastique. The meaning of "wonderful, marvelous" was
recorded in 1938. In addition, in Medieval Latin the word was also used as a noun and meant "a
lunatic"; while, Shakespeare and his contemporaries had it in Italian form fantastico "one who
acts ridiculously" (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its
development, the word fantastic underwent the broadening of meaning.
44
The adjective fabulous carries the meaning very good; very large in amount or size;
not real/told about in a story (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The adjective fabulous has
Latin roots. Latin word fabulosus an equivalent for fabulous meant "celebrated in fable"; also,
it had the meaning "rich in myths" and was derived from a noun fabula carrying the meaning
"story, tale" (Online Etymology Dictionary). The meaning was broadened widely as for
instance the meaning "mythical, legendary" appeared in English in early 15th century.
Furthermore, the meaning "pertaining to fable" is present in English from 1550s. Also, the
sense of "incredible" was first recorded in 16th century; hence, "enormous, immense, amazing"
was trivialized in 1950s to "marvelous, terrific" (Online Etymology Dictionary). In addition,
fabulous and fantastic are also used by the youth to express high commendation (it is a modern
usage)(Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development,
the word fabulous underwent the broadening of meaning.
The adjective terrific carries the meaning extremely good; or causing a feeling of
surprise or wonder (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). Terrific has Latin roots. Latin
equivalent terrificus meant "causing terror or fear, frightful" and was derived from the verb
terrere "fill with fear" (Online Etymology Dictionary). The meaning "frightening" was
recorded in 1660s; while another meaning of "very great, severe" appeared in 1809. As far as
the sense of "excellent" is concerned, this colloquial meaning appeared in 1888 only (Online
Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the word
terrific underwent the process of amelioration of meaning.
The adjective brilliant carries the meaning very bright; very impressive or successful;
extremely intelligent and in British English there is a meaning very good/excellent (Merriam-
Webster Online Dictionary). Brilliant is originated from Latin beryllus which meant "beryl,
precious stone"; or perhaps from Vulgar Latin word berillare that meant "to shine like a beryl".
The adjective was borrowed to English from French brilliant, which meant "sparkling, shining"
in 1680s (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its
development, the word brilliant underwent the process of broadening of meaning.
45
4.2.3. Semantic changes of WORLD, TIME and their synonyms
The noun WORLD is has its Proto-Germanic roots. In Old English the equivalent of
the term world - woruld, worold meant "human existence, the affairs of life", "a long period of
time" as well as "the human race, mankind, humanity" (Online Etymology Dictionary). This
word was peculiar to Germanic languages. Its cognates in other languages were: in Old Saxon
werold, in Old Frisian warld, in Dutch wereld, in Old Norse verold, in Old High German
weralt and in German Welt (Online Etymology Dictionary). The literal meaning of these words
was "age of a man" (Online Etymology Dictionary). Later, the meaning "life on earth, this
world " extended to "the known world" and in 1200 it extended to "the physical world in the
broadest sense, the universe" (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning
and its development, the headword underwent the broadening of meaning.
The synonyms of the noun WORLD: earth, macrocosm, universe and cosmos are
comparable as all of them have a meaning of “a system of created things”. The noun world has
additional meanings such as ‘the earthly state of human existence’, ‘the earth with its
inhabitants and all things upon it’, ‘the earth with its inhabitants and all things upon it’ etc
(Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary).
The noun earth carries the meaning of ‘the planet on which we live’, ‘land as opposed
to the sea, the air etc.’ or ‘the material in which plants grow’ (Merriam-Webster Online
Dictionary). The noun earth has Proto-Germanic roots and its Old English equivalent is eorþe,
which meant "ground, soil, dirt, dry land; country, district" (Online Etymology Dictionary).
