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Semantic Shift: History
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Semantic shift is the process through which the meaning of a linguistic expression changes over time, resulting in a modification of the relationship between a word, phrase, or other lexical unit and the concept or referent it denotes. Within lexicography and language studies, the concept describes changes in lexical meaning that may involve alterations in semantic range, including extensions, restrictions, transfers, or reorganizations of meaning within a language system [1]. Semantic shift concerns changes in the interpretation and usage of linguistic forms rather than changes in their phonological or grammatical structure, distinguishing it from processes such as sound change or morphological change [2]. The phenomenon reflects the dynamic relationship between lexical forms, conceptual categories, and patterns of language use, where existing expressions may acquire new meanings while retaining, modifying, or losing previous semantic associations [3]. In linguistic analysis, semantic shift is treated as a diachronic process of semantic change that examines transformations in lexical meaning across different stages of language development [4].

  • Semantic change
  • Lexical meaning
  • Diachronic linguistics
  • Lexical semantics

References

  1. Andreas Blank. Why do new meanings occur? A cognitive typology of the motivations for lexical semantic change; Walter de Gruyter GmbH: Berlin, Germany, 1999; pp. 61-90. [CrossRef]
  2. Elizabeth Closs Traugott; Richard B. Dasher. Regularity in Semantic Change; Cambridge University Press (CUP): Cambridge, United Kingdom, 2001. [CrossRef]
  3. Geeraerts, D. Theories of Lexical Semantics; Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK, 2017. [CrossRef]
  4. Campbell, L. Historical Linguistics: An Introduction (3rd ed.); dinburgh University Press: Edinburgh, UK, 2020. [CrossRef]
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