Moreover, this noun was used along with middangeard for "the (material) world, the abode of
man" opposed to the heavens or the underworld (Online Etymology Dictionary). The noun’s
cognates are: Old Frisian erthe which meant "earth", Old Saxon ertha, Old Norse jörð, Middle
Dutch eerde, Dutch aarde, Old High German erda, German Erde, Gothic airþa, which meant
"earth, ground" (Online Etymology Dictionary). The meaning, where the earth started being
understood as ‘a planet’, is from 1400 (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of
meaning and its development, the word earth underwent the broadening of meaning.
The noun macrocosm carries the meaning of ‘ a large system (such as the entore
universe) that contains many smaller systems’ (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The noun
macrocosm is originated from Greek (Online Etymology Dictionary). From Greek the noun
was borrowed to Latin and from Medieval Latin it was borrowed to Old French macrocosme in
46
1300 (Online Etymology Dictionary). The first known use of the noun in English was found in
1600 with the meaning: "the great world - the universe” (Online Etymology Dictionary).
Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the word macrocosm underwent no
changes of meaning.
The noun universe carries the meaning of ‘all of space and everything in it including
stars, planets, galaxies, etc.’, ‘an area of space or a world that is similar to but separate from the
one that we live in’ and a more broad meaning of ‘the people, places, experiences, etc., that are
associated with a particular person, place, or thing’ (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The
noun has its Latin roots. Latin equivalent of the noun universum meant "all things, everybody,
all people, the whole world"; moreover, noun use of neuter of adjective universus meant "all
together, all in one, whole, entire, relating to all" (Online Etymology Dictionary). The noun
was borrowed directly from Old French univers in 1200 and in English was recorded in 1580s
with the meaning "the whole world, cosmos, the totality of existing things" (Online Etymology
Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the word universe
underwent the broadening of meaning.
The noun cosmos carries the meaning of ‘the universe especially when it is understood
as an ordered system’ (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The noun cosmos has Greek
roots. Greek kosmos meant "order, good order, orderly arrangement"; also, the word had other
main meanings such as: the verb kosmein meant "to dispose, prepare" but especially "to order
and arrange (troops for battle), to set (an army) in array", "to establish (a government or
regime)" and "to deck, adorn, equip, dress (especially of women) (Online Etymology
Dictionary). Furthermore, the noun kosmos had an essential secondary meaning of "ornaments
of a woman's dress, decoration" (Online Etymology Dictionary). The noun is thought to be
firstly applied time by Pythagoras in the sense "the universe". The very first known use of the
noun in the English language is dated in 1596 (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the
aspect of meaning and its development, the word cosmos underwent the process of narrowing
of meaning.
The noun TIME is has its Proto-Germanic roots. The equivalent of the noun time in
Old English was tima, which meant "limited space of time" (Online Etymology Dictionary).
The cognates of the noun were the following: Old Norse timi, which meant "time, proper time"
47
and Swedish time meant "an hour” (Online Etymology Dictionary). The broad meaning of
"time as an indefinite continuous duration" is recorded from late 14th century (Online
Etymology Dictionary). On the other hand, extended meanings of the word such as "occasion",
"the right time", "leisure" or times (as a verb) "multiplied by" developed in Old English and
Middle English (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its
development, the headword underwent the process of broadening of meaning.
The synonyms of the noun TIME: opportunity, occasion, chance and break are
comparable as all of them have a meaning of “a particular measurable period” (Merriam-
Webster Online Dictionary). The noun time has numerous additional meanings such ‘the thing
that is measured as seconds, minutes, hours, days, years, etc.’, ‘a particular minute or hour
shown by a clock’, ‘the time in a particular area or part of the world’ etc. (Merriam-Webster
Online Dictionary).
The noun opportunity carries the meaning ‘an amount of time or a situation in which
something can be done’ (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The noun opportunity has
Latin roots. The noun was borrowed to the English language in 14th century from Old French
opportunite, which was earlier borrowed directly from Latin opportunitatem, which meant
"fitness, convenience, suitableness, favorable time" (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at
the aspect of meaning and its development, the word opportunity underwent no change of
meaning and preserved its original meaning.
The noun occasion carries the meaning of ‘a special event or time’; also ‘a particular
time when something happens’ or ‘a chance or opportunity: a situation that allows something to
happen’ (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The noun occasion has Latin roots. Latin
occasionem carried the meaning of "opportunity, appropriate time" and in Late Latin it meant
"cause" (Online Etymology Dictionary). The sense of "opportunity; grounds for action, state of
affairs that makes something else possible; a happening, occurrence" was recorded in English
in late 14th century and was derived from Old French ochaison, ocasion meaning "cause,
reason, excuse, pretext; opportunity" (Online Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of
meaning and its development, the word occasion underwent the process of broadening of
meaning.
The noun chance carries the meaning of ‘an opportunity to do something: an amount
of time or a situation in which something can be done’ or ‘the possibility that something will
48
happen’ (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The noun chance has Latin roots. In Vulgar
Latin the word cadentia (adjective) had the meaning of "that falls out" and the term was used in
dice (Online Etymology Dictionary). The word was derived from the present participle of
cadere, which meant - "to fall" (Online Etymology Dictionary). The word appeared in the
English language in 1300 with the meaning of "something that takes place, what happens, an
occurrence" (Online Etymology Dictionary). The noun was borrowed from Old French
cheance, which meant "accident, chance, fortune, luck, situation, the falling of dice" (Online
Etymology Dictionary). In English the word's such notions as: "opportunity" and "randomness"
are very old but more popular than the word's original notion of "mere occurrence" (Online
Etymology Dictionary). Looking at the aspect of meaning and its development, the word
chance underwent the process of broadening of meaning.
The noun break carries the meaning of ‘a period of time when an activity stops’ or ‘an
accidental event’ etc. (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). The noun break is originated
from Proto-Germanic. Originally, the term belonged to other part of speech – a verb. It’s Old
English equivalent brecan had the meaning "to break, shatter, burst; injure, violate, destroy,
curtail; break into, rush into; burst forth, spring out; subdue, tame" (Online Etymology
Dictionary). The term’s cognates: Old Frisian breka, Dutch breken, Old High German brehhan,
German brechen, Gothic brikan, had the meaning "to break" and new meanings appeared in the
period of Old English (Online Etymology Dictionary). As a noun (with the meaning of "act of
breaking,") the word appeared in English in 1300 and it was derived from the verb break. The
meaning of "short interval between spells of work" (originally between lessons at school) is
from 1861 (Online Etymology Dictionary). By 1911, the meaning of "stroke of luck" was
attested. Then in 1914, the meaning "stroke of mercy" was attested; moreover, musical
meaning "improvised passage, solo" is attested from 1920s (Online Etymology Dictionary). As
far as the aspect of meaning and its development are concerned, the word break underwent the
broadening of meaning.
4.2.4. Patterns of formation of meaning
In the following section, an attempt is made to establish the patterns of formation of
meaning within synonymic groups. In addition, the results of the previous research on
patterns of formation of synonyms were used to reveal the processes happening in the
language.
49
The table below (see Table 14) presents the distribution of semantic changes such as
broadening of meaning, narrowing of meaning, amelioration, pejoration and no change within
the period of time when the words started functioning in the English language.
Table 14. Distribution of semantic changes in Old, Middle and Modern English
Broadening Narrowing Amelioration Pejoration No
change
Period of
time
Number of
changes
24 3 1 0 0 Old
English
28
43 9 1 3 7 Middle
English
63
17 6 1 1 4 Modern
English
31
As the table above shows (see Table 14), broadening is the most prevailing semantic
change and it supports previously found finding. In addition, the total number of semantic
changes was counted in each period of time. It was revealed that in regard to the period of
time (Old English, Middle English, Modern English), it could be stated that words in the
period of Middle English underwent the biggest variety of changes compared to Old English
and Modern English words. In the period of Middle English the prevailing semantic change is
broadening of meaning (43 words); 9 words underwent the process of narrowing of meaning;
the third most common semantic change is no change of meaning (7 words preserved their
meaning); pejoration was identified in 3 words and 1 case of amelioration was found. As far
as Modern English is concerned, the prevailing semantic change is broadening of meaning (17
words); 6 words underwent the process of narrowing of meaning; the third most common
semantic change is no change of meaning (4 words preserved their meaning); pejoration and
amelioration were identified in 1 word each. In the case of the words that started functioning
in the period of Old English, the results show that broadening of meaning is as well the most
common semantic change (24 words); 3 words underwent the process of narrowing of
meaning; the third most common semantic change is amelioration (1 word); while no cases of
pejoration or no change were found). Summing up, the most common semantic change in
each period is broadening of meaning. The second the most frequently found semantic change
50
is narrowing of meaning. Also, the longer a word functions in the language, more changes in
meaning it undergoes.
Furthermore, each word of the synonymic group was attributed a period of time when
they came into English and an attempt was made to identify the most common patterns in
regard to the period of time. The patterns are illustrated below:
Figure 4. Patterns of formation of synonymic groups in regard to the period of time
The patterns presented above, show that the most prevailing tendency is that words
within synonymic group came to English in different periods of time. 13 synonymic groups
are made of synonyms that came to English in Old English, Middle English and Modern
English; 7 synonymic groups are formed of words that came in the period of Old English and
Middle English; and 3 synonymic groups are formed of words that came to English in the
period of Middle English and Modern English. Moreover, no synonymic groups were found
that are formed of words that came into the English language in the period of Old English and
Modern English; and no synonymic groups were found that are formed of the words that
came into English at the same period of time. Summing up, it can be stated that synonymic
groups cannot be formed of words that started functioning in English in the same period of
time. Also, the words that started functioning in Old English and Modern English are not
likely to form synonymic groups.
In my bachelor degree research the patterns of formation of synonymic groups in
English were established. As far as the findings of the research were significant and more
extensive investigations were necessary in order to formulate a more detailed picture of the
patterns of formation of synonyms, the present research attempted to contribute to the
previous findings and add a new aspect of formation of meaning of words within synonymic
13synonymicgroups
ModernEnglish
MiddleEnglish
OldEnglish
7synonymicgroups
OldEnglish
MiddleEnglish
3synonymicgroups
ModernEnglish
MiddleEnglish
51
groups. The patterns of formation of meaning within synonymic groups were established,
based on the patterns of formation of synonymic groups in English that were revealed in the
previous research (see Appendix 4,5,6). In order to establish the patterns of formation of
meaning within synonymic groups semantic changes were counted in synonymic groups that
are formed of words coming from 3 sources, 2 sources or 1 source. Then the average of each
category was counted and the tendency revealed.
The data revealed that some of the synonymic groups are formed of 3 sources that are
the following.
4 synonymic groups were identified which belong to the pattern below. The
headwords of these synonymic groups are to buy, to offer, time and power. There data showed
that words within 2 synonymic groups underwent 3 types of semantic change (Bx2; Nx2;
Nox1; Mx1), words within 1 synonymic group underwent 2 types of semantic change (B; No)
and in one synonymic group its words underwent only 1 semantic change (B).
Latin + Germanic + French
Based on the pattern below 4 synonymic groups were found. The headwords of these
synonymic groups are to think, man, small and problem. There data showed that words within
2 synonymic groups underwent 3 types of semantic change (Bx2; Nx2; Nox1; Px1), words
within 2 synonymic group underwent 2 types of semantic change (Bx2; Nx1; Px1).
Latin + French + Greek
Based on the pattern below 3 synonymic groups were found. The headwords of these
synonymic groups are old, great and world. There data showed that words within 1
synonymic group underwent 3 types of semantic change (Bx1; Nx1; Nox1) and words within
2 synonymic groups underwent 2 types of semantic change (Bx2; Nox1; Mx1).
Latin + Germanic + Greek
Also, the data revealed that some of the synonymic groups are formed of 2 sources
that are the following:
52
Latin + Germanic/French/Greek/Unknown
10 synonymic groups matching this pattern of formation of synonyms were identified.
The headwords of these synonymic groups are to read, to say, new, large, important, good,
people, child, to become and school. There data showed that words within 1 synonymic group
underwent 4 types of semantic change (Bx1; Nx1; Nox1; Px1). The words within 6
synonymic groups underwent 2 types of semantic change (Bx6; Nx4; Nox1; Mx1) and the
words within 3 synonymic groups underwent 1 type of semantic change (Bx3).
In addition, the data revealed that some of the synonymic groups are formed of 1
source Latin or Germanic. The headword of the synonymic group, which constituent parts are
of Germanic origin only, is to look. The data showed that words within this synonymic group
underwent 4 types of semantic change (Bx1; Nx1; Nox1; Px1). The headword of the
synonymic group, which constituent parts are of Latin origin only, is to use. The data showed
that words within this synonymic group underwent 3 types of semantic change (Bx1; Nx1;
Nox1).
All in all, the words within synonymic group that match to the pattern of 3 sources
underwent 25 changes. The words within synonymic group that match to the pattern of 2
sources underwent 19 changes. The words within synonymic group that match to the pattern
of 1 source underwent 7 changes. Next, the averages were counted. The average number of
changes that the synonymic groups formed of 3 sources underwent is 2,26; what means that 2
changes on average. The average number of changes that the synonymic groups formed of 2
sources underwent is 1,8; what means that 1 change on average. Finally, the average number
of changes that the synonymic groups formed of 1 source underwent is 3,5; what means that 3
changes on average. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the words within
synonymic group that came from the same source underwent the biggest number of changes
of meaning. The least number of changes underwent synonymic groups that were formed of
words that came from 2 sources (1 semantic change).
53
CONCLUSIONS
• In the English vocabulary, Broadening of meaning is the most common semantic
change, which words undergo within synonymic groups.
• Semantic changes of English words within synonymic groups are related to the
changes of their grammatical characteristics. A tendency of nominalization of
verbs and adjectives is observed, which shows that grammatical and semantic
changes are interrelated. However, to account for the relationship, a separate
investigation is needed.
• No significant relationship is observed between semantic changes of English
words within synonymic groups and their origin. However, some patterns can be
established, the most common being LATIN + FRENCH or GERMANIC or
GREEK; LATIN + FRENCH + GREEK and LATIN + GERMANIC + FRENCH.
Also, it was noticed that words within synonymic group that are originated from
the same source undergo the biggest variety of changes.
• However, semantic changes of English words within synonymic groups are related
to the historical period of time when the words (borrowings) joined in the English
vocabulary. Regarding the period of time, it is observed that the biggest inflow of
the vocabulary took place in the period of Middle English and the words, which
entered English in that period, underwent the greatest variety of types of semantic
change.
• English synonymic groups are formed of words that started functioning in English
in different periods of time. It is rather non-typical for a synonymic group to be
built out of words that came to the language at the same period of time. It is
uncommon either for a synonymic group to consist of words that came to the
English language in Old English and Modern English only.
• Although some findings of this research are significant, more extensive
investigations are necessary. It seems to be essential to analyze more synonymic
groups and repeat the application of quantitative methods, in order to get a more
detailed and more precise picture of the patterns of formation of meaning of words
within synonymic groups as well as the patterns of formation of synonyms.
54
SUMMARY
ANGLŲ KALBOS SINONIMŲ REIKŠMIŲ KAITOS DĖSNINGUMAI
Kamilia Puncevič
Baigiamojo darbo tikslas yra ištirti anglų kalbos sinonimų reikšmių kitimus ir
nustatyti, ar jie vyksta dėsningai. Tikslui pasiekti iškelti šie uždaviniai: (1) atskleisti
pasirinktų sinonimų kilmę; (2) nustatyti tiriamų sinonimų semantinius kitimus; ir (3) įvertinti
veiksnius, lemiančius sinonimų reikšmių kaitą. Tyrimui buvo taikomi kiekybinis ir kokybinis
metodai. Buvo atlikta 23 dažniausiai pasitaikančių rašytinėje ir šnekamojoje anglų kalboje
žodžių ir jų sinonimų reikšmių analizė.
Analizės rezultatai parodė, kad anglų kalbos sinonimų reikšmės linkusios
platėti/bendrėti. Taip pat rezultatai patvirtina, kad anglų kalboje semantiniai kitimai sinonimų
grupėse yra susiję su žodžių gramatinėmis savybėmis. Kitaip tariant, kalbai vystantis
gramatiniai ir semantiniai kitimai žodyje vyksta vienu metu. Be reikšmės bendrėjimo buvo
pastebėta veiksmažodžių ir būdvardžių daiktavardėjimo tendencija. Gramatinės ir semantinės
žodžių kaitos ryšiui paaiškinti, deja, reikėtų papildomo tyrimo.
Buvo stengiamasi nustatyti sinonimų grupių reikšmių kaitos dėsningumus, siejant
kitimus su istoriniais kalbos vystymosi periodais ir rezultatai parodė, kad anglų kalbos
sinonimų grupės yra sudarytos iš žodžių, kurie į kalbą atėjo skirtingu istoriniu laikotarpiu.
Anglų kalbai visai nebūdingos sinoniminės grupės, sudarytos iš žodžių, kurie į kalbą atėjo tuo
pačiu istoriniu periodu arba iš žodžių, kurie pradėti vartoti tik senosios anglų kalbos
laikotarpiu ir modernios anglų kalbos laikotarpiu. Statistiniai skaičiavimai (Chi-square,
ANOVA) taip pat patvirtina, kad sinonimų semantiniai kitimai anglų kalboje priklauso nuo
laikotarpio, kada žodį imta vartoti anglų kalboje. Kalbant apie žodžių reikšmės raidą,
dauguma išanalizuotų žodžių patyrė tam tikrų semantinių pokyčių. Svarbu yra paminėti, kad
semantiniai kitimai anglų kalbos sinonimų grupėse nėra susiję su jų kilme.
Taigi, remiantis gautais rezultatais galima daryti išvadas, kad sinonimų reikšmės anglų
kalboje yra linkusios bendrėti arba platėti. Anglų kalbos sinonimų grupių reikšmės kitimai
priklauso nuo laiko, kada žodžiai atėjo į anglų kalbą. Be to, sinonimų grupės žodžių reikšmių
kitimai nėra priklausomi nuo žodžių kilmės. Žodžių daiktavardėjimo procesas yra
reikšmingas anglų kalbos istorinėje raidoje ir susijęs su semantiniais žodžių kitimais.
Tyrimo rezultatai gali būti naudojami tolesniems moksliniams tyrimams. Išanalizavus
daugiau sinonimų grupių, tikėtina, kad būtų atskleistų daugiau priklausomybės ryšių ir
veiksnių, lemiančių sinonimų reikšmių kitimus.
55
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APPENDICES
APPENDIX 1
59
APPENDIX 2
Copyright © 2016 The Pennsylvania State University
https://onlinecourses.science.psu.edu/stat200/node/67
60
APPENDIX 3
61
62
63
APPENDIX 4
Patterns of formation of 14 synonymic groups, which were formed of 3 sources
Latin Germanic FrenchSynonymicgroupof3sources
Latin French GreekSynonymicgroupof3sources
Latin Germanic GreekSynonymicgroupof3sources
64
APPENDIX5
Pattern of formation of synonymic groups, which were formed of 2 sources
Latin
Germanic/French/Greek/
unknown
Synonymic group of 2
sources
65
APPENDIX 6
Pattern of formation of synonymic groups, which were formed of 1 source
Latin
Latin
Synonymic group of 1
source
Germanic
Germanic
Synonymic group of 1
source
66
APPENDIX 7
Frequency of occurrence in written and spoken English
man school child people world time power problem
1003
526710
1256
600
1833
385565
tooffer tobuy tobecome
toread touse tosay tothink tolook
293 264675
284
1071
3344
15201151
great new old small good large important
635
1154
648 518
1276
471 